Does it ever stop?

[DLS8K]

I just want to get a few things off my chest to feel a little better about my car. First off........I love my LS and i've wanted one since they came out and just now could afford one. However, what I didn't really figure in to the cost of the vehicle was the amount of money spent on fixing the things that seem to go wrong.

I purchased my 2000 LS-8 sport with 101,000 miles on it. Going into the initial purchase, I planned on spending around $1000 on doing misc. repairs. So far, I've had to do lower ball joints, valve cover gaskets (spark plugs too), and tires. Of course, the transmission has that nasty habit of not liking to engage reverse. Then to compound that problem, my car has read "Engine temp. high.....engine power reduced" twice now. Although the two problems I mentioned before do not happen all the time, it is still the fact that they do once in awhile. Maybe it is just me.........but it is those little things that start to piss a guy off.

I'm just wondering when the problems are going to stop......it just seems as soon as I get one problem fixed, another one creeps up. I'm hoping that after I expend my $1000, the majority of my problems will subside and I can resume my experience with my LS. Sorry to vent but it feels better to get it out. Anybody who wants to vent or at least make me feel better by telling me their problems, I would feel a lot better to think I'm not alone in the world.

 

[2k2ls]

nope your not alone. We all got some typical ls problems. Its just the way it is bro. Luckily this forum has coverage on everything that goes wrong with the ls. So read every post you can about problems. Then write down all the problems you find on the forum. then create a checklist of problems youve had and problems your going to have. This way it wont be a surprise.....

 

[Dutch]

I've been through it after buying a used '00, and the feeling of smooth sailing is great once you get the bugs worked out (knock on wood).

 

[eL eS]

i am in my 5th year of ownership and am just now finding happiness. 2 and a half weeks worth so far. Sadly I do not think you ever can get comfortable with this car for very long. However, :L

 

[Fastbird]

Maybe the following will help:

We bought out 00 LS8 Sport on December 17th. Into the shop it went on December 28th. The car was failing to accelerate under moderate to heavy acceleration. After a battle with a crappy warranty company we paid the total repair bill for one bad coil which was $330 and got the car back. Two days later, same problem. Failing to accelerate under moderate to heavy acceleration. Engine would just hang at whatever point it felt like. Car sat for a few weeks while we decided what to do. I took the car out with a fuel pressure gauge hooked up to it in mid February, and watched as the problem happened, fuel pressure would drop off. Car sat for another month waiting on the warranty refund to come in so we could fix the car.

Warranty refund came in and we take it back into the shop, where we get told "You have two bad coils and the car is running so bad we can't get a good fuel pressure reading." Funny because the car ran fine for the drive to the dealership. As it turns out, the valve covers (which were supposedly replaced just prior to purchase) were leaking. Total bill came to $610 for both valve cover gaskets and two coils.

We get the car back, and AGAIN, same issue. I'm ticked at this point. So I say screw it, and ordered the remaining 5 coils and put them in myself. Total cost for that was $300. THANK YOU 5 STAR FORD!!!! That was the day before Easter. So now all 8 coils are brand new. That evening, while making the 3 hour drive to the fiancee's relatives place, I notice the car is STILL doing the same thing!!!! Fed up at this point. I had noticed that there was a lot of oil in the plug wells when I did the coils (put in new Bosch Platinum gapped to .044") and was praying that a new coil wasn't fried.

So, called the dealership up (again) and they got me in on Thursday last week. I signed the paperwork for the diagnostic work and waited to hear from them. I knew it had to be the fuel system, and was wanting a diagnosis so I could do the work myself. Well, I heard from them yesterday. Got a phone message: "Hi, this is XXX at Holman Lincoln Mercury. Your 00 LS is fixed, both the fuel pump and booster pump were failing. Your total bill is $1109.xx and you can pick up the car any time before 8 tonight." NOT COOL. I made it known when I picked up the car that I never authorized the repairs, that I had brought it in for diagnosis. Aparrently there was a miscommunication between the service manager and the service advisor, and the advisor thought that when the manager had spoken of having talked to me, that I had said to do the repair work.

