Five Hundred Fail
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2022
- Steve examines a 2007 Ford Five Hundred with rare All Wheel Drive. Paying tribute to Ford legends like Galaxie 500 and Torino 500, this Volvo-based full size four door failed to connect with traditional buyers so after three model years, the same basic car reverted to a Taurus nameplate and all was well again in Dearborn. Wait, what? A Volvo based Ford? Watch the video and learn…
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I bought one brand new, one of the best cars I ever owned, never had any trouble with it , had 172,00 on it when I sold it after 12 years and the guy is still driving it.
Their transfer case was a handgrenade with the pin out in AWD models. Notorious for burning up.
Best thing for this car is a handgrenade
Is it same one in the sho? I had a 13 sho and the transfer case went twice and the frunt diff exploded once.
@@robertstone9988 I don't know but the location of it being near the exhaust and the small amount of fluid (1 qt I think?) causes them to fail often
@@cwie2968 I was not easy on that car. I assumed it was a high performance car I took it to the track I got one clean run then next launch bang transfer case. Fixed that few months later hard high way pull I hear a grind, gess what....trasfercase then about a year after that at the track again and big big bang and it was the frunt diff and it litterly exploded. The smell of diff fluid is so bad and your the guy who fucked the track up for every one for at least 30 min. I fixed it one last time and sold the car. I have a 08 gt mustang with a whipple blower now. Never broke even with slicks on it.
@@cwie2968 they still pull that same crap today, service the ptu often and you should not have trouble.
The story I heard about the discontinuation of the Five Hundred name was incoming CEO Alan Mulally getting the executive team together and asking them point blank "let me get this straight. You dropped the super-popular Taurus name in favor of Five Hundred?" The executive team sheepishly acknowledged affirmative. Alan made the decision on the spot to drop the Five Hundred moniker and bring back the Taurus/Sable.
Spot on. Mulally talked about that in his book American Icon. A good read for car guys.
I also heard Ford was trying to give their entire lineup, save The Mustang, names starting with “F”.
Yeah to me it would have seemed smarter to make it the Taurus 500, I remember when this car came out and thought how odd it was to look like a Taurus but not have the Taurus name.
I do distantly remember this being confusing.
@@seed_drill7135 F-150,Focus,Fusion,Flex…
I cannot figure out what that car is doing in the junkyard. Inside, it looks like it just came from a detailer and nothing in the engine bay seems obviously wrong. Love to know the story on this one.
As another poster noted their 500's subframe rusted out around 250k. Its probably got similar issues underneath, being a NE car I bet it has rust beyond what's practical to fix up.
The CVTs on these were built by ZF in Ohio. As far as I know, they were only used on the 2005-2008 Five Hundreds and the Freestyle wagons. Probably a transmission issue with this car did it in, due to lack of parts and service availability.
@@martinliehs2513 supposedly the CVTs were very reliable in the five hundred very surprising considering we used to joke that ZFstood for zero effs given for quality regarding their manual transmissions bac in my junkyard days.
@@edpoe4622 I had a Freestyle for about 7 years. It was actually a great vehicle for the family. I never had any issues with the CVT either, but heard that parts and service expertise were an issue for those that did. Sold it at about 85,000 miles.
@@edpoe4622can confirm my cvt is going 204k strong, slips a little every now and then but not bad for the mileage.
I had one of those 500s as a company car. A friend of mine bought his after the company lease ran out and his is closing in on 400,000 miles !!
the thing I love about your channel is your muscle car guy through and through but you still educate people on cars most wouldn't give a shit about
I own a 2006 SEL and that thing has been one of the best cars I have ever owned. What is so interesting about the 500 is that it is a few inches shorter than the Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis, But its bigger inside wrap your head around that aspect of the Five Hundred and the Mercury Montego. Over all i see no point in getting rid of mine as it only has 92,000 on it and running in tip top shape.
My mom had one of these, it was the awd fully loaded model and it was a really nice car. When we finally decided to get rid of it it had close to 300k miles and we hadn't done anything to it but the traction control was starting to have issues when using cruise control. Car handled like it was on rails with the awd set up and the transmission being the way it was there was no shifting to upset the balance of the car in curves.
You probably just needed to replace some wheel bearings.
I'm quickly becoming addicted to these videos Steve!!
