Dan:
Since it's an '02 it's probably out of warranty. I did a
search, elsewhere, for you and found that a lot of the early cars had issues with the
CD changer. Here's what I found:
*The
CD's get very hot and when car is shut down for a while it cools off and
CD's come out
*Many got "
CD Error" and had the dealers replace the units. They were replaced with re-manufactured
CD players
*A few Squeeled, but the majority were just plain hot
*Some reported that it was slots 3 & 4 that were the issue
*Do not use paper labeled
CD's as the heat will cause the labels to come loose
*Very many of these were intermittant failures
I have an '02 since new and never had any
CD issues - Actually I never had any problems with my car.
I'll copy a message from Ford, below, that was posted in February 2003 about these issue, from a poster on a site:
Just wanted to let you all know that I received in today's mail a notice from Ford Motor Company entitled "Keep Your
CD Changer in Tune." The notice is a reminder about the "proper usage" of the
CD changer in our vehicle. It says:
"The CDx6 changer in your vehicle is designed to play commercially pressed 12 cm (4.75 in.) audio compact discs only. CDs that are irregularly shaped, contain a scratch protection film or have an adhesive paper label should not be inserted into your CDx6 changer. Over time, the label may cause the
CD to become stuck in the CDx6 changer. If you wish to play homemade recordable CDs in your vehicle, it is recommended that you use a permanent felt tip marker to identify the disc. If you have any questions or concerns about the CDx6 changer in your vehicle, please contact the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673. At the prompt, select Option 3, then Option 2."
Jamming problems with the Thunderbird's
CD player have been discussed on this board before, but as far as I know, this is the first official notice about the issue released by Ford.
I hope some of this info helps. And, quite frankly, if it were me I just wouldn't use the player before I spend $700.