Free traders and housing bubble nuts

[Coronita]

[quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Hijack,
Are you serious? Listen, if you really want to get rid of the expedition and think it’s worthless, than you can actually help someone that wants to buy a car.

So…the problem with the cash for clunker is that you must own a “clunker” for the past year and had it insured for the past year. So this prevents someone from buying a clunker now and using it to get the incentive…But there are two “workarounds” i think will work

1) You use the incentive to buy a new car that someone wants and then turn it around and sell the new car to that person so you don’t lose money. (of course the person ends up paying for tax twice, because re-registering a car under a different owner requires you to pay registration to CA again

or

2) I think it actually works if both you and the person initially are on the title of the new car, and then you get off the title. If my understanding of how the c-f-c program works is that, only one person needs to have the clunker. So if you and someone else are purchasing a new car and both of you are listed “owners” of the new car, then two of you will qualify to get the government subsidy. Immediately after the sales transaction, you file a change of title with the DMV removing yourself from the title…Then the other person doesn’t end up getting double taxed because he/she was a “co-owner” to begin with. Of course the person actually buying a car needs to trust you, so you can probably only do this with a close friend or family.

Just saying….

[patientrenter]

I don’t have time to conduct my own extensive research on long-term car reliability and value, which are my most important car-buying criteria. So instead I use the most disinterested and reliable organization I know that does that kind of research – Consumer Reports, and general reports form all other sources.

Toyota and Honda have established consistently good records over a period of 20+ years on my criteria, according to Consumer Reports and most of my other sources. Until a US manufacturer has a consistently better record for maybe 10 years, I am unlikely to shift loyalty.

I prefer to buy US housing, meat and other selected products. We just can’t produce everything better than everybody else all the time. In the long run, we’re all better off buying the thing we want most at the best price, regardless of who produced it. (And that doesn’t preclude a preference for local products if they have better environmental standards, or some other quality, if that’s your priority.)

[patientrenter]

I don’t have time to conduct my own extensive research on long-term car reliability and value, which are my most important car-buying criteria. So instead I use the most disinterested and reliable organization I know that does that kind of research – Consumer Reports, and general reports form all other sources.

Toyota and Honda have established consistently good records over a period of 20+ years on my criteria, according to Consumer Reports and most of my other sources. Until a US manufacturer has a consistently better record for maybe 10 years, I am unlikely to shift loyalty.

I prefer to buy US housing, meat and other selected products. We just can’t produce everything better than everybody else all the time. In the long run, we’re all better off buying the thing we want most at the best price, regardless of who produced it. (And that doesn’t preclude a preference for local products if they have better environmental standards, or some other quality, if that’s your priority.)

[patientrenter]

I don’t have time to conduct my own extensive research on long-term car reliability and value, which are my most important car-buying criteria. So instead I use the most disinterested and reliable organization I know that does that kind of research – Consumer Reports, and general reports form all other sources.

Toyota and Honda have established consistently good records over a period of 20+ years on my criteria, according to Consumer Reports and most of my other sources. Until a US manufacturer has a consistently better record for maybe 10 years, I am unlikely to shift loyalty.

I prefer to buy US housing, meat and other selected products. We just can’t produce everything better than everybody else all the time. In the long run, we’re all better off buying the thing we want most at the best price, regardless of who produced it. (And that doesn’t preclude a preference for local products if they have better environmental standards, or some other quality, if that’s your priority.)

[patientrenter]

I don’t have time to conduct my own extensive research on long-term car reliability and value, which are my most important car-buying criteria. So instead I use the most disinterested and reliable organization I know that does that kind of research – Consumer Reports, and general reports form all other sources.

Toyota and Honda have established consistently good records over a period of 20+ years on my criteria, according to Consumer Reports and most of my other sources. Until a US manufacturer has a consistently better record for maybe 10 years, I am unlikely to shift loyalty.

I prefer to buy US housing, meat and other selected products. We just can’t produce everything better than everybody else all the time. In the long run, we’re all better off buying the thing we want most at the best price, regardless of who produced it. (And that doesn’t preclude a preference for local products if they have better environmental standards, or some other quality, if that’s your priority.)

[patientrenter]

I don’t have time to conduct my own extensive research on long-term car reliability and value, which are my most important car-buying criteria. So instead I use the most disinterested and reliable organization I know that does that kind of research – Consumer Reports, and general reports form all other sources.

Toyota and Honda have established consistently good records over a period of 20+ years on my criteria, according to Consumer Reports and most of my other sources. Until a US manufacturer has a consistently better record for maybe 10 years, I am unlikely to shift loyalty.

I prefer to buy US housing, meat and other selected products. We just can’t produce everything better than everybody else all the time. In the long run, we’re all better off buying the thing we want most at the best price, regardless of who produced it. (And that doesn’t preclude a preference for local products if they have better environmental standards, or some other quality, if that’s your priority.)

