I have a 2001 Lincoln LS V8, 108k miles, very well kept. It is now jerking/stuttering every 40 to 45 seconds in Drive or Reverse but with my foot on the brakes. It does not do this in Park or Neutral. The car did not jerk/stutter until I got it back from a Ford service shop for ball joint replacement because the car made a creeking sound when I would make a turn and step on the brakes. They also replaced my ABS module and clock spring because my air bag light stayed lit or flashing. In addition, my heated seats are no longer working since getting my car back from the service shop. What could be causing the jerking/stuttering? Could it have resulted from ball joint or air bag repair? Thank you for your help.
I don’t think the jerking/stuttering is a problem for you to worry about. It is the Ford service shop’s problem. I’d go back to Ford and talk to the service writer. if he/she doesn’t immediately offer to take care of your problem, talk to their supervisor. If in fact you didn’t have the two problems when you went into the shop, and you did when you picked up your car from the shop,it is pretty obvious they did something to cause the problem. It’s unfortunate you didn’t return to Ford right after you picked up your car, you might have a better case. Either way, I’d complain and don’t settle for a 50/50 deal where they offer to pay half your “new” bill for those problems. This really grinds my gears to hear about shoddy workmanship like this. It happens far too often. But before I bash Ford too much, give them the chance to correct their errors. The service department won’t lose any money by fixing your car again for free. It is the mechanic who did the shody work that will be working for free. (it’s called rework) That is, providing the mechanic is on flat rate pay, vs hourly wage.
Thank you! I have called the shop and the service manager wants to talk to me Tuesday.
It’s not likely at all that the other problems your car has are related to the ball joint or bag repair. The car is 9 years old and anything on it is subject to fail at any time.
With little or no info provided (especially about any codes that may exist) there’s a possibility the stuttering could be caused by an Idle Air Control valve.
The IAC controls the idle speed and is operated by the ECM, or engine computer.
IAC problems are not rare at all on any make of car and at 9 years of age it could very well be an IAC problem.
An IAC problem would also not be related to the work that was done.
If you have a chain type of auto parts house near you then you might consider having them scan the car for any codes.
It only takes a few minutes and they will do this for you absolutely free.
Thank you for your advice. I will certainly look into this.
An even more common failure on these cars is the COPs. Also check for oil leaks into the plug wells from the valve cover gaskets.
Brakes tied to misfire?
Interrelated problems like this make me suspect ground connections,.
Thanks! If I had it scanned for codes, would failure in COP show up? What does COP stand for?
The coils fail to varying degrees. A major fault will show up as a misfire code that can be read with an OBD-II scanner. A more minor fault will show up in the misfire counts that are stored. These can only be read with a Ford specific scanner. Truthfully though, they are pretty hard to find without scoping the ignition. The coils are cheap enough that it is usually more cost effective to just go ahead and change all eight of them. Check out some of the LS specific forums, like: