My Ford 500 is falling apart!! Please help..
 

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and I am certainly delighted that I finally found a forum where I could ask for some help as well as guidance in sorting out the problems with my Ford 500.

So I have a 2007 Ford 500 with almost ~140k miles on it.

My A/C doesn't work - blows hot air. I replaced the compressor a year ago in early September and the system finally started to build up pressure. However, that didn't last long as all of my R-134a has leaked out in around 14 days. Then winter hit and I started using the heater, which also doesn't work correctly. For some odd reason, once I turn the heat on, all my windows FOG UP like crazy to the point where theres absolutely no visibility. I literally have to wipe all the fog with a towel at every red light stop to have at least a very small degree of being able to see the road. Even when I turn the defogger on, it ironically fogs up the windows even more.

Transmission. This is another huge issue. My gears aren't changing correctly to the point where I was literally @ 6000rpm in 1st year before it would shift into 2nd. I replaced the trans fluid with fully synthetic ATF and it seemed to have fixed the issue, as the old trans fluid looked more like a black incredibly viscous tar rather than a "fluid." Now around 7 months later, the issues started happing again; the transmission just doesn't shift right; it started to slip through the gears when I am decelerating. Usually a loud bang (like someone hitting the car with a hammer); I believe the slippage occurs @ 2nd gear but I am no mechanic.

Back to A/C. Now summer hit and living in area where its 100F and 85% humidity just kills me without A/C. I have to fill up with r-134a every week now to have cold. And it blows cold until it all leaks out. I did buy r-134a regularly (including the one with a sealant) and at this point I am just fed up paying $40 every week for my A/C. I also spend $70 on a r-134a with DYE and we could NOT find any leaks - nothing around compressor/condenser/hoses/seals. Also, when I pump r-134a, it only becomes cold when I overcharge the system - why? I don't know. Another strange thing, when I am driving with A/C on cold and accelerating, I can actually hear the R-134A escaping! My gut says that it's an evap leaking but I could be wrong.

EGR valve. Had this show up on my check engine light; it went off after a week or so and never came back again. Unclear what happened.

Throttle valve. The car can get really jerky when I am standing at a stop light or in a drive through. Without any input from me, the car launches forward BY ITSELF! Also, when I am in Park and have A/C on max, just rotating the steering wheel causes the revs to go up with my foot completely OFF the gas pedal. I have no idea why is that.

I am really at a point where i want to say goodbye to this car but with so many issues (including cracked bumper, massive hail damage, fogged up headlights, ripped seats, no radio) I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy this car.

I realize that this is a lot of information to take in, but please read at least some of it and suggest as to what I can do to fix these issues. I am all 100% DIY as I don't have any money for pay for labor or anything like that. I pay just for parts.

Thanks a lot !

I also forgot to add that when I am driving over bumps, the A/C goes off completely by ITSELF even though it's in the "OFF" position!

Sorry for writing this, but unless you can do your own car repair your 500 has seen its better days. I hope that it's paid for, and if you liked it you may find another with a lot less miles. The hesitation is probably your throttle body either needs to be cleaned out, or it may need to be replaced. It appears most of the problems are maintenance related.

This may help you
 

Hello Suleyman,
Not sure if at this time my opinion will be useful to you. However, just in case...
I own a Ford 500 - 2006. As of this morning it has 196,555 km and it runs as if I drove the car out of the dealership today. However, I run a strict maintenance schedule. Not because it is a Ford, I do this with any vehicle I've owned and it pays off.