Yeah me 2 good screen rapport
It’s a good addiction to have.
Look forward to them everyday. And may I add, I’ve moved on from Scotty.
Great review and video ! This Ford 500 was going to replace the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis but the sales were a disappointment, the Panther platform were too profitable to axe . I love the Panther platform for their reliability and durability .
Full frame and no freak wheel drive for the win 🙂
and Pinto style gas tank - - many police departments installed a FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM in the trunk because of the design
Adored the crown victoria until i learned about the silly fuel tank placement and Ford's decision to not move it in front of the rear axle for a pittance.
At around the same time (2005?), the Fusion was introduced. I think that model was really meant to replace the market space occupied by the Taurus sedan since the mid 80s.
Those cars were so much bigger than other cars of the day
I was surprised when I realized the hood on the cheap 98 Ranger XLT I bought ten years ago was aluminum. When I took it for inspection in New Hampshire they called me after two pages worth of problems and said it probably wasn't worth fixing. I fixed everything over the first winter I lived here and it paid for itself quickly running across the scales at 7,500 pounds many times even with a swiss cheese frame. Made decent money doing snow removal in Mass with it too for five years until the transmission finally went. I am my car's extended warranty.
smart, those extended warranties are a joke
@@michelletaylor5691 Unless you're Doug DeMuro and own a Range Rover.
My Dad had one. I loved driving that car, I could go all day. Sooo comfy.
The wagon version was the Freestyle and the AWD Limited model from 2005-07 was a fantastic vehicle. Absolute tank in the snow and very comfortable car for daily driving or trips. Great cars.
good looking car
I dont think anyone else in the world has used the word "fantastic" to describe the Freestyle or Taurus X.... Fantastic certainly isnt a word that comes to mind for most people lol
I just picked up an 06 lol limited
@@DillyDankBuds I have an 06 AWD Limited and love that thing lol. I’ve hit 3 deer with it, and the front end shows it lol, but I absolutely love that damn car and think I’m just going to get a police brush guard and make a tribute SSP Police Interceptor wagon lol. Would love todo an EcoBoost swap down the road. We’ll see lol.
A poor replacement for the Taurus and Sable wagon. I hate Crossovers.
I never associated the Five Hundred with a Galaxy 500 even though I'm old enough to remember the Galaxy name. Ford should have called it the Galaxy 500 if they expected people to remember the name. I do remember the car and it was quite a bit larger than the Taurus at the time.
Me neither & I owned a '64 Galaxie 500 Fastback plus a '70 Galaxie 500, both were three on tree. Fairly common for '64, not so much in '70.
A friend of mine, said the very same thing.
The problem was that the people that DID KNOW the nameplate "500" or "Galaxy 500" were aware that 60,000 miles was the most you could reasonably expect out of those nameplates
@@brianstough5286 I swapped a 32K 390 in place of 289 in my '64(yeah just because, The 75K 289 was fine). It went another 140K mi, in other words 390 had 172K mi and around 217K total. Still ran OK when sold, used a lot of oil.
*Galaxie 500
We owned a 2007 Five Hundred fwd Limited from almost new for 11 years. It was a great car. Tons of room, for passengers and in the trunk. Extremely comfortable car. The only real issue we had was we had to replace the AC compressor. It got great gas mileage for what it was. We got 26-28 mpg all the time out on the road and would sometimes even see 30+ under the right circumstances.
They cheated you on that repair. There is an aftermarket part you can replace inside the AC Compressor that’s very easy to do.
Another interesting junkyard review ! That “Fried Beans” dealership is just a few miles from my house in PA. 😉
These were actually a fair car, although a lot like the contour, never caught on. Owning such abandonware could be tough, as parts became rare and expensive.
Love the Weed Wacker opening.
just had to retire my 07 500 limited awd. the frint subframe rotted. it has just under 250,000 miles. the cvt trans and awd worked perfectly. thev engine still ran great. its was the best car i have owned.
Did you eve have the PUT/AWD serviced? I need to get this done on mine. Thanks!
@@HP-hm3pn yeah, this is biggest concern I have regarding my 2006 AWD at 176k right now.
