99 Ford Taurus SE with 69,000 miles.......

[Joseph68]

Hi,
I recently had my taurus in for an oil change and tire rotation at the ford dealer. When they were finished with my vehicle the service adviser was going over everything that the techs had done to my car. Anyhow the service adviser recommended that I get this "chip" installed in my engine that will automatically up date all of the sensors in the vehicle,improve my gas mileage and give the vehicle a better ride. Any body ever here of this? Also within the past week my horn quit working,my air bag light is on and my cruise control stop working. I checked all of my fuses and nothing is blown. I know I will probably need to get a diagnostic test done on my vehicle but I would like to have some sort of idea of whats going on before I take my vehicle back to the dealer. Any help or advice would be great!
Regards,
Joe

[Willyum]

The "chip" sounds like a good idea. How much does it cost?

[shorod]

I suspect the cause of your problems to be the clockspring assembly in the steering column. Signals for all of the systems that stopped working go through the clockspring/slip ring system.

As for the "chip" they are talking about, I think this falls under the "if it sounds too good to be true..." saying. I'd be very curious to get more details as to what he is talking about. Was he maybe talking about a fuel injection cleaning? More response and better fuel economy by improving the fuel spray of the injectors, in turn leading to a smoother running engine (better ride)? If so, don't spend the money. We've had better luck with the $2 bottles of injector cleaner from your local parts or department store. In fact, we've actually had customers complain that their car ran worse after the fuel injection system flush, we subsequently dumped in a $2 bottle of injector cleaner, and they'd call back to let us know that whatever we did, it fixed the problem.

I'm not aware of any "chip" that will do everything you described. There's really no "updating" of sensors. Only updating of the PCM that reads the signals from the sensors. And the '96-'99 Taurus SHO is the only Taurus I'm aware of that has semi-active ride control (SARC) to improve the ride. The control module for the SARC is separate from the PCM, so the same "chip" for the engine sensors would not also work with the SARC system.

-Rod

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by Joseph68

Hi,
I recently had my taurus in for an oil change and tire rotation at the ford dealer. When they were finished with my vehicle the service adviser was going over everything that the techs had done to my car. Anyhow the service adviser recommended that I get this "chip" installed in my engine that will automatically up date all of the sensors in the vehicle,improve my gas mileage and give the vehicle a better ride. Any body ever here of this? Also within the past week my horn quit working,my air bag light is on and my cruise control stop working. I checked all of my fuses and nothing is blown. I know I will probably need to get a diagnostic test done on my vehicle but I would like to have some sort of idea of whats going on before I take my vehicle back to the dealer. Any help or advice would be great!
Regards,
Joe

I would be looking for another dealer or good repair shop.
That service adviser is full of crap.
There is no chips that does things like that.
Tips on going to a dealer
Remember that service advisers are not techs/mechanics.
Most are only ticket writers on commision to sell you service.
Just ask that only a factory certified gasoline engine performance specialist work on your car.
Not all dealerships are concerned with how repairs are dispatched, and not all dealership techs bother to take advantage of the training offered by Ford (the vast majority of which is paid training). If the dealer is uncooperative, ask for your money back and call around for a dealer that will accommodate you.
MT

[way2old]

Thanks Sherlock. Saved me some typing. Same thoughts.

[Millermagic]

Chip = waste. The engine computer ajusts its memory and the sensors as the car ages.

[Joseph68]

Hi,
the dealer quoted me a price of 34.99!!

[Joseph68]

Originally Posted by shorod

I suspect the cause of your problems to be the clockspring assembly in the steering column. Signals for all of the systems that stopped working go through the clockspring/slip ring system.

As for the "chip" they are talking about, I think this falls under the "if it sounds too good to be true..." saying. I'd be very curious to get more details as to what he is talking about. Was he maybe talking about a fuel injection cleaning? More response and better fuel economy by improving the fuel spray of the injectors, in turn leading to a smoother running engine (better ride)? If so, don't spend the money. We've had better luck with the $2 bottles of injector cleaner from your local parts or department store. In fact, we've actually had customers complain that their car ran worse after the fuel injection system flush, we subsequently dumped in a $2 bottle of injector cleaner, and they'd call back to let us know that whatever we did, it fixed the problem.

I'm not aware of any "chip" that will do everything you described. There's really no "updating" of sensors. Only updating of the PCM that reads the signals from the sensors. And the '96-'99 Taurus SHO is the only Taurus I'm aware of that has semi-active ride control (SARC) to improve the ride. The control module for the SARC is separate from the PCM, so the same "chip" for the engine sensors would not also work with the SARC system.

-Rod

Hi Rod,
any idea what the cost involved is to get the clock spring assembly fixed? Also thanks for the info

[Joseph68]

Thanks for the info. I kind of figured it was bogus!

[shorod]

Originally Posted by Joseph68

Hi Rod,
any idea what the cost involved is to get the clock spring assembly fixed? Also