200,000 mile report

C

cbird

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Jul 20, 2005
I know a lot of these Thunderbirds are not daily drivers and so do not accumulate many miles. I bought my 2005 new and have used it as a daily driver as long as the weather here in Wisconsin permits (I have used it in the Winter a few times, but can say it really would require real snow tires to make the Thunderbird good in the snow). I am now up to 215,000 miles and thought a lot of you might want to know how the car has done with this kind of use. First, I will describe my maintenance approach. Because rust is a major fear, I had "Rustcheck", a Canadian rust prevention system applied the first year and most years since (it was formerly available in Duluth, MN, but I will have to go to Canada to find a dealer at this point). Rustcheck protects the wiring as well as sheet metal, so I have favored it. I also had "Counteract," an electronic rust prevention system, installed a couple of years ago. This applies a continuous electric current to the car that helps prevent the oxidation process from occurring. So far, so good - I had more strangers walk up to me and remark how good the car looks this year than ever before. I have done oil changes about every 5000 miles, using mostly Motorcraft full synthetic, but sometimes Motorcraft semi-synthetic. I have done transmission fluid changes about every 30,000 miles and will also have the brake fluid, power steering fluid, and rear differential lubricant changed at the same visit. I have done almost all of this at Ford dealers, as they have good access to Ford parts, when needed. The car has been very reliable and still seems as peppy as ever and still gets 23 to 25 mpg on mostly highway driving. I have had to have a few repairs performed and these were:
heater control valve and wiring harness connector replacement at 71,100 miles
ignition coils replaced, two at 86,791 and the remaining six at 89,452
evaporation canisters replaced 106,598 (the car was stalling - no, I was not topping off the fuel)
brake pads and rotors replaced all four wheels 132,047
cooling fan replaced 138,198
serpentine belt replaced 155,012
mufflers and catalytic convertors replaced 166,000
upper radiator hose replaced 187,821

I also had the left front inner and outer tie rods replaced, but the originals were fine until the car was towed once (had slid off of an icy road) - these cars should only be towed with a flat bed trailer, as I learned the hard way.

The engine and transmission have been fine. I had a period when the car would seem to have slipped out of gear when I stopped at intersections (the harder the braking the more likely this was to happen) and then pause before going back into gear, but this just quit occurring (I did have some Ford transmission update done and maybe that helped). The car still moves and handles like new and the interior has very little apparent wear on it, with the dash and seats still in great condition. People are always surprised when I tell them how many miles the car has. I intend to keep driving it for the forseeable future and expect to put a few hundred thousand miles more on it. I was inspired at a classic car show in California a few years ago. There was a beautiful 1957 Corvette on display that looked almost new. The man showing it told me he was actually the original owner and had used the car all along and just kept it up, had never restored it per se.
I know Ford Crown Victorias will routinely go over 400,000 miles without drivetrain issues (I know this from talking with many cab drivers about their high mileage vehicles) and so expect my car will make it, too.
 
Thanks for sharing! Great information! Anyone else have experiences to share?

P.S. if you ever do have issues with the transmission, I've alway had great luck on Fords with Lucas Transmission fix as long as I used it right after I had issues! Here is a link -http://amzn.to/2fDXZXJ
 
I have those same transmission problems and usually right after a servicing, it turns out to be the check valve in the pump it sticks in the open position and takes some rpm to close it and then the transmission slams into gear. So go easy on the rpm. I haven't added any additives to it because it only happens when the temperature goes down below 40 degrees.
 
I know a lot of these Thunderbirds are not daily drivers and so do not accumulate many miles. I bought my 2005 new and have used it as a daily driver as long as the weather here in Wisconsin permits (I have used it in the Winter a few times, but can say it really would require real snow tires to make the Thunderbird good in the snow). I am now up to 215,000 miles and thought a lot of you might want to know how the car has done with this kind of use. First, I will describe my maintenance approach. Because rust is a major fear, I had "Rustcheck", a Canadian rust prevention system applied the first year and most years since (it was formerly available in Duluth, MN, but I will have to go to Canada to find a dealer at this point). Rustcheck protects the wiring as well as sheet metal, so I have favored it. I also had "Counteract," an electronic rust prevention system, installed a couple of years ago. This applies a continuous electric current to the car that helps prevent the oxidation process from occurring. So far, so good - I had more strangers walk up to me and remark how good the car looks this year than ever before. I have done oil changes about every 5000 miles, using mostly Motorcraft full synthetic, but sometimes Motorcraft semi-synthetic. I have done transmission fluid changes about every 30,000 miles and will also have the brake fluid, power steering fluid, and rear differential lubricant changed at the same visit. I have done almost all of this at Ford dealers, as they have good access to Ford parts, when needed. The car has been very reliable and still seems as peppy as ever and still gets 23 to 25 mpg on mostly highway driving. I have had to have a few repairs performed and these were:
heater control valve and wiring harness connector replacement at 71,100 miles
ignition coils replaced, two at 86,791 and the remaining six at 89,452
evaporation canisters replaced 106,598 (the car was stalling - no, I was not topping off the fuel)
brake pads and rotors replaced all four wheels 132,047
cooling fan replaced 138,198
serpentine belt replaced 155,012
mufflers and catalytic convertors replaced 166,000
upper radiator hose replaced 187,821

I also had the left front inner and outer tie rods replaced, but the originals were fine until the car was towed once (had slid off of an icy road) - these cars should only be towed with a flat bed trailer, as I learned the hard way.