I remember the Galaxie 500, and I especially lived the styling of the '63 and '65. For me the key word was Galaxie, not Five Hundred. I've been aware of this Five Hundred car since it cam out and not once did I associate the 500 with the old classic awesome Galaxie.
Yeah, and I don't think of it as "full-sized", either.
The rear subframes were made out of compressed rust and failed really quickly.
The f150s of same time period were also made of compressed rust.
My guess is the CVT put this in the junkyard before it could fully deploy the compressed rust.
@@LP-ov8mp as were the rangers... Just spent a couple weekends welding one back together
@@Freedomquest08 The 6 speed was the problem transmission - the CVT actually lasted
Friends had one of these Five Hundreds. It was actually a nice car with a good amount of room for side. The couple that had it were seniors so I doubt theirs ever had the tach pegged!
When I was shopping for a car for my elderly mother, we ended up with a CVT AWD 2006 500. What sold me on the car was the seat height was the same as a common chair. So Mom could get in and out rather easily compared to other cars. I also do not think the 500 was marketed well. I remember seeing them in the local Ford dealership show room and wondered why I'd never heard of them!
Thats why cars are dying...to hard to get in and out of them. The 500 was great
Had a 05 500. Great car I bought it with 160k miles I ended up selling it when it hit 210k. Really solid cars
Rented one 15 years ago. Drove it cross country and back with no problems. Really comfortable cruiser. Cruised at 85-95 on I 40 going through New Mexico and Arizona. Sweet ride.
The Five Hundred and Freestyle are just different body styles of the same vehicle. The vast majority I've seen for sale are because of CVT failures, and yes the FWD Freestyle models have CVT's. Many people are scared because they're told those CVT transmissions aren't available at any price. I was lucky in that a fluid & filter change brought mine back to life. I've already had to deal with the aluminum hood corrosion and next I'll tackle the rusting engine cradle.
My father in law had a 2006 Five Hundred. Bought it brand new off the showroom floor. When he passed away in 2008 we bought it from the estate and are still driving it. He was a 30 year Ford employee and WW2 vet. The car still runs great but our mechanic says it's getting old.
¡Es que el pinche mecánico se quiere quedar con el! jajajajaja
Hey Steve, my cc spells out steve and Jonny when you say your name. It amazes me how involved you get with each and every car. No matter the make model year , your passion is contagious and inspiring. Thank you
Lol or Steve Yanny
Man these cars seem so new to me!
Thanks for showing more recent cars! Excellent
My Dad bought a new “Custom 500” back in 1973.
Mercury did the same thing, the Mercury Sable became the "Mercury Montego" (the name of an older Mercury) and it sold "sipo" The AWD (all wheel drive) transfer case is called the the transmission power take-off and that unit had a very high failure rate and expensive to replace. Ford would not supply repair parts so a new unit was the only correction. That is probably why the Ford Five Hundred is in the junk yard now.
I had a used 2005 Mercury Montego which is the same car and I bought it as a A-B work car and initially didn’t think it would be anything more than a cheap car. I really liked it, it was comfortable with leather seats and a smooth ride. The only thing I ever replaced on it was the throttle body, the throttle position sensor was not a replacement part you could get, just the whole thing. I had it for years and sold it to my brother in-law who let it go, idiot. When I needed another car at the beginning of this year, I found a 2008 Mercury Sable which has the 3.5 V6 in it with just over 100k, it was cheap and I drive it everywhere. They really are good cars, a grandpa car to be sure but for commuting it really is a great car.
I bought a 2006 Ford five hundred new and still drive it today. It has around 160,000 miles. I keep it well maintained, and have not had any problems. The only out of normal repair was the alternator. I still like the car.
I really enjoyed that review. Thank you.
I bought an 06 AWD 500 for my daughter a couple years ago. It only had 48000 miles on it. It's been a great car.
I have the same model. Just Google for the AC not cooling when idling to find the part (scroll compressor valve) you need to replace inside the compressor. It’s an easy fix.
Despite being in MA, this vehicle displays a NYS registration and inspection sticker.
The Volvo-based car was always intended to be the Taurus - eventually. There was an agreement with the UAW to keep the Taurus name on the current product at the Atlanta plant. They needed an interim name. They planned to shut down the Chicago plant and consolidate to Atlanta, the best plant at the time. But then a developer came in with a big bag of money and Ford reversed the plan. The developer was gambling on the Atlanta airport expansion, and lost when the expansion went in a different direction. I believe Audi and Porsche of America now occupy that property.
