Throttle Body Pandemic of Ford Makes

[dchamb9414]

has anyone noticed that the '02 tbirds have the least amount of issues discussed in this forum. i (wife's) had an' 03 and it was so problematic that i sold it. i have an '02 with 40,000 miles and it keeps going with no issues, (hope i haven't jinxed myself). i went through the cops thing with the '03, cd player problems, air conditioner etc.

[tbird_gal]

Just to clarify, I did not have a Throttle Body System installed. I first had them replace the throttle body SENSOR, much less expensive but still 300.00
and the car went into Limp mode as I droive it off the lot from service.
Yes, Ford repair claimed that there were Throttle body error codes thrown when the car went into limp mode and I got the wrench light.

After It died AGAIN, while leaving the Ford service center, I insisted they test for COPs and they ran the diagnostics and this was indeed the problem. Again, as explained to me by the Ford shop foreman, when the cylinder misfires it occurs near the location of the Throttle body which causes false error codes and might be why they are reading Throttle Body codes off the cars computer and telling everyone this is a Throttle Body issue.

I'm really not a big, "Conspiracy theory" person but the COPs fix is free to customers, meaning Ford makes no money off of the customer and it ties up Ford Repair ... I am thinking that they are charging for Throttle Body replacements as a way of recapturing money lost from performing the COPs work. Whether they actually tell you they did the COPs fix or not, so I am thinking they are doing the COPS repair on a lot of your cars, maybe not even telling you and then actually telling customers, It is a throttlebody and making a good 1000.00 off the customer.

Too many people have had the Throttle Body system replaced, left or attempted to leave the dealer and the car went right into limp mode, I'm betting those cars got a COPs fix as the next service and you are beig told it was something related to Throttle body. Think about it, otherwise the repair shop would be reimbursing you for a false throttle body fix.

That is my Ford conspiracy theory :]

[Sterling]

My 2004 Tbird had throttle body issues in the fall. After being without my car for months and paying for my own rental car (thank Ford) I finally got the issue addressed. Now, less than six months later, my car went into limp mode again. I came very close to getting rear ended on a 50 mph street and barely made it home. I love my car, but I think this is the last straw.

[George]

Sounds exactly like COPS, coil on plugs, to me And you're covered up to 100,000 miles for just that

[tbird_gal]

I agree with George, you have a COPs issue. Print out the ford documentation that George has placed on this website and walk into the service dealer and get the service manager and demand they run the COPs test.

I've posted about this before, as I was much like the half dozen other owners who was trying to be sold a Throttle Boddy system(close 1K) as the repair for Limp mode.
PLEASE, PLEASE demand the COPs test be run before you agree to paying 800-1000.00 for a Throttle Body System

I let them talk me into replacing the Throttle Body Sensor(300.00) and the car died(limp mode) as I left the parking lot. So PLEASE - Demand the COPs test. Unless of course you feel like donating 1K to your local Ford service shop.


Lastly, the shop foreman pulled me off to the side and told me that he contacted his friend at the Lincoln service shop nearby and was told that this COPs problem can be related to a "Heat" issue, not sure if he meant the heat coming off of the engine itself ... thus even after repaired this could could happen to all of us again.

Good luck!

[George]

Thanks tbird_gal, good to see you posting again.
There is another test that can be done someone suspects they have COPS issues and want the error message to come up.
If there's a steep hill close by, go up slowly , in high gear, so as to make the engine labor. By doing this an error message will come up if you have COPS issues. Don't turn the car off, go directly to the dealer and show them the error code. Or if you do shut it down, write the code down so you don't forget.
Finally, since the engine in our Birds is Lincoln LS, the Lincoln dealers have more experience dealing with the COPS because they service both the LS's and TBirds. Therefore, a Lincoln dealer is your best bet for service. IMHO

[Sterling]

I found a dealership that was aware of the COPS problem and took my 2004, in. Not one but two (the 2 and the 6) coils were bad and had to be replaced. The driving experience was still very different from when the throttle body was replaced a few months ago, so I think I am just one of the lucky ones that has had both problems.

[Phillip]

Well, I got mine back yesterday, and even though I told them that I was certain it was a COP problem (I have a 2005 T-Bird) that was causing problems with acceleration and the "wrench" to show up on my dashboard, they said that the codes indicated a throttle body problem, and they replaced it (I had to pay a $100 deductible). I sure hope they are right.

[Phillip]

I think Tbird Gals comment about it being heat related is correct, since when I go to work in the morming in the summer, I did not get the problem, but when I go home in hte afternoon heat, on the same roads, I was getting the wrench to show up and the car was going into limp mode.

It really seems to me that the throttle body replacement that I just had done was a waste of time, but they were sure that was the problem.

George: You state that if you have to turn the car off before going to the dealership, to write the codes down so that you can show them to the serviceman there. What do you mean by that, since I would think I would need a special machine to hook up to the engine to do that, and I don't have such a thing. Can I go to an AutoZone or something like that to get the codes read off, and will they do it for free?

[George]

No Phil, I thought that if you had to shut the car off for any reason and restart it, that the codes may clear themselves. That's why I suggested writing them down so you could tell them. That's all

[Phillip]

Thanks, George. My question is how do I get the codes in the first place to write them down? Do I go to Advance Auto Parts or Auto Zone and can they pop my hood and plug some device to my car and get the codes for me (and does that cost anything)?

When I went to the dealership on Thursday afternoon, I asked them about the codes, since I had the "Wrench" appear on my car dashboard, and I did not want to turn the car off. They told me that they could read the codes from memory, which I said I thought could not be done based on my reading of posts on T-Bird forums, but they said that they could do it, and so I did not press them on that issue (they said that they could not just pull my car into the shop then and there to read the codes, and that they would do it later).

[George]

Generally the codes would come up on the dah, like the wrench does. That's why I said write them down. Unfortunately yours did not. BTW, have you looked in the book for the definition of the wrench light? I've heard of it but never have seen it
AutoZone may be able to read the codes but I believe they will clear after 1-4car starts. I could be wrong though, so keep us tuned in to the results when you can

[Phillip]

Thanks, George. I did not see any codes pop up on my dashboard when the wrench light came on after the car seemed to lose a cylinder or two. My vehicle manual says that the wrench light is to indicate a 'limp home' mode, and does not say much more than that. I did not also get the check engine light to go on when I had that condition.

Now, after saying all that, it has been 3 days since I had the throttle body replaced and I have driven about 200 miles during that time, and so far, so good. Maybe the Ford Dealership was right after all!

I will keep you posted.

[Phillip]

The T-bird still runs OK with the throttle assembly replaced. The only weird thing is that the T-bird does not seem to have the get-up-and-go like it did before. It definitely does not run like a vehicle in the limp-home mode, but it just seems like a restrictor plate has been placed on the car. Anyway, I should not complain, as the "wrench" does not appear on my dashboard, but my fingers are still crossed that a COPs issue will not appear in the future.

[Quickdraw]

Originally Posted by George

Generally the codes would come up on the dah, like the wrench does. That's why I said write them down. Unfortunately yours did not. BTW, have you looked in the book for the definition of the wrench light? I've heard of it but never have seen it
AutoZone may be able to read the codes but I believe they will clear after 1-4car starts. I could be wrong though, so keep us tuned in to the results when you can

While I can't say "for sure" I've heard that the codes stay in the computer for 30 starts.