I recently bought a used Lincoln MKZ 3.5L V6 with 82000 miles on it,test drove it everything was fine I loved it, I loved the all wheel drive especialy. A few hours later while driving to work and going aproximatley 30 miles and hour I went over a few pot holes and I got a very strong Studdering and shake through the whole car reminisent of when you try to brake on snow or on ice really hard and your abs starts to shudder or studder along with the heavy clicking sound which is usaly associated with abs kicking in, however this is happening in october there is no ice or water on the ground and seems to happen randomly. whether I am pressing the brake or not. when I slow at a red light the noise and shuddering go away until i go back to to 30 -40 mph then it comes and goes and last for 3-5 seconds then quits if i slow down or accelerate over 45 mph. I thought maybe it was a simple wheel balance issue so I got that checked out at a tires plus and they said the problem I was describing was probably my 2 front bearings but they did the wheel balance for me anyways. The quote they gave me was thru the roof so I wanted to get a second opinion. when I brought it to my friends brothers shop that same day he said it definetly wasnt a bearing problem but he also had no idea what the problem is, he said it seemed like an abs problem. there is no abs light on in the dash in-fact no engine or any other problem lights are on in the dash at all. So all in all I have stumped 2 mechanics (1 of whom i trust) and the dealership said they cant help me since I bought it with no warranty. The car is being brought back to the trusted mechanic on friday so he can inspect everything and bring his boss along who is more experienced and can maybe help identify the problem. Just in case they still don’t know I wanted to come at them with some ideas in response to this post. so have at it. (all the second mechanic did was drive it with me to hear the problem himself so actualy hasnt raised it to look at the suspension yet.)
It definatly sound like an abs problem. Why no light? Turn the ignition to acc/run to make sure the abs light illuminates. I’d have them hook up the obd2 scanner up to see if it pulls any codes. Hopefully someone with more abs system experience will chime in before you take the car to the doctor.
Good luck!
Sounds like a loose connection…abs wheel sensor?
Thanks for the responses I will let my mechanic know of these. thanks guys.
Sounds like typical Ford torque converter shudder. Change the transmission fluid and see if that cures it.