Brian K

I've been taking the MKX to the Dealer as part of the "free' Lincoln maintenance package. They did a Transmission fluid and filter change at 36,000 miles so changing the filter must be a reasonable thing to do. I've seen some transmissions with a lot of crud in the pan and the filter looked relatively clean but it is hard to know if is plugging with small particles which would restrict oil flow and not stop it completely causing the transmission to overheat. I'll keep on changing the Oil and filter but would like to do more than just drop the pan and add oil. I've looked around and see one method which looks reasonable which entails: 1) Drop the pan, change the filter and add new fluid 2) Disconnect a cooling line to the radiator 3) Turning the engine on for a second or two and see which side of the line pumps out. 4) Put a hose on the pump-out line from #3 above into a 5 gallon bucket. Try to ensure that the fluid is being pumped out of the rad cooler - may require reversing lines. 5) Start the engine and pour new Tx fluid into the dipstick. While the engine is running, the Tx pump will pump fluid into the bucket. Continue to pour new fluid into the dipstick. 6) Once clean fluid comes out of the hose into the bucket, you're done. Caution is required so the Transmission doesn't run dry so you will have to try to match the volume into dipstick with the volume being pumped out. Sounds like a reasonable procedure if you are cautious and careful. Any comments? - (other than take it to a dealer)

Does anyone have a procedure to change the Transmission oil? In other vehicles I typically only do a fluid change by dropping the pan, cleaning it, replacing the filter and gasket then refilling but that only gets about 1/2 of the fluid out. Apparently you can take off one of the lines that goes to the rad for cooling and let the Transmission pump pump the oil through the torque converter and other things so all the fluid gets flushed. This I assume is done after the pan is removed,filter replaced and the pan refilled. So apparently you then remove a cooling line, start the vehicle and the fluid pumps out while you refill via the fill tube - I assume this is how it is done anyway. I don't want to take it to an Oil Change place because they do a "power flush" using external pumps and that disturbs sediment and move it into other areas of the transmission potentially causing problems, and the Ford dealers who do this using the vehicles own pump charge way too much - so I want do it myself. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Brian

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give them a try.

I waxed my 08 MKX and unfortunately got some wax on the plastic trim panels. No problem I thought but the wax turned white when it dried and I can't find anything to get the wax out. Crappy Tire used to sell a wax remover but they don't sell it anymore. I also thought that time would help me out but there is still a white residue on those panels. I've tried lots of different chemicals - amonia, CLR etc but nothing touches it. Does anyone know of something that will remove this? How about the stuff from eshine as mentioned above? Thanks

[Things I don't like: 1) Annoying extra wiper cycle a couple of seconds after I turn the wipers off. When I turn the wipers off - I want them off and DO NOT want or need an extra cycle thanks to some Ford Engineer who knows better. 2) Heated seats turn off automatically after about 15 to 20 minutes. If I want them off - I'll turn them off thanks 3) Lack of a cargo cover. Perhaps one is available from the dealer but there are no indents in the side panels for the handles to fit into so what ever they sell will feel like an add-on (I think) 4) I have the Vista Roof. I wish I could also have Roof Racks. I know they think that the rails would interfere with the sliding glass so make the rails higher. Subaru has a neat design. When not used the cross members fold into the rails so they reduce the wind noise. Great idea. Common Ford get with it! 5) The Sync System is horrible. We don't use it at all inspite of how great the ads say it is. 6) My Garmin is much easier to use than the Ford/Lincoln NAV. POI's, address entry etc. Also the colors on the Nav should be user changable. The grey is blah. 7) Lack of "Express up" on both the front windows. My Chrysler 300 had this and it was really nice. 8) Rear storage area is poor because it is taken up by the spare. Move the spare under the vehicle and allow me a (bigger) place to store stuff I want out of the way. 9) A decent coin holder is lacking. 10) Last but not least - I want DECENT MPG. My GMC Envoy with a 5.3 gets better mileage than the MKX and the GMC has a decent frame and can pull 5500 lbs.

Dear Mr. Moderator Do you have, or could you please point me to, a step by step procedure on how to do it the way the Dealers do it. Pictures of which cooling line to disconnect would be great if available. I just wanted to point out that many "Quick Lube" type places or Transmission shops do the Power Flush which may or may not be a good idea depending on your Transmission condition and a Drain and Fill is my preference. I agree that getting all the fluid out would be even better if it occurs without disturbing sediment and is safe. Not many folks that I know of take it back to the Dealer for routine maintenance as they do try to upsell alot and are notoriously expensive. Our local dealer charges $140 per hour. (they must have lawyers working there). WRT the oil change frequency - I have had very good luck with this interval with many of my vehicles having over 250,000 miles on them and they don't burn any oil so I must be doing something that works effectively. A filter better than a Fram is also a good idea and since I do it myself it isn't that expensive and the "wasted" oil gets recycled anyway. Yes it costs a bit more than a 5000 - or more mile interval - but changing oil is cheaper than changing parts IMO. Thanks in advance for your assistance with the procedure. Brian

We have an MKX with free service until 80,000 kms (50,000 miles). Part of the normal scheduling and free maintenance was a transmission oil change at 60,000 kms (36,000 miles) which they did (at no charge). That indicates to me that is it probably necessary otherwise Ford wouldn't do it for free. There is alot of discussion on other forums about what type of service you should perform on the transmission - a 'Power Flush' or a 'Drain and Fill (D&F involves dropping and cleaning the pan, discarding the fluid, changing the filter and refilling)'. I've been doing the D&F on all my vehicles every 50,000 kms (30,000 miles) and have never had a transmission problem and I pull trailers and can probably assume a severe service category (because I drive the vehicle). The D&F only changes some (about half) of the fluid but it does clean the pan and a new filter is installed. You also get to see if there is a pile of clutch material in the Tx pan and if there is it is time to trade the vehicle and avoid spending $$. From what I've read the important difference between the 2 methods is that the D&F doesn't disturb crud in other parts of the transmission which the power flush probably does. Also the common theme on other forums is that you have over 100,000 miles on the original Tx fluid you should NEVER go to an oil change place and have them do the power flush and possibly disturb the sediment in the Tx. The Power Flush will not necessarily clean everything out but will move the particles to other parts of the Tx and thus may cause problems. Not really a difficult procedure to do the D&F and you don't have to worry about running the oil pump dry by using it to pump the fluid out. Of course this is all just opinion and everyone has their own ideas about what is best. It is cheaper to change oil than parts so when the free service period is over I'll be doing things myself including changing the engine oil at 5000 kms (3000 miles), doing a D&F every 50,000 kms, and bleeding flushing the brakes every 2 years.

Anyone know if the Edge bumper is the same as the MKX? I bought a bumper cover from Ford for the MKX but it is pretty crappy - just a stick on piece of heavy vinyl but it did cover the scratches but doesn't cover the lip as this one does.

I put LTX tires on our 08 MKX and they are great and they came with a 60,000 wearout warranty. Much better than the original Latitude which wore out after 35000 miles. My wife test drove the Edge and MKX and she said the MKX was quieter than the Edge so that is why we bought the MKX)

On our 2008 MKX the things I hate most are: 1) When you turn off the wipers - there is an annoying extra cycling of the wipers a second or 2 later. When I shut the GD things off I want them off. What genius Ford Engineer came up with this one? 2) The heated seats turn off automatically after 15 minutes of being on. Leave the danm things on. If I want them off, I'll turn them off. 3) A cargo cover for the rear area. My 96 Jeep had this. 4) The Nav/Sync system is crap. I much prefer my Garmin. We never use the voice commands. 5) Lack of storage - put the spare under the vehicle and let me put my stuff under the rear cargo area. 6) The wheels seem to accumulate more dirt and small stones which throws the balance off more than any other vehicle we have had. Gotta really spend time cleaning them at the car wash. 7) Center console coin holder - my Chrysler 300 had an awesome one. I miss it and yes I actually used it.

I bought the Michelin LTX at Costco installed for about $1000 for the 18's. After the original tires wore out at 35,000 miles I didn't want any more of those "performance" tires. The Michelins from Costco came with a 60,000 mile wearout warranty which other venders didn't offer, and got filled balanced and with nitrogen a bonus.They perform just fine although the load rating is not the same at the originals. I'm not worried about that since the local Ford dealer also recommended them - but at a $250 premium over Costco. These LTX Michelins are more agressive and are a good all round tire IMO. I don't need the so called performance tires as we pretty much stick to the speed limit (well maybe 10mph over) and don't carry heavy loads that would require the Latitude specs. I think the term 'performance tire' should also include good mileage not just because it is stickier in the summer and wears out too fast. The is an SUV - not a Mustang GT afterall.

I see that G Force is advertizing on this forum and they have a Performance chip. I'd like to get better MPG. I also have a 2009 GMC Envoy with a 4.2 and it gets better mileage that our MKX. Has anyone tried their $69 chip. They don't give really much info on installation. I like the idea (that they claim) that it doesn't interfere with the Factory ECU so hopefully no voiding of the warranty.

We factory ordered our 08 MKX. The block heater was an option (that we got). Who wants to put it in later? That would be a pita. I'd rather go and get one of those magnetic heaters (but with all the aluminum it might be tough to find a spot to stick it to).

Good morning I'm new to this site (2008 MKX) but am also a member of TrailVoy (2009 Envoy) and a Chrysler 300 forum and have found sites of this nature to be extremely valuable not only in seeing "how to's' from others but to learn what other little extras I can do to help maintain my vehicle. I'm sure this site will be the same! Brian