I think they were still making the jellybean Taurus. So they told Mazda use their chassis. So they took the jello being Taurus and made the Mazda 6.
They went racing they went at Laguna seca with the Mazda 6 brought out some new styles in different motor and transmission choices. Ford liked what they did with it and brought out the Ford fusion freeing up the Taurus name.
Never owned the Ford 500. I owned a black 59 Fairlane 500 with Galaxy trim. I bought my wife an 07 Ford Fusion with the 3.0 AWD and that car was a tank! I sold it with well north 300k on the clock. We don't get a huge amount of snow here. But on many occasions the wife on her way home from work during a snowstorm would pass a many 4x4 Toyota Ford and Chevy trucks stuck on the side of the rd...lol. That engine had 221hp and it would set you back in the seat. The water pump mentioned by Steve has to be the easiest to replace. All though I never replaced anything on that engine except the coil overs and spark plugs. It always had Amsoil products in the engine and drive train. The PTU (Power Transfer Unit) can be an expensive repair and a bear to get to the oil plug. You have to have a long funnel with a hose attached and take off the passenger side front wheel. But it's possible. Great video as usual by the living legend Steve Mags...Namaste bro 🤙🏼
I love my five hundred. It drives so smooth and quiet but feels like it has so much power. The only downfall I can think off off the top of my head is that to replace the rear 3 spark plugs you have to remove the intake manifold and it's quite a bit of work. Meaning if u don't do it a mechanic will charge more for it due to the labor.
I remember the 1st new 500 I saw. It was sitting right next to a new Crown Victoria. Both were white and both had grey interiors, and both were mid range specifications on options. I was surprised at how big it was in comparison to the Taurus and Crown Vic. My thought was the 500 was intended to be the eventual replacement for the Crown Vic. I thought the 500 name was the wrong choice. It should have used Galaxy or LTD in the name.
But then Ford released the updated Ford Explorer on the same platform and buyers took one look and jumped on that and never even glanced at the 500. The 500 was a name that had no recognition or meaning to the public by its self.
Fred Beans! Right up the street. Doylestown, Bucks County PA!
Looks very clean inside.
Great car. Large window you can actully see out of, great seat hieght for ease of entry/exit, huge back seat and trunk The most practical car made in the past 25 years.
So true, just bought an 07 and I can actually get my gimpy ass in and out with a minimum of grunting.
Always thought the 500 was a great name, brought back from. earlier days. the interior on this car looks like new. A massive change from most of the interiors in the yard that you have posted.
I loved my 500 had it for 10 years.
I worked on the launch of this car in 2003 with a former employer. We made the headliner and package tray and sequence them into the Ford Chicago assembly facility. At least the headliner wasn’t sagging down in that car! lol
Thanks for another lesson Steve!
I enjoy each video. So much knowledge and information about our car culture, new and old. Great stuff....only missing the much loved stab at motor trend....
I used to have a Ford Five Hundred, had it for 5 years. (LOVED that car) It was an all wheel drive model, based on the Volvo all wheel drive system. It was gray with blue wheels, god I miss that car!
my uncle had one new and I was mind blown at how spacious, powerful and yet still quiet it was inside. nothing arrogant or showy about it but it really moved much better than most foreign OR domestic alternatives at the time
Bought a Five Hundred AWD LTD in September and absolutely loving it! My first car and perfect for my weekly commutes between YYC and YMM!
More good stuff! Steve I think you misspoke about how long Ford owned Volvo. 1999 thru 2010 is eleven years. Nevertheless, I can remember a friend of mine who was a Volvo aficionado complaining that the Volvo looked too much like a Ford Taurus.
Yup, when Alan Mulally got there as the new CEO (from Boeing) the first thing he did was get rid of all the other car companies they owned. Volvo, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda etc.
I count 12 model years 1999 to 2010 inclusive.
I was scratching my head on that comment too. He actually went out of his way to reiterate the " 1 year" math error two different times throughout the video. That must've been a long year...
