YAY "Check Transmission" With the infamous "E"
- Thread starter sickws6
- Start date
AmsterDutch
Dedicated LVC Member
The LS and LSE no matter what year has it's problems ...but so do many other european and Japanese cars...I take my hat off to Ford/Jaguar/Lincoln for stepping up to the plate and bringing an Luxury Sport car into the ring for the Upper and Middle Class to afford and yet still having a taste of a true Luxury Sports car in it's drivability and Luxury features
"Here was Ford, with its Lincoln division, taking on the Europeans and the Japanese — who had ruled this part of the market since wheels were round — with a genuine, made-in-America, rear-wheel-drive import fighter.
Sized like a BMW 5 Series, but priced more like a 3 Series, the Lincoln LS handled well, had aggressive European styling, and came with top-notch engines. Heck, you could even order up a manual transmission — a sure sign Lincoln was serious about taking on the established players in the luxury sport sedan field.
Accelerate ahead five years, and the luxury sport sedan marketplace has become more competitive than ever. Is the 2004 Lincoln LS still a value compared against today’s newer and updated Europeans and Japanese? And what about Lincoln’s domestic competitors who have joined the battle with their own rear-drive luxury sport sedans?
To keep up, the Lincoln LS received more than 500 upgrades in performance, engineering, and luxury features just last year. New for 2004 is the LSE appearance package at $2,995, available with both the V-6 and V-8 engines. That added chrome wheels, distinctive front and rear fascias, fog lamps, grille, spoiler, and other LSE-specific trim pieces to our V-8 equipped test car. With additional options, its $51,170 base price ballooned to $63,770.
Lincoln is certainly keeping up with the “sport” portion of the “luxury sport” equation by giving the buyers in this class what they crave: more horsepower. The 3.9-litre V-8 gained 28 h.p. last year, and now totals a very healthy 280. Torque is also up, to 286 pound-feet from 267, giving real ability to this 1,729-kilogram sedan for passing manoeuvres or finding holes in traffic.
Lincoln claims a half-second reduction in the 0-100 km/h sprint, to around seven seconds flat, bettering such six-cylinder competitors as the Mercedes Benz E320 ($71,350).
Forget the numbers, press the gas pedal, and the improved engine is immediately felt in a giddy appreciation of V-8s in general and the authoritative and muscular sounds coming from under the hood of our LSE.
All LS V-8 cars are fitted with the SelectShift automatic-manual transmission that allows drivers to swap gears on their own using the console shifter between the front seats. Unlike the auto-manuals found in many competitors, there’s no rev limiter, which means you can spin the engine to the redline without the electronic nannies kicking in with an awkward, unwanted upshift.
We highly recommend Lincoln’s stability control system, called AdvanceTrac ($1,195). It uses the brakes and the “drive by wire” throttle to help keep this powerful rear-drive car on the road when our Canadian weather conditions, or drivers, attempt otherwise.
Equipped with the V-8, the Sport suspension and the SelectShift transmission, the Lincoln LS has plenty of power, and can be fun to drive. But what about the “luxury” side of this sedan? After all, it’s a Lincoln, right?
Although the LS is not at Audi’s lofty standards, we were surprised at the level of fit and finish inside our car — quite an improvement from the original LS models. The interior was simple and elegant and had an easy-to-use control layout.
Despite the $3,700 cost, the new touchscreen, DVD-based navigation system was very user-friendly. No mice, no dials, just touch the screen. The LS cabin, being well insulated from wind and road noise, allowed the new 10-speaker THX-certified audio system to sound its best.
In the back, there’s a luxurious amount of room for three adults, more comfortable than an Infiniti M45 ($62,000), or even the Lincoln’s twin, the Jaguar S-Type V-8 ($72,950). For utility, the rear seats fold down and the large trunk has 382 cubic litres of golf-club toting capability.
Compared with much more expensive V-8 engined European and Japanese rivals, such as the BMW 545i ($77,700) or Lexus GS 430 ($69,500), the LS has a distinct price advantage. Unfortunately, that edge evaporates when the five-year-old Lincoln is compared to its newer domestic rear-drive competition.
If you agree with its cutting-edge styling, Cadillac’s more athletic CTS Sport ($54,035) is definitely worth considering over the Lincoln. But the one car that blows away both the CTS and the LS in price and performance is Chrysler’s new 300C sedan ($42,995).
With its aggressive looks, stirring Hemi V-8 and Mercedes-inspired suspension, and built right here in Ontario, the 300C has stolen some of the Lincoln’s thunder as a North American challenger to the imports in an ever more competitive class.
Still, if you can stay away from some of the pricey options that bloat the Lincoln’s base price, and the conservative stying is more your cup of tea, then the LSE V-8 could be your pick as a luxurious and sporty American-made sedan.
John LeBlanc is the publisher of http://www.straight-six.com, an Ottawa-based automotive website.
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2004 Lincoln LSE V-8
Type: Midsize luxury sport sedan, rear-wheel-drive
Seats: Five
Base price: $51,710 (plus $1,085 freight)
Price as tested: $63,770
Engine: 3.9-litre V-8, 32 valves, dual overhead camshafts; 280 h.p. 4,000 r.p.m., 286 lb.-ft. of torque at 4000 r.p.m.
Transmission: Five-speed automatic with manual shift feature
Suspension: Independent, unequal-length control arms with coil springs and stabilizer bar (front and rear)
Brakes: Disc/disc with antilock
Wheels: 17-in aluminum
Tires: 235/50VR-17 Michelin HX MXM4
Wheelbase: 2,908 mm (114.5 in.)
Length: 4,925 mm (193.9 in.)
Width: 2,035 mm (73.2 in.)
