Tl* the contact owns a 2003 lincoln ls. While driving various speeds, the transmission malfunctioned. The contact stated that the transmission hardshifted, which caused the vehicle to lunge forward on more than one occasion. Jackson ford in decatur, illinois was made aware of the failure, but the source of the failure could not be determined. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Lincoln LS sudden acceleration problems
23 of the 982 owner complaints about the Lincoln LS describe sudden unintended acceleration, most of them for the 2000 model year.
- owner complaints
- 23
- worst model year
- 2000
- typical mileage
- 86,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Jerking 2Headlights 2Won't shift 1Power windows 1Loss of power 1Hesitation 1Fire or smoke 1Check engine light 1
What owners say
Randomly when applying the brakes the car accelerates instead of stopping. This is referred to as unintended acceleration. In some cases this happened on the freeway and others on city streets at very low speeds. Attached is my correspondence with ford over this matter. As you will see from the correspondence, these incidents occurred soon after I bought the vehicle in 2000 (first incident was in 2001) up until most recently, 2/28/2015. I'm uploading three documents: 1 - my initial to ford dated 08/23/2015 summarizing the entire episode of incidents 2 - the response letter from ford date 8/27/2015 3 - my final letter to ford dated 10/25/2015 asking them to pick up the car from my house.
While driving 35 MPH on the truman parkway the car suddenly accelerated as fast as it would go. Brakes failed and car went out of control. After avoiding to hit 5 o6 cars it side swiped another car then veered to the right and came to a stop on a wet grassy area. In 2 previous incidents the engine revved up at a red light and I almost hit the car in front of me.
My 01 lincoln ls 3.9 v8 caught fire while it was sitting in my driveway at 11:30 pm. By the time it was noticed, the entire front half was engulfed. It exploded about 3 times (possibly the airbags exploding). The fire department put the fire out before it reached the fuel tank. I had driven it around an hour before. The most damage was near the driver side front of car near where the headlight and air filter were located. The passenger side of the engine compartment had not burned as intense as the driver side. (the driver side front of the hood had completely burned away..) the fire dept said it possibly started in the engine but the fire had burned so much that they could not be sure. No investigation since I only had liability insurance. I have owned the car since 2008 and have noticed different electrical malfunctions such as radio volume increasing, indicator lights randomly coming on/off (atc, ABS, air bag, ect). About one month before fire the car was having issues with not starting and randomly dying as I was driving. The battery was tested and was not the issue. I loved my car but I don't think it was ever free of issues. (window regulators/clips replaced each window twice, oil in cylinders-replaced all cylinders/coils/ect twice, car would lose power/hesitate over 40mph, gas pedal would get stuck if pressed to quickly causing rpms to surge but car would not go over 25-30 MPH and would be extremely hard to stop (it would surge forward and I would have to put all my weight on the brake pedal to keep it from hitting whatever was in front of it) I would temp fix this issue by flicking the idle control lever (which I noticed one of the "e clips" had come off of one of the arms) near the throttle body (which would also get stuck open/closed and have to be cleaned on reg basis.) many more issues not listed here... Beautiful car but definitely a lemon...
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 lincoln ls. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a traffic stop, the vehicle would not respond. The RPM reading increased and the vehicle proceeded to lunge forward. The wrench warning icon was illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 88,600.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 lincoln ls. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and before shifting gears, the vehicle accelerated without manual force, causing the contact to have to use the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis but they were unable to duplicate the problem. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure was 86,000.
Vehicle was coming to a complete stop at a traffic light. While decelerating from approximately 20-30 MPH, the car suddenly surged forward with foot completely on the brake pedal. Car had decelerated to approximately 5 MPH when it suddenly accelerated. Driver swerved to avoid the car stopped in front, but vehicle struck the other car in the rear.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 lincoln ls. While driving over a speed bump and depressing the break pedal, the rpms began to increase and the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. The contact applied excessive force to the brake pedal in order for the vehicle to stop accelerating. The failure occurred sporadically. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technicians were unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer advised an engineer to inspect the vehicle. The engineer stated the throttle had to be replaced. Approximately six years after the throttle was replaced the contact experienced the identical failure again. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 6,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 lincoln ls. The contact stated when traveling at 35 MPH, the vehicle would sporadically surge forward then correct itself without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the ignition coil was replaced. There were no prior warnings of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 55,000. Updated 09/16-10 *bf the consumer stated on one occasions, the vehicle accelerated and hit the medium at a gas station. The vehicle was damaged. Updated 09/20/10
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 lincoln ls. When the brakes were applied, the vehicle lunged forward. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who reprogrammed the PCM control module. The failure continued to occur intermittently and the contact stated that it would also recur while decreasing speed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on numerous occasions where the PCM control module was reprogrammed approximately four times. The failure continued to recur intermittently. The contact also stated that the engine coils needed to be replaced every three to six months. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who confirmed that the sealant on the hood caused water to leak into the engine coils. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the current mileage was 122,975.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Lincoln LS sudden acceleration
Which Lincoln LS years have sudden unintended acceleration problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2000 (7 complaints), 2002 (6 complaints) and 2004 (5 complaints).
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