06 Town

[rscott]

When driving down the road my 06 Town Car hesitates every once and awhile and sometimes its worst than other and sometimes I can drive it for miles and nothing will happen. Any thoughts?

 

[Town]

Your car has electronic throttle control which can affect driveability as you mention. How would you describe the hesitation, as a pause in the acceleration or a little jolt? Does it happen at a particular speed and while accelerating easily or under power.

How many miles on your spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter? Does the "check engine" light come on or flash and are there any codes set? Does your engine idle steadily and cope with additional loads from A/C and power steering while at idle or is there a noticeable drop in engine rpm?

Does the hesitation happen in conjunction with a gear change?

Good luck.

 

[rscott]

When either accelerating to desired mph, or driving along at a desired rate of speed, it will jolt (I call it a bad hiccup). It doesn't do it constantly; sometimes it will "hiccup" 5 times within a 15 mile distance; other times, it will go for a month or so without any "hiccup" making one think that the problem has flushed itself out, only to return and do it again.

There is 45,000 miles on the car; unsure as to when spark plugs, wires, air filter or fuel filter was last changed, as I just purchased the car in December 2012. Haven't had the A/C on yet; so unsure as to how it handles the additional load. Just within the last few days, had 3/4 tank of gas & decided to top off the last 1/4; was accelerating to 60mph when it gave a good jolt (hadn't done it for at least a month and a half); after having jolted about 5 times, it seemed as though the engine was trying to slow down on it's own and then an orange light flashed on w/ a "beep" and showed a picture of a wrench in the panel where the digital mph reads. These two indicators lasted for the next 12 miles until reaching home. The light and wrench, since, has turned off.

 

[Town]

If you check for codes, you will probably see a P0610.

Your problem is either in the throttle position sensor or the PCM. A little over 2 years ago I had much the same lead-up symptoms as you, but much less frequent. Then while travelling at 62 mph in cruise there was a big jerk and the wrench, etc. The code P0610 was stored, but Ford found a slightly different code (tell you later). Nothing on diagnosis but they changed the throttle position sensor anyway. Problem stayed away for exactly 2 years and then did it again (DTC P0610) at low speed.

I think the problem is in PCM and should be covered by power train warranty. Got to run now, add some more later.

Good luck.

______________________________

 

[Town]

After the wrench appeared the trans shifting is weird, it will not engage overdrive nor 1st gear. This will continue until you stop and turn the engine off and restart the engine. Then the wrench is gone and the car acts perfectly normal. I pulled P0610 from the PCM and this means:

P0610 - Control Module Vehicle Options Error
Description: Indicates a powertrain control module (PCM) vehicle options error.
Possible Causes: - Module reprogramming
- Aftermarket performance products.
- PCM
Diagnostic Aids:
Application Key On Engine Off Key On Engine Running Continuous Memory
All — — See Note 1

When I took it into Ford dealer they pulled a P061B from the PCM on 8 Feb 2011. There are pages and pages of complex tests for this where each model (Town Car, MGM, etc has its own variations). Here is what that code means:

P061B - Internal Control Module Torque Calculation Performance
Description: Indicates a calculation error occurred in the powertrain control module (PCM).
Possible Causes: (*edit: None listed)
Diagnostic Aids: Check for sensor and circuit related DTCs. Do not install a new electronic throttle body (ETB) for this DTC.
Application Key On Engine Off Key On Engine Running Continuous Memory
All — — GO to Pinpoint Test QE .

While everything checked out fine, there was a slight variation from spec for the throttle position sensor and so they replaced it, and the problem did not re-occur until 3 February 2013 (2 years later) when accelerating gently from a stop the wrench appeared again. The symptoms were the same as before and the code was P0610. I was going to replace the throttle position sensor with an aftermarket one and cleared the code. Then I realized I should have taken it back to Ford and requested a new PCM!! So my car still has the replaced throttle position sensor and has not exhibited either the trans jolt nor the wrench. When (if) it happens again I will take it in for a new PCM if still under warranty.

Good luck.

 

[rscott]

My wife took the car in to have the codes read and before I could get to the mechanic to see what the codes number were he already erase them from the machine. He said the code read the was a misfire and a misfire at 1000 rpm. She said when she left that day and used the car there was a couple of hesitations but the wrench did not come on the dash so she took the car back to see if any codes showed up and the mechanic said a p1000 code did display. My wife did say the it was more of a hesitation than a jolt that she experienced as compared to the other times.

 

[Town]

The misfire codes are P0300 through P0314. The mechanic is not doing his job properly by not writing down the misfire code, but I cannot find the DTC for a misfire at 1,000 rpm. There is a situation for crank speed misfires (less than 1,000 rpm). You may benefit from an inexpensive code reader if your dealer has that standard of care. A misfire code usually needs 2 engine cycles to set the check engine light and a DTC, unless it is a serious misfire that will flash the check engine light while the misfire is occurring.

A small jolt or two due to PCM/throttle position sensor problem may not cause a DTC to be set, it did not with my car. A significant jolt and a wrench is likely to cause the trans to miss 1st and 4th gears so becomes a very noticeable driveability issue until the ignition is cycled to clear the wrench code (but not the OBD DTC). Otherwise it could be torque converter shudder (usually needs a trans oil change) or any number of engine issues.

The P1000 is a Ford specific code "OBD systems readiness test not complete" which usually means the OBD was reset (as you noted) to eliminate DTCs and the system has not completed its test cycle that lasts at least 2 cold starts with the engine running to normal temeratures so that all system monitors have verified systems working normally.

I would check the spark plugs and ensure no moisture in the plug wells. There are other possibilities of course. How much of a DIY person are you?

Good luck.

 

[figure8repairs]

After the wrench appeared the trans shifting is weird, it will not engage overdrive nor 1st gear. This will continue until you stop and turn the engine off and restart the engine. Then the wrench is gone and the car acts perfectly normal. I pulled P0610 from the PCM and this means:

P0610 - Control Module Vehicle Options Error
Description: Indicates a powertrain control module (PCM) vehicle options error.
Possible Causes: - Module reprogramming
- Aftermarket performance products.
- PCM
Diagnostic Aids:
Application Key On Engine Off Key On Engine Running Continuous Memory
All — — See Note 1

When I took it into Ford dealer they pulled a P061B from the PCM on 8 Feb 2011. There are pages and pages of complex tests for this where each model (Town Car, MGM, etc has its own variations). Here is what that code means:

P061B - Internal Control Module Torque Calculation Performance
Description: Indicates a calculation error occurred in the powertrain control module (PCM).
Possible Causes: (*edit: None listed)
Diagnostic Aids: Check for sensor and circuit related DTCs. Do not install a new electronic throttle body (ETB) for this DTC.
Application Key On Engine Off Key On Engine Running Continuous Memory
All — — GO to Pinpoint Test QE .

While everything checked out fine, there was a slight variation from spec for the throttle position sensor and so they replaced it, and the problem did not re-occur until 3 February 2013 (2 years later) when accelerating gently from a stop the wrench appeared again. The symptoms were the same as before and the code was P0610. I was going to replace the throttle position sensor with an aftermarket one and cleared the code. Then I realized I should have taken it back to Ford and requested a new PCM!! So my car still has the replaced throttle position sensor and has not exhibited either the trans jolt nor the wrench. When (if) it happens again I will take it in for a new PCM if still under warranty.

Good luck.

Has this issues presented itself again or did the TPS sensor fix it?

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