2002 Lincoln LS: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Mar 17, 2022 · Suspension · GA

I have a 2002 lincoln LS v8 the passenger ball joint came loose and broke had it fixed driver side has now came loose and rattling

Filed Jan 23, 2021 · Steering, Suspension · 188,000 miles · OK

Both driver and passenger side lower ball joints have fractured, been replaced and have fractured again. The stud post itself continues to fracture above the control arm mounting hole, despite both ball joints being replaced and retorqued to manufacturer recommended tightness.

Filed Aug 11, 2016 · Airbags, Brakes · 85,901 miles · CA

2002 lincoln ls , air bag warning light continues to stay on. Have had to drive car for 3 yrs like this while having fear of air bag not working in case of an accident. 3 mechanics have tried to fix and it only turns off for a few min.s after they attempt a fix with the wiring. The mileage then began about 80,007. About 1.5 yr ago (may 2014) my AC /heater core fluid began leaking. It worsened when AC was turned high, took about 2 months before burning smell was continuously coming from engine after running AC and fluid was always dripping. 6 months (jan 2016) ago my brake pedal began fluttering when depressed. I had the control arms, ball joints and brakes/rotors replaced. The brake pedal still flutters when slowing from 30 MPH quickly. My lincoln ls mileage is 86,605

Filed May 24, 2016 · Engine, Steering · 212,000 miles · TN

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 lincoln ls. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the ball joint was loosen causing the contact to loose control of the steering. In addition, the vehicle was overheating. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the lower control arm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, three months later the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 212,000.

Filed Jun 28, 2011 · Suspension · 90,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 lincoln ls. The contact stated that the struts, lock arms and tie rods were replaced on the vehicle, but the left front drivers side wheel continued to make noise. The contact stated the wheels began to shake whenever he drove over a bump. The dealer advised the contact that the ball joint caused the failure, but they could not replace them. The failure mileage was 90,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.

Filed May 11, 2011 · Engine, Steering · 95,000 miles · DE · crash · 1 injury

I was driving down the highway at 50 MPH when I heard a loud noise coming from the back passenger side. Then I felt the car go out of control and I managed to safely get the car to the shoulder. My passenger door side airbag came out. When I got out of the car my tire was almost completely of the rim. I had my car towed to the repair shop and they said I needed a new axle, wheel bearing, control arm, rotor, rim and tire. Upon further inspection they realized the rim went through the underside of trunk and damaged battery and electrical components. They estimated it would cost about $3,000 to fix not including the body damage. I just replaced the right front hub assembly and control arm in feb. 2011. I have replaced engine coils and valve covers numerous times.

Filed Dec 1, 2010 · Suspension · 100,000 miles · MO

Ball joint failure. My car was built in march of 2002 and they redesigned it in april to a larger ball joint which I learned by talking to a mechanic at the lincoln dealer. He said that he fixes a lot of them built march and before but had never had to fix a post march 2002 car. I asked if he had ever upgraded it to the new design he said no, I asked if it was possible he said probably. I took the control arm off the car paid a machine shop $25 to machine it out from 14mm the old original size to 16mm the new redesigned size that lincoln was putting in it after april and bought and installed a 16mm joint and that's all there was to it. All in all it only took a few hours (depending on the machine shop) and no special tools. If you have any mechanical ability you can do this job in your driveway, I did.

Filed Nov 4, 2010 · Steering, Suspension · 88,000 miles · MI

Steering loss due to ball joint and control arm failure for the second time. Parts were repaired. Vin not included in recall for same problem.

Filed May 20, 2010 · Suspension · 110,000 miles · OK

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 lincoln ls. While driving at approximately 20 MPH, the front driver's side lower ball joint fractured. The vehicle was towed to the contacts residence and was not taken to a dealer for further diagnosis. The failure and current mileages were 110,000.

Filed Feb 14, 2010 · Steering, Suspension · 95,000 miles · MO

While driving the lower ball joint fell apart. No injury resulted due to a low speed. After talking to a technician at the local lincoln dealer I found out that lincoln had changed the design a month after my car was built because they know they had underbuilt the car. I asked the technician if I could upgrade it to the part they used after march of 2002 and he said he didn't know he had never tried it but as far as he knew the parts would bolt up to the car the same, and the part they used on my car was failing on a regular basis and the part they used after march of 2002, as far as he knew never failed. I decided to take the lower control arm off my car and take it to a machine shop and have them machine it to fit the newer/larger stud in the ball joint used after march of 2002, everything worked out good and I have not had any problems. The original equipment on my car were 14 mm and after march they used 16 mm it's pretty simple to take it to a machine shop and upgrade your car. The cost of the work at the machine shop was only $25 and we did all the rest in the driveway in just a few hours. If you have any mechanical ability you can do this job, or you can pay about $1,500 to a shop to put the 14 mm back in and have it fail again.

Filed Feb 10, 2010 · Suspension · GA

While driving my 2002 lincoln ls 3.9v8 vehicle, I have been fighting my steering wheel to keep my car driving straight. I took the car to a local shop where I was told that ball joint bolt was lose, where he also pointed out the looseness.(bolt located behind the rotor right at the bottom of the control arm) today while driving, the steering took me into some grass but no damage was done to the vehicle. I have seen that this has been a problem in 2000 and 2001 so I wasn't sure if the same problem occurred in my 2002 but I feel very unsafe in the car especially commuting to work everyday on a busy freeway, fearful that the steering will give out at anytime and I would lose control of the vehicle.

Filed Oct 29, 2009 · Acceleration, Suspension · 90,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 lincoln ls. While driving approximately 65 MPH on normal road conditions the vehicle accelerated without intention, and then down-shifted. The driver was able to gain control and continue operation with caution. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician stated the failure was contributed to the lower control arms and ball joints. The vehicle was being repaired for the malfunction. The failure and current mileages were 90,000.