Curb weight: 1,729 kg (3,768 lb.)
Standard features: Heated/cooled front seats; sport-tuned suspension; Selectshift transmission; dual zone climate control; 17-inch 7-spoke wheels; electronic message centre
Options: Advance Trac ($1,195); power moonroof ($1,595); heated rear seats ($520); DVD Nav/THX six-CD audiophile ($3,700); HID headlamps ($850); side air curtains, extended rear (radar) park assist ($1,105); LSE package ($2,995)
Fuel economy, L/100 km (m.p.g.): City 14.2 (20), Hwy. 9.1 (31)
Fuel type: Premium (recommended)
Warranty, yrs./km: 4/80,000, includes scheduled maintenance"
lincoln_zero
Dedicated LVC Member
I just watched Ford vs Ferrari, Hell of a movie. If you guys didn't see it, I HIGHLY recommend it.
Watching Ford take on Enzo - the man, the myth, the Legend - himself, and bringing his company to the biggest defeat its ever known of 4 straight years of losses to one car. The GT40.
Epic.
But... there's some take aways from this movie. Most notably, Ford at an executive level. What I learned, or sort of already knew, is Execs just don't give a giant heaping rats ass about:
A) Ford
B) Its customers
They screwed over Ken Miles (who literally died for them), they are all about $$ and numbers. And ford has proven time and again, they have no problem with pulling the plug on their products and abandoning their consumers.
That said, lets stick to the facts. Ford burrowed Jaguars designs and slapped a Lincoln badge on it and made a couple ads of it doing donuts and being a 'BMW Killer'.
Your praise worthy of the LS, really goes to Jaguar, -as joegr just pointed out in another post- who is responsible for all those nice specs you just listed.
The Gen II redesign is hardly an upgrade. I would take the ride feel of my (sold) 2002 over this 2004 any day. The Gen 1 drivers better. It just does. I didn't have any throttle lag, I had a hand break, and the steering felt tighter. Now Gen II has more features.
The execs proved that they are at the heart - selfish, greedy, and corrupt. They dont care about end user experience from the brand as is most car maker execs in America, and why MANY people in Canada are slowly edging away from American cars and switching to German Luxury or Jap reliability.
AmsterDutch
Dedicated LVC Member
I agree that the first Gen has a classic Luxury Sport Look and feel...but the upgraded electric fan and Timing system along with the many other upgraded features did make the 1st Gen LS feel a little dated...but hell now that both 1st and 2nd Gen are dated I like that my 2002 Lincoln LSE has the Hydraulic Fan ...when I watch Wheeler Dealer and other Car Shows on Motor Trend Channel and see all the old school systems from the cars of yesteryears I think it's cool and original to have the hydraulic fan ...now that I had the AC in my 2002 professional evacuated and charged the AC is blowing a frosty 45 degrees and the Hydraulic fan is running strong and powerful...even on the 80 degree day yesterday the car never went above 96 Celsius
But the 2006 I sold a few months ago did get a lot better MPG without a doubt...but in all reality I'm the one to blame at the end of the day ...Sorry it's a zippy little V8 and I pull everything I can out her lol
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
To the OP...
A used vehicle is only as good as the previous owner maintained it.
You have an '03 with 60k + miles. Some of the earlier LS's were sent out if the factory with improper transmission fluid in them. The fix by Ford was Technical Service Bulletin that required the vehicle to be taken to the dealership... and having a friction modifier added to the tranny fluid.
Contact your local dealer and see if they have any record, ( Oasis/service records ), report to see if the additive was ever put in.
If not... you probably have bigger problems. Especially since the LS only has 63k on it.
The issue was fixed by 2004... and yours is not the only pre '04 LS that has had tranny problems around the milage you have. There was someone on here a few years back... that had the same situation.
A used vehicle is only as good as the previous owner maintained it.
You have an '03 with 60k + miles. Some of the earlier LS's were sent out if the factory with improper transmission fluid in them. The fix by Ford was Technical Service Bulletin that required the vehicle to be taken to the dealership... and having a friction modifier added to the tranny fluid.
Contact your local dealer and see if they have any record, ( Oasis/service records ), report to see if the additive was ever put in.
If not... you probably have bigger problems. Especially since the LS only has 63k on it.
The issue was fixed by 2004... and yours is not the only pre '04 LS that has had tranny problems around the milage you have. There was someone on here a few years back... that had the same situation.
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
That would be false. It was a joint venture between Ford and Jag... with Ford fronting most of the expenses.
Then Jag took Ford's money and ran away with the blueprints... and Jag is still using the basic DEW98 platform in their new vehicles.
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
No... the tranny shop/mechanic ... was crap.
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
Hmmmm....
So replacing the DTR/MLPS could be a cheap/quick fix for a quirky LS transmission.
Now where's that thread where I was told I was wrong.......
lincoln_zero
Dedicated LVC Member
Tune.
On my 2002 I ran Robert at KBX's tune, and I matched the 2005 my wife had in the city, and destroyed hers on the highway. She would get like 650 kms/tank highway. I tripped 850km on my way to Sarnia Ontario, and back, still had a quarter tank on my 2002. the first gens benefit much more than second gens from tuning and exhaust.
I also beat her in a drag.
I know the timing system really sucks on the first gen, but everything else I did not mind - in fact, its what made me fall in love with it.
I dont wanna sound like "that guy", but when I finally get myself out from the LS, I wont look back this time. As I said, if I had huge cash lying around, I would considering keeping it and motor swap it. Ford can shove their sh*tty ignition coils up their ass.
did you ever get your issue fixed?
I started having similar problems. You can follow and see mine on the following thread
Check Transmission - E