Yeah, but those years went by quickly, didn't they?
and the jaguar also looked too much like the taurus
We're all pulling for you Steve. Hope to see you soon
Relatively speaking this is the Mint-est car you reviewed! Im gonna bet this will still be there 30 years from now just like the panel van etc etc. An Auto Museum like no other thanks for the vids!! PS...waiting on a Pontiac Strato-Chief Hubcap if you can thanks again.
Someone needs to rescue this car!
Thanks for all you do Steve! I to look forward to a new video everyday!!!!
I saw the Fred Beans dealership sticker, local to me in PA. Cool to see one of those moved from here all the way to Massachusetts for the rest of its life. Awesome stuff Steve
Ironically, right in back there is another rare-ish 2000's car with a throwback name.. That Black Chrysler 300m Special, that someone has swiped the wheels from and swapped with some steelies...most likely due to the specials18's are a really uncommon size and tires are pretty damn expensive. But the extra bit of cladding you can see in dark grey under the black bumper cover is the sign its a Special and not a normal 300m.
Lol, it's a customers car,, he's right behind you looking threw all them hubcaps... HEY THATS MY CAR?! Hahahahaha
notice how clean under the hood and interior? pretty safe to assume with the 34 Tag on the rear view mirror that it was a auction car
Great video Steve and team! I was curious about the 500. I was shocked to learn the 500 had an AWD option. Thanks again!
The wagon version which was the Freestyle AWD from 2005-07 then the name changed to Taurus-X in 2008. But the Freestyle AWD was an awesome car. You can find them for good prices and a lot of car for the money. Only complaint is that it’s a miserable job to change an alternator due to engine fitment under the hood. It’s extremely tight.
One car where the CVT was more reliable than the regular automatic.
It's a Ford, that's an extremely low bar.
Couldn't be further from the truth and the proof is in the evidence. CVTs were failing leaving the lot, or at 20k, 40k, unicorns lasted as high as 100k & some VERY rare CVTs could push to 200k. The 6 speed, fluid changed every 30-60k, would last 250-300k before issues. If it started thumping or experiencing hard shifts there is an updated valve body with better solenoids that's absolutely wonderful. Last the life of the car.
@@WildSideComedy I think that issue was only in the 1st production run. My 2006 CVT is at 176k right now. One time I thought it was going out, but it turned out that I just needed new spark plugs and ignition coils!
@JamesWolfpacker There are some that got lucky but the issues persisted throughout all 3 years and the montego and freestyle as well. Glad you've had a great experience with yours :)
You are awesome Steve thanks for the great videos keep it up
Bravo, Steve. Bravo.
Your knowledge knows no bounds.
I had a lemon.. I traded in my 2007 Ranger XLT with less mile on the 2005 Mercury Montego version. Nice ride, lots of room, great view but it was hell trying to keep the cabin cool during the summer months. I don't miss it...
I still have mine. It's well past 100k miles, and I'm in the process of doing all the maintenance to keep it rolling a long time.
Hi Steve, I always wondered if the Ford Five Hundred was built to replace the Crown Victoria or the Taurus. I am surprised that they built as many of them as you indicated. I liked their body style better than the Taurus but none could compare in my opinion to the 1991 or older Crown Victoria's or Grand Marquis which being full frame rear wheel drive car's were truly full size car's. I own a 1987 Crown Victoria wagon, a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis LS 50th Anniversary edition sedan and a 1991 Crown Victoria LX wagon as well and all are daily drivers. Excellent cars that receive daily compliments and offers to buy !
I was I was thinking the same thing.
I had the mercury montego version. It was a great car
500 is part of some other Ford model names. My brother had a 1968 Fairlane 500, and my mother later drove a 1974 Custom 500 (Galaxie) wagon.
Get well soon, Steve
Bought one for 750, at 100,000 miles sold it 5 years later for 1400 at 240,000. Never broke down. Just needed an alternator. However mine was fwd and had a cvt transmission unlike what this guy says...
I remember when this along with it's crossover cousin, the Freestyle were unveiled back in 2004.
Steve,
I had a 2006 Ford Five Hundred that was front wheel drive only with the CVT. I am also in MA and had the car for 11 years. Good car overall with the biggest issue being the rear brakes and frequent replacement due to the pad material swelling. Thanks for the video!
" Ford owned Volvo for 1 year, from 1999 until the sold it to Geely in 2010."