With respect to the heat issues, this care have a few parts/components; this makes it easy to fix/maintain.
1) Start with replacing the: Air Blower controller. It is small electronic part. It looks like a typical Bank/credit card. It is located under the glove compartment. You can find videos in Youtube on how to replace it. I am not a mechanic, yet, 3 years ago it took me under 8 minutes to change the original part. All you need is a screwdriver. I went to my local auto part store (I am in Canada) and this part cost me $28 (with taxes). Do not go to the dealer unless you want to pay 10 times the cost.
2) Fog inside your car while driving - Never run the "recycling" air future during the winter. Some people think that by activating this future during cold days, the air will heat up faster. The air does heat up faster but as long as NOBODY is inside the vehicle. The problem of fogging inside the car is caused by two facts:
A) the moisture the person produces with breading in/out and
B) the grease/dirt that builds on the inside windows. 99% of people never bother washing the inside of the windows/windshield with water and soap, at least every 3 months. You can easily see how dirty/greasy a windshield is because you will see a film that disappears as the car warms up. To prevent the fogging inside the car, you need to: Do not use the recycling air future and wash the inside of the windows every 3 months. I do this and I do not have any problems. Also, the more people inside your car, the higher the fan setting has to be. As soon as you see foggin, increase the airflow. You could buy a product to reduce fogging. My friend uses it and it works. However, he has to re-apply the product at least 1/month. I don't bother what that product (I save my money) and I simply keep the windows clean. Simple water and soap works even better.
3) How often do you change the antifreeze or glycol? I do it every 2 years or every 20,000 - 25,000 km. Every 4th year I also get done a "black flush" of the antifreeze system. This past winter we had 3 weeks at -38 oC or -36 oF; never had any problem with heat or fogging.
4) The blower motor is located below the glove compartment. I replaced the motor about 2 years ago. Then again, you do not need to go to a dealership. I purchased the a new blower for $90. Follow all safety precautions e.g. disconnect the battery. When reconnecting the battery, you have to follow the steps of reprogramming. Very simple step. Just ask your local dealer to give you a copy or check Youtube (specific to every car/model).
5) When you changed the A/C compressor, did you also change the Dryer? This has to be done every time you change an A/C compressor. Most dealers will not tell you to do this because they want you to come back. I replaced these two parts 2 days ago: new A/C compressor and dryer, all for $300 Canadian dollars and my time to do it. First time I did this job and both parts took me about 4 hours.
6) If I were you, I will replaced the EGR valve. This valve is recommended to replace it every 150,000 km. It is easy to do. Then again, you can find videos in Youtube.
7) You also have to change the PCV valve every 100,000 km. Find out if your car has a Heated PCV valve or not. The cost is about the same for heated or not heated PCV.
8) With respect to the: ..."launches forward BY ITSELF!" My 500 started to do this about 3 years ago. I google the issue and found that there was a recall by Ford for this specific issue. I brought to a local Ford dealer and they changed the part at no cost to me. This stop the issue.
9) The crack bumper (LOL) any car... about 5 years my wife cracked both bumpers. I went to a local junk yard and purchased/replaced both. Literally, the front bumper took me 20 minutes to remove the old and install the new one. Then I bought the car to a local bodyshop to repaint both bumpers to the colour of the car. Total cost for both bumper and paint $280.
10) With respect to: "fogged up headlights" Any modern car uses plastic housing. You will get this problem after 4 - 6 years. To prevent this, you need to clean and polish the lighthousing at least once per month. Just go to your local auto shop and purchase a cream to clean/restore headlamps. My 500 has the original lamp housing and if you were to look at them, they look brand new. To keep them clean it takes me under 10 minutes of treatment, buffing by hand, 1 every 4 - 6 weeks. You can restore the lamp housing of your car but it will take you several buffing/treatment and patient to do it - all by hand and a clean rag - no need of special tools. The product I buy it only costs me $6 per bottle.
11) " ripped seats and no radio"... easy to fix. Buy seat covers or check your local junkyard.
12) I do not know anything about the transmission. However, I bring my car to a local garage to get the transmission fluid and filter change every 40,000 km. I do not follow the manual. The very first transmission fluid change, I followed the manual instructions. I had the mechanic give me a sample of the old oil and the old filter. I opened the filter and it was way too dirty and so was the oil; as you described it. So the next time, I did it at 40,000 km. This seems to be the correct cycle for this car. This has paid off for me as I have never had any issue/problem with the transmission. Be careful with the new generation of: No need of transmission fluid change - good for life. The "life" means, the life of the of the warranty. If you like to keep a car pass the "life of the warranty", then you must change the transmission fluid; even if it is a sealed transmission - just change the transmission fluid.
13) Last summer (2017) my 500 started to experience something similar as what your car is going through. The "bang or jerking" when placing the car in any gear: Park, Drive, Reverse. I spent some time searching the possible reasons and I found that the Engine mounts could be cause this effect. So, I change 3 of the 4 mounts. All 4 mounts cost me about $200 dollars. There was only 1 engine mount I couldn't change myself, it is located between the firewall and the engine block. I paid my local mechanic to change the part (I brought him the engine mount). This solve the "bang or jerking". The car is no driving again as brand new.
14) Do you keep the Mass Air Flow sensor cleaned? I do this every 6 months, it only takes a few minutes to do this.
15) How often do you change the Air Filter? How often do you wash the Air Filter Housing?
16) When was the last time you change the spark plugs. I changed the spark plugs every 100,000 km. I changed the coils at 150,000 km. This job took me about 3 hours and I've never done it before; but I found nice videos in youtube. I just follow them.
17) How often do you clean the throttle?
18) How often do you change the gasoline filter? I do it every 2 years or 30,000 km. A friend of mine has a Lexus; it was giving him all sort of problem; from engine stalling to A/C not working properly. Paid lots of money at the dealer to have the issue diagnosed. The problem: Dirty gasoline filter. Total cost to fix the problem: $980. Cost of brand new gasoline filter: $10.50
If I missed something, let me know. Good luck.