Just dropped off LS at dealership for service

[John_P007]

OK they finaly heard the "NOISE" from the steering wheel hopefully they will fix that, but...... I have been getting BAD gass milage since I got the car. The best I get city is 11-13 mpg on a full tank (that is what on-board computer says) and this week I went all highway to NH. and I got no better than 16 and change mpg. Last time I had something done to my LS they gave me a 04 v8 (I have a 03 V8) and in the city that car never went under 17 mpg and I was driving it like I drive mine... well when I told the guy at Lincoln today he was like, U will never get 17 like the sticker says because gas these days are blah blah blah.... and I was like then how come my loaner was where it was supposed to be???? Didn't answer me and wouldn't even put it down on the things to look at... said I would never get 17 mpg in the city and that was that.... What do I do??? I know he is wrong why would the 04 stay at 17 and mine wouldn't get over 14 max... from combined from city/highway this week I am at 15.something and that still sucks.....

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

Yea, you need to get that checked out. My 1989 MarkVII gets 17-18 city and 23-25 highway mileage. There is no reason your car should suck gas that bad. Hell, my 97 GMC 1500 gets mileage as good, if not better, than your LS. That's not right.

 

[Sifrino3]

Get some fuel injector cleaner. It never hurts!

 

[ldc]

Dang! I average 21.4 city and highway with my 2003 V8. Somethings gotta be wrong or you have a very very heavy foot.....

dc

 

[John_P007]

I did that already..

 

[purelux]

The car may need the pcm flashed there may be a problem with the engine management. It could need fuel system cleaner etc... but if there was no engine light/code thrown it's kinda doubtful espically if it causing that kind of a milage drop. If they won't look at it call Lincoln's owners # on lincoln.com and they should be able to advise you if your problem is valid for the dealer to look at and how to take care of it. I have learned that even a used lincoln commands more respect and care than ford or merc at a lincoln/ford/merc dealer. You haven't by chance installed an air filer which is oiled have you. As when they are newly oiled they can shed some off which hits the maf sensor and can cause a poor running engine.

 

[John_P007]

The car may need the pcm flashed there may be a problem with the engine management. It could need fuel system cleaner etc... but if there was no engine light/code thrown it's kinda doubtful espically if it causing that kind of a milage drop. If they won't look at it call Lincoln's owners # on lincoln.com and they should be able to advise you if your problem is valid for the dealer to look at and how to take care of it. I have learned that even a used lincoln commands more respect and care than ford or merc at a lincoln/ford/merc dealer. You haven't by chance installed an air filer which is oiled have you. As when they are newly oiled they can shed some off which hits the maf sensor and can cause a poor running engine.

My car bucks in gear slightly sometimes and they said they fixed something and also reset it (they reset it once before) but they also said there was no codes... The car is a Lincoln pre-certified LS and I have used fuel system cleaner and it hasn't doen anything that I have noticed to imporve the situation.

 

[Geno]

Man, I know this is going to make you feel bad.
I've been a life long Ford/LM fan (30 years +), until recently. When Ford decided to become a truck company and LM started using Jaguar cast offs, I decided to go somewhere else to get my fix.
My CTS-V 400HP Cadillac gets an advertised 25 highway and 18 in the city. If the LS gets lower than that with a 285HP motor, then that's lame.

 

[purelux]

You can't really compare personal city/highway between owners since where and how you drive varies as well as what one person considers city or spirited driving. When it bucks what gear are you in I know the ls's are 5 speed auto's if 4 & 5 are both over drive gears if your under 50 try staying in 3rd if the engine speed is too much for you try 4th but it may be an od gear and would end up wanting to shift. I had bucking on my towncar when one tuner had the lockup set so if I was in 4th(od) on my 98 towncar between 38or40>48mph it bucked. My od engaged around 38 so if i left it on it bucked so I sent it back and had them fix it. Turned out they also had the shift points and rev limiter set to high. I went from 3.08>3.55 rear end gears and I think they set the car for the wrong set. I now use a tuned computer rather than the chip and they fixed the problem when they tuned the ecm.

 

[John_P007]

I really don't know what gear it is bucking in I want to say maybe 2nd to 3rd, but that isnt really bothering me I can live w/a little bucking, and when they reset it the first time it was fine. This time they said they found something wrong, but this gas thing is killing me, I just called the 800 # for Lincoln and they told me to bring it to a second dealership to have a second opinion. I told them I liked my dealership and I didn't want to get anyone in trouble but I don't think that milage problem is something that is normal. Also they said they greased and lubed my steering colum but as soon as I drove away and made my first turn it made the NOISE again... I told the customer care people that in some fourms (THIS ONE ) that it seemed to be a common problem on the 03's and many of the people on the fourm had to have there steering colum replaced.... I will keep everyone posted......

Also, I have used a fuel cleaner a few days before I even posted this and it didn't seem to do anything (might have gotten worse but not sure) and last night I put in 93 Oct. in the car, but I always use super anyway which is 91 + anyway....... Hey if I got a K & H filter would I get better gas and more HP??
PS,
Geno I think it is only 280 HP not 285 but I might be wrong...

 

[Geno]

I stand corrected, the HP for the V8 is 280...don't know where I came up with the 285 figure.