And he said it more than once. 😛
lots of AWD 500s in NY. That one has NYS inspection and reg stickers so its probably extra rusty. We salt the roads if theres a rumor of snow falling in the next time zone..... 25 degrees and sunny - salt trucks..... middle of a snow storm.... salt trucks.... no snow? plow off the salt and drop more.... love NY
Get well steve - maybe one of these days you see my sarcastic comment on ny rust
This thing doesn't look bad, I wonder what it would take to get it going again. I don't understand why it didn't sell well. It's a hell of a lot better looking than a Camry from that era (or any other).
That is a Wolfram Grey Volkswagon Vanagon AWD Syncro 2,200 cc waserboxer in the background. I owned one and loved it.
I prefer the '67 Galaxie 500 fastback we had. 😁
My father bought a candy-apple red 67 XL fastback with a 390 off the showroom floor just before I got my license to drive, GR8 car
My first car!! Transmission used to slip like crazy and STRUGGLED on these Bay Area hills. If it wasn't my car I would have parked it right at the junk yard but used to get me from A to B with a huge cabin for friends in the back. Also remember losing almost all power on the Bay Bridge and having to floor it just to go 50 😂 good times!
These cars had huge electrical issues. The Duratec engine wasn't bad in other models, but in this one. If it developed a misfire. Ford wanted you to replace all of the coil packs as to not mess up the coil drivers in the ECU. Also if the Alternator died in them. They could also damage the voltage regulator circuit in the ECU. After doing either one of these jobs. You needed to send it to a Ford dealer to have the ECU reprogrammed. These cars were a huge pain in the ass to work on cause of these issues.
Fords suck. They are Junk. And always have been..
My wife bought a new 2007 Mercury Montego Premiere AWD CVT [ZF Batavia CFT30 CVT] [not possible to have a 6-speed AND Awd]. And we love it. Not a problem. I change the engine oil and use a NAPA Gold filter at 3 k to 5 k miles. Use Vovolene blended synthetic 5W20.
She doesn't drive much and only has 37,300 miles on it. I was thinking it is due for its first ATF change. It has a dipstick under the battery box, a pain to get to but that is fine.
We are North of Green Bay, Wisconsin and so the salt has eroded out the rear fender well. Let her rot.
The wife bought it because the Ford Dealer was dumping it since Mercurey was curtailed. I don't think it has ever gone faster than 65 mph. We had a factory recall when first purchased for all brake rotor replacements. [wrong metalergy]
I have heard that the 10 mm bolts holding the camshaft bearing caps loosen up [even at 89-inch pounds] and allow the cam to rise up off of the tappets. Other than that it is a sold churn. The cure is to R&R the bolts with new bolts from Ford about every 70,000 miles. ~~ scontent-msp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.18172-8/29064073_10156257950251098_1727395362419938623_o.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=AaQd2MHyH-kAX-6aC1C&_nc_ht=scontent-msp1-1.xx&oh=00_AfAGQrtEy5wHedGrsy7AKwHu0PMyVf62bX_g5Og9RXAUqA&oe=63F6E417
The front wheel drive has the CVT as well. We just traded one in because there are no parts available to repair those transmissions.
I remember my first experience with those new Ford naturally aspirated v6 engines. It was in a 2011 F150 rental, and I was enchanted when it blew right past 5 and then 5500 and THEN 6000! I expected valves to come flying through the hood. Lol
I was sold.
They were good cars. What I remember of the 500 was it was a lower trim than the LTD. the Custom 500 Gator Mclusky drove comes to mind...
The 3.0 duratec v6s in these are very great engines. I'm actually looking for one.
this car is in good shape. thanks for the detailed review of this little known (to me) model
Thank you Steve Get well soon
GM was using aluminum on the deck lids of the Regal/Cutlass/Monte Carlo - late 70s G bodies.
That throw back thunderbird! Lol what an abomination.
you need to talk about freestyle same platform, had one with no good CVT and swapped out for a 6 speed from 500. it made a great vehicle.