The engine and transmission have been fine. I had a period when the car would seem to have slipped out of gear when I stopped at intersections (the harder the braking the more likely this was to happen) and then pause before going back into gear, but this just quit occurring (I did have some Ford transmission update done and maybe that helped). The car still moves and handles like new and the interior has very little apparent wear on it, with the dash and seats still in great condition. People are always surprised when I tell them how many miles the car has. I intend to keep driving it for the forseeable future and expect to put a few hundred thousand miles more on it. I was inspired at a classic car show in California a few years ago. There was a beautiful 1957 Corvette on display that looked almost new. The man showing it told me he was actually the original owner and had used the car all along and just kept it up, had never restored it per se.
I know Ford Crown Victorias will routinely go over 400,000 miles without drivetrain issues (I know this from talking with many cab drivers about their high mileage vehicles) and so expect my car will make it, too.
Hello CBird, Im having an issue with my 2005 third, It overheated , I added coolant to the resoivor and filled it to the top. I could not see a full line on the tank. Should i have put th ecoolant in the radiator? Also is leaked a ton of coolant in garage but i drove just around neighborhood and the temp stayed at half . And the coolant in tank was half full. Im wanting to know could all the coolant that. Leaked be from me over filling the tank? It was suggested to me that it could be the heater. ????????? Control. I hate to take it in and pay for them to tell me its fine. Any suggestions would be appreciated. PS i have less than 30,000. Have had the ac compressor replaced twice, brake cylinder, new brakes and rotors . Just had rotors done about 300 miles ago, they squeak like a hamster wheel. Drives in crazy. I took it back they sadi it was fixed and i can swear its worse. OK thats my story . Thanks Vita,
 
Just had rotors done about 300 miles ago, they squeak like a hamster wheel. Drives in crazy. I took it back they sadi it was fixed and i can swear its worse. OK thats my story . Thanks Vita,

Squeaky brakes are nearly ALWAYS caused by the brake pads from my personal experience . I had a car that did that, fortunately i can change my own brake pads and i found brake pads that did not squeak.

I posted some products on this thread related to brakes today @vita powlison http://forums.fordthunderbirdforum....-cross-drilled-rotors-brakes.5009/#post-31561
 
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Hello CBird, Im having an issue with my 2005 third, It overheated , I added coolant to the resoivor and filled it to the top. I could not see a full line on the tank. Should i have put th ecoolant in the radiator? Also is leaked a ton of coolant in garage but i drove just around neighborhood and the temp stayed at half . And the coolant in tank was half full. Im wanting to know could all the coolant that. Leaked be from me over filling the tank? It was suggested to me that it could be the heater. ????????? Control. I hate to take it in and pay for them to tell me its fine. Any suggestions would be appreciated. PS i have less than 30,000. Have had the ac compressor replaced twice, brake cylinder, new brakes and rotors . Just had rotors done about 300 miles ago, they squeak like a hamster wheel. Drives in crazy. I took it back they sadi it was fixed and i can swear its worse. OK thats my story . Thanks Vita,
You should not have to add more coolant. You probably overfilled it and this is what probably caused your leak. Mine overheated once and it had to have the cooling fan replaced. It did need a new heater control valve at one point, but I don't remember what the issue was. If yours overheated, then something is wrong and you could end up with serious engine damage if
it is not repaired, so this is one case where you really need to take it to the dealer and have it looked at - I doubt they will tell you nothing is wrong. I hope your brakes improve - I've never had squeeling with mine (agree with Tbird- it's probably the pads). Please let me know how your overheating issue turns out.
 
That is Awesome! 22K and only had the fuel pump replaced at 15K when it failed! Jim
 
I had a overheat problem also and it caused the car to loose all power while in the 2nd line of the freeway. I was able to coast over to the side of the road. My thermostat ,air compressor, water pump and so on long story short $ 3683.00 then my brakes pads needed to be replaced. For a car with only 43000 miles the costs keep going up. My wife ordered it for me for my 50th birthday . It is the 50th Anniversary Limited Edition "Cashmere" so I had to fix it. Oh well life goes on.....
 
Very good to hear as mine is also my daily.
Approaching the 100,000 mile mark now.....
 
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