We only paid $10900 for the car (had 75K on it) but jeez. So far we've paid over $2300 out of pocket for something that could have easily been fixed the first time had the dealership listened to me. So far we've put 1500 miles on the car TOTAL, and those have been very uneasy and unnerving miles. We still don't wholly trust the car. But driving it yesterday, I raped the crap out of that sucker and it never felt so strong. Felt really good. Hopefully things stay this way for a while.

 

[eL eS]

Above all you should consider what you are willing to afford yourself for the total cost of ownership now you can lower that cost by doing some of the work on your own. You can rest assured that you have the LvC community behind you to help you out with troubleshoot. However, I stong urge you to consider joining your local/regional LvC chapter you might find that folks in your area might be willing to work with you on your car.

The TCO for me became much more manageable when I decided to start turning wrenches on my own. Hit this link and join your regional chapter http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/profile.php?do=editusergroups . Get involved there and try to foster some relationships it is win win for everyone.

 

[GrayGhost1]

Not everyone is a gear head. So, not everyone wants to wrench their own car. I was the same way especially with a warranty. With that being said I had an 18 month ordeal with my car on a hard starting issue. It took the dealer 6 tries to get my car diagnosed. My ordeal took 12 months to diagnose and finally fixed in April 2003. Here is what the dealer replaced to fix my problem:


1. Dealer replace the failed COP (coil on plug) on #4(still hard to start)
2. Dealer replaced PCM with new PCM and updated software.(still hard to start)
3. Had the IAC valve replaced(still hard to start)
4. Replaced the internal fuel pump(still hard to start)
5. Replaced 4 leaky fuel injectors(all is well so far)

I must say that my dealer, Neill-Sandler FLM, was fabulous to work with. They were just as concerned to fix my problem as I was. The biggest problem was that the LS at the time was still fairly new to the mechanics and they were learning as well. Some dealerships have good technicians and others don't. I was fortunate enough to work with a dealer that keeps tabs on the Ford repair hotline.

The LS has its fair share of problems but it's becoming a well documented car with repeatable issues. Those issues can be repaired quite easily once identified. Also, owning an LS has a disadvanatage as well since there isn't many, if at all, smaller shops that can work on the LS. The dealer is a high price repair shop. As the LS ages over time more and more smaller repair shops should be able to work on the LS. This is coming on the heels of the new Ford Mustang. It shares a lot of the same electronic components such as the PCM.

 

[slagburn]

I'm just wondering when the problems are going to stop......it just seems as soon as I get one problem fixed, another one creeps up.

Since you bought a first production year 100k+ mile domestic vehicle I would speculate that something will always be going wrong. This isn't a thump on the LS or domestic vehicles as most vehicles over 100K become needy, some just cost more than others to repair.

:Beer

 

[lsbit]

On my wife's '00 LS8 I replaced the valve cover gaskets and a coil. I was so impressed with the way the car drives that when my wife took it from me, I bought another one for myself. She has about 70k on it now.

On my LS8 Sport,(87k miles) I rebuilt the rear-diff, replaced a coil and lower ball joints and still working on a rough when cold problem and some clunking in the front. If this would have been my first LS, I would have gotten rid of it in a month and looked at something else, but after knowing what one is supposed to drive like, I haven't quite given up yet. Thank God I don't mind working on cars, as I am already beyond broke. I have about $1000 in parts and tools in this car so far. If I went to the dealer, it would be closer to $2500, I would imagine.

I just vented a few days ago myself. That's what we are all here for!

 

[eL eS]

On my wife's '00 LS8 I replaced the valve cover gaskets and a coil. I was so impressed with the way the car drives that when my wife took it from me, I bought another one for myself. She has about 70k on it now.

On my LS8 Sport,(87k miles) I rebuilt the rear-diff, replaced a coil and lower ball joints and still working on a rough when cold problem and some clunking in the front. If this would have been my first LS, I would have gotten rid of it in a month and looked at something else, but after knowing what one is supposed to drive like, I haven't quite given up yet. Thank God I don't mind working on cars, as I am already beyond broke. I have about $1000 in parts and tools in this car so far. If I went to the dealer, it would be closer to $2500, I would imagine.

I just vented a few days ago myself. That's what we are all here for!

You have pioneered some new territory for us all with the repairs you have had to do.