I'd bet money that the reason that car is in the junk yard is the transmission. My cousin had an 05 AWD that the transmission went out on, was told it was cheaper to buy a new car than it was to replace the transmission if you could even find one (no one wanted to rebuild that CVT)
One came in the shop for a maintenance transmission fluid change. The all data said it could either be a CVT or an Aisin (Toyota) 6 speed, no clue how to identify and of course very different fluid spec. Called the FORD dealer we were using for parts and were told the car had to be in their shop hooked to the magic OASIS (dealer only) machine before the question could be resolved. Not even with the VIN. Thanks for clarifying, after 15 years of wondering……AWD = CVT. Seems so simple.
That reminds me of the mk3 Ford Mondeo here in Europe. The grill is near enough identical and they also used the same engine.
Those engines (Duratec 30) saw life in a few Fords and Mercurys but also in Jags with a few mods and is the basis for the Aston Martin 5.9 V12, Well 2 of the V6's maketh the V12.
I actually just sent 3 early noughties Volvo S80's to scrap which is where they belong but the Duratec Five Hundred actually looks like a great use of the platform bar the whole CVT thing lol
Nice to see it lived on under another name and that Ford took some of the engineering and platform development from Volvo and made it their own using Euro FoMoCo engines.
BTW that series of V6 designs were originally sold to Ford by Porsche.
Nice episode Steve, the things you find eh?
They (Duratec 3.0) have become a popular conversion in the Mazda MX5/Eunos Roadster. There's a UK company that specialises the conversions. They are lighter than the original 4 pot iron Mazda engine. They are used in Jags as well, but with a higher BHP.
I have a 2008 Ford Taurus with 260,000 milesWith no engine or transmission problems at all does not leak any oil or use any one of the best cars I’ve ever owned
Just sold my 05. Loved it.
500 was a Super Dog. The brakes were Recalled in 15,000 miles the calipers did not relax to allow the pads to back off the rotors
Bought a 2nd-hand 2005 Ford Five Hundred AWD back in 2016 as a winter beater. IT. IS. AMAZING on ice and snow with winter tires, pulling duty here in the frozen wastes of Western Canada where -20 degree weather with ice-sheeted roads are commonplace.
That said, it did need a bunch of work to get it ship-shape for the cold. I did need to replace the rear shocks which were $250 EACH (Sachs Nivomat self leveling shock) which were only offered for one year on the 2005 AWD models. The Haldex AWD controller died as well. They burn out if the Haldex wet clutch fluid/filter change intervals are not performed. Luckily I was able to find one on eBay for a decent price ($100), and the AWD has worked fine since. Yes - I did do a fluid/filter change before the installation ($100 for the filter and one quart of Volvo AWD-specific fluid).
The steering rack needed replacing as the seals were leaking ($250 rebuild from my local auto parts store). Fortunately for me the PTU was fine, and I've had no problems with the CVT either (which incidentally was made by a joint Ford/ZF venture, and not Haldex as mentioned in the video). I did do a filter/fluid change on the CVT as part of some neglected preventative maintenance. It does require a specific Ford CVT fluid which averaged about $20 a quart, and I needed 8 quarts - $200 + tax just for fluid! And the high-pressure filter required removing the front wheel, wheel liner and a transmission mount to get at the housing. $300 for a trans fluid change that I performed myself! Ouch! I would hate to imagine what a Ford dealer would've charged for all the work I did.
Since these repairs were performed it's been a very dependable and comfortable automobile. Shame the marketing was so terrible for this vehicle. It's a much better platform for daily driving in either a hot or cold climates than the old panther platform (of which I can attest to personally as I had a Mercury Grand Marquis previously to the Five Hundred). I will drive this car into the ground, as it's one of the few cars left on the road that you can fix without needed a computer degree or master mechanic training. I love this car - too bad it's a back page on the annals of car history.
Was the CVT sealed shut? Mine is sealed and I’m at 176k right now and wondering if I should touch it.
I MISS THIS CAR
My buddy has an ‘08 Taurus, same color. Tons of room inside and a comfortable ride. I think he’s at right around 160k miles and still going.
My wife and I bought 2 2005 Ford Five Hundred cars got a great deal on both my has the 6 speed trans and my wife had the cut with 4 wheel drive. The cat transmission makes more noise than the 6 speed but with the cat the engine seems so much smoother. They have a great cushy ride not sporty at all, but we like that. Only problem was the top motor mounts on both cars and the A/C compressor, other than that have been trouble free, engine is very durable.