[Coronita]

[quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.

500 has some TSB outstanding, but not any less or more than some the other cars (far fewer than I’ve seen for some of the german brands).

[Coronita]

[quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.

500 has some TSB outstanding, but not any less or more than some the other cars (far fewer than I’ve seen for some of the german brands).

[Coronita]

[quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.

500 has some TSB outstanding, but not any less or more than some the other cars (far fewer than I’ve seen for some of the german brands).

[Coronita]

[quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.

500 has some TSB outstanding, but not any less or more than some the other cars (far fewer than I’ve seen for some of the german brands).

[Coronita]

[quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.

500 has some TSB outstanding, but not any less or more than some the other cars (far fewer than I’ve seen for some of the german brands).

[Allan from Fallbrook]

[quote=flu][quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.[/quote]

FLU: You’re aces. Thanks, man, I’ll call Ford back in the morning and direct their attention to this. Fucking idiots couldn’t “find” the problem, even though FoMoCo issued a tech advisory on it. Brilliant.

It’s just the instrument cluster and it doesn’t affect vehicle performance in the slightest. Good news is that I can show the nice CHP officer my dead speedo after he pulls me over and claim I couldn’t be speeding because my speedometer said I was going “0”.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

[quote=flu][quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.[/quote]

FLU: You’re aces. Thanks, man, I’ll call Ford back in the morning and direct their attention to this. Fucking idiots couldn’t “find” the problem, even though FoMoCo issued a tech advisory on it. Brilliant.

It’s just the instrument cluster and it doesn’t affect vehicle performance in the slightest. Good news is that I can show the nice CHP officer my dead speedo after he pulls me over and claim I couldn’t be speeding because my speedometer said I was going “0”.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

[quote=flu][quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.[/quote]

FLU: You’re aces. Thanks, man, I’ll call Ford back in the morning and direct their attention to this. Fucking idiots couldn’t “find” the problem, even though FoMoCo issued a tech advisory on it. Brilliant.

It’s just the instrument cluster and it doesn’t affect vehicle performance in the slightest. Good news is that I can show the nice CHP officer my dead speedo after he pulls me over and claim I couldn’t be speeding because my speedometer said I was going “0”.

[Allan from Fallbrook]

[quote=flu][quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=paramount]Anyone interested in a 5,000lb American made paperweight in my driveway that goes by the name of Ford Expedition?

Oh yah, in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the electrical system is fried due to a manufacturer’s defect.

I have decided to get smart in car buying buying – in the future I’m sticking to Toyota, Nissan or Honda or even one of the K cars.

I’m tired of handing my hard earned money over to the Ford dealer for constant service.[/quote]

Paramount: Just out of curiosity, what is the nature of your electrical problem? I ask because I have a Ford 500 that has been experiencing a “gremlin” in my dash panel and console electrical systems and Ford has no idea what the hell is going on. It manifests itself by knocking the gauge panel out (which is nice when you’re doing 70 on the 15) and then vanishes.

What’s the nature of your ailment, and does it sound in any way similar?[/quote]

Ask them if they checked this TSB that is out there….

http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4353
Otherwise find another dealer/mechanic. It should be in their database of outstanding TSB’s if they know what their doing.

Affects Taurus/500, Freestyle, Montego

There’s a couple of additional ones out there too on electrical.
http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=27

TSB
06-6-2 INTERMITTENT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE SWEEP/RESET – MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON – REVERSE LIGHTS ON – VEHICLES BUILT BEFORE 2/17/2006

Publication Date: March 9, 2006

FORD: 2005-2006 Five Hundred, Freestyle
MERCURY: 2005-2006 Montego

Also, if it’s still under warranty, force them to pull out your ECM/ECU and swap it with another one IF the grelim is beyond just keeping your cluster lit. if your car is actually cutting out, there’s no excuse for not replacing the ECM/ECU even if they can’t find the root cause because it is a major safety issue. If it’s just a cluster defect, then well it’s not an immediate safety issue, ask them to just swap clusters to try it out (if they haven’t already).

I’d vote on thermal fatigue on some eletronic component’s solder joint as a problem…Good luck finding that one… Seriously, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

BTW: i found the most effective way to judge a car’s reliability is NOT buy the initial quality survey conducted by JD Powers….but instead by the total number of outstanding Technical Service Bulletins and/or recalls for a particular make/model/production run of vehicle. JD Powers only evaluates the quality within the first year or two of vehicle ownership.[/quote]

FLU: You’re aces. Thanks, man, I’ll call Ford back in the morning and direct their attention to this. Fucking idiots couldn’t “find” the problem, even though FoMoCo issued a tech advisory on it. Brilliant.

It’s just the instrument cluster and it doesn’t affect vehicle performance in the slightest. Good news is that I can show the nice CHP officer my dead speedo after he pulls me over and claim I couldn’t be speeding because my speedometer said I was going “0”.

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