In response to driving styles, I concur that the spectrum can run from tooling around to dogging the car. I am a very agressive (fast but courteous) driver and my miles per gallon is still better than John P007's LS. For example I recently drove from the upper pan-handle in WV to south eastern VA, was not passed by a single vehicle (at least that's how I remember it, and I sticking to my story), and even pulled a 1.06 g turn according to my G meter, while still getting 20.3 mpg.

Look, cars are like people they have different personalities. It sound like you are having more than your fair share of problems.
You've invested a sum of money in getting a car that you expect to drive with minimum hassles. If LM does not get the car corrected to your satisfaction maybe you can use the "lemon" law if your state has it. Wish you the best of luck.

 

[John_P007]

Geno,
I really haven't had that many problems, and many of them aren't even that bad... And to be Honest w/you I think half of those problems is that I loved my Lexus GS400 and that is a very tough car to go toe to toe with... Don't get me wrong the longer I have had this LS the more I like it, it is growning on me, I was going to get a 04 Caddi (but I can't drive the stick or afford the 400 hp ) a 04 Jag X-type .. and I was very very close to getting a Infiniti FX35 (little more than I wanted to pay but I need to get the tech package if I was going to get it and that is why the $$$ was high) but I have more gadgets than I can ask for, I am pretty upset that there are pretty much no things I can get to make my car a little more sharper. One that that KILLS me is that I wanted to get a chrome grill for my car... they only have them for 2000-02 not 03 !!!! and I am having the worst time trying to get a dash kit for 03 to match the silver center area... But all in all I think I liked the drive a lot better than the Caddi, and I have always loved Caddi's.

 

[John_P007]

Brought my LS to new dealership yesterday (way better place) and they said there was an issue w/the steering wheel and that Lincoln had a service bulletin saying that they had to drain all the fluids and put some new kind of fluids in and if that didn't fix the problem they where going to replace my whole steering rack they said, my dealership said there was no none problem w/the steering !!!!! Well so far so good not a peep from my steering wheel yaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was driving me NUTS !!

 

[04LSSport]

That is great news

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

That's great. And now you know you've found a reputable dealership.

 

[purelux]

thats cool i changed out most of the fluid in all my families cars with mobil1 atf synthetic and it seems to have made the steering a bit smoother and for my dads it stopped the leak in his 97 continental and didn't freeze it up in the cold like the lucas we added to the original fluid.

 

[JohnnyBz00LS]

Man, I know this is going to make you feel bad.
I've been a life long Ford/LM fan (30 years +), until recently. When Ford decided to become a truck company and LM started using Jaguar cast offs, I decided to go somewhere else to get my fix.
My CTS-V 400HP Cadillac gets an advertised 25 highway and 18 in the city. If the LS gets lower than that with a 285HP motor, then that's lame.

GM does have a more efficient power train w/ the LS1/LS6 + 6M combo by a long shot. I've gotten 28MPG+ in my '98 WS6-6M running a steady 85MPH between fills, and that was before it was fully broken in w/ ~ 4000mi on the ODO. And turn around and run a solid 13sec 1/4 mile! I've heard of others getting better than 30MPG hwy. I've yet to see ANY other mfr match that combo of MPG and performance w/ any car. And to think most people consider 'Vettes and V8 f-bods gas guzzlers, clueless! Ford and Mopar both have a thing to learn about efficient drivetrains.

As far as the low MPG on the LS, don't always trust the message center. It needs to be reset after a fill to show anywhere accurate MPG. I've been able to squeeze 25MPG from my '00 LS-8 hwy, but average 13-15MPG in the city (yes I do have a heavy foot). Sometimes a high as 19 cty, but that's rare.

 

[John_P007]

Lincoln told me "NOT TO RESET" for at least 3 fills. They where going to check my message center and actual mpg by hooking up some computer to my car, but, they said because I had just reset my message center (just got gas) they wouldn't check to come back after 3 fills.

 

[Lucas05 3]

It sounds to me like you simply just need some more power steering fluid. I had the same problem not to long ago with my 2000 LS V8. My MPG didn't drop that much but a little bit.

As for my normal MPG I get around 17 in city and 22 on the highway and I have a very very heavy foot. I reset after each fill.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[k_omalley09]

I just installed a KKM air intake and I'm getting "check transmission" errors and now the check engine light is on. I have a 2000 LS. The mileage display sometimes goes nuts when the check transmission light is on. For example, it will go from 60 mpg, 72 mpg, and back down to 14 mpg. I'm really frustrated.

Can I use a solvent to clean MAF sensor or is replacement inevitable?

Thanks,

Kevin

The car may need the pcm flashed there may be a problem with the engine management. It could need fuel system cleaner etc... but if there was no engine light/code thrown it's kinda doubtful espically if it causing that kind of a milage drop. If they won't look at it call Lincoln's owners # on lincoln.com and they should be able to advise you if your problem is valid for the dealer to look at and how to take care of it. I have learned that even a used lincoln commands more respect and care than ford or merc at a lincoln/ford/merc dealer. You haven't by chance installed an air filer which is oiled have you. As when they are newly oiled they can shed some off which hits the maf sensor and can cause a poor running engine.