Jim Henderson
Dedicated LVC Member
My car has been in the shop almost 3 weeks now. It is a 2004 LSV8 I bought used at about 14,000 miles. It now has about 45000 miles on it.
It had some work done on it last summer when it came up with the classic coil stumble. The dealer replaced a few coils and it seemed OK. But over the months it had a very subtle stumble at light engine loads.
I took it in this month to take care of several problems with the car including the slight stumble.
The dealer wasn't getting any codes on the coils but did detect that a few were failing and replaced them. It seemed like the problem moved around from coil to coil.
Finally with regional sevice reps working on it they determined that the NGK spark plugs in the car were causing the coils to fail. The factory is denying warranty coverage on this problem due to non factory plugs.
So, some questions...
#1, who in the heck would change plugs on a car with less than half the miles the OEMs are rated for? If the plugs were replaced, it had to be before I bought it at 14,000 miles so even crazier that the plugs were replaced. More importantly why?
#2, how in the heck does a plug that is supposed to be a factory replacement cause coils to fail? Seems like the coils are awful finicky if this is truly the cause.
#3 Are factory plugs a requirement for warranty coverage? Or does NGK have a warranty if their plug damages your engine?
So, Has any one had this experience with these cars? Is it possible these cars can come from the factory with NGK?
What is the deal we can get for replacement coils?
And a warning, it appears Ford may disallow warranty coverage if you do not have factory plugs. This is a real surprise and PITA.
I am liking the LS a lot less every time I have to take it in. So far it has required the most days in the shop and the most early problems of any car I have owned in over 30 years. I am not realy happy about the reliability and if I get stuck with the repair bill I will become one of those whiners who spreads the word.
Any ideas or advie on what to do about the problem?
Wish I still had my chebby,
Jim Henderson
It had some work done on it last summer when it came up with the classic coil stumble. The dealer replaced a few coils and it seemed OK. But over the months it had a very subtle stumble at light engine loads.
I took it in this month to take care of several problems with the car including the slight stumble.
The dealer wasn't getting any codes on the coils but did detect that a few were failing and replaced them. It seemed like the problem moved around from coil to coil.
Finally with regional sevice reps working on it they determined that the NGK spark plugs in the car were causing the coils to fail. The factory is denying warranty coverage on this problem due to non factory plugs.
So, some questions...
#1, who in the heck would change plugs on a car with less than half the miles the OEMs are rated for? If the plugs were replaced, it had to be before I bought it at 14,000 miles so even crazier that the plugs were replaced. More importantly why?
#2, how in the heck does a plug that is supposed to be a factory replacement cause coils to fail? Seems like the coils are awful finicky if this is truly the cause.
#3 Are factory plugs a requirement for warranty coverage? Or does NGK have a warranty if their plug damages your engine?
So, Has any one had this experience with these cars? Is it possible these cars can come from the factory with NGK?
What is the deal we can get for replacement coils?
And a warning, it appears Ford may disallow warranty coverage if you do not have factory plugs. This is a real surprise and PITA.
I am liking the LS a lot less every time I have to take it in. So far it has required the most days in the shop and the most early problems of any car I have owned in over 30 years. I am not realy happy about the reliability and if I get stuck with the repair bill I will become one of those whiners who spreads the word.
Any ideas or advie on what to do about the problem?
Wish I still had my chebby,
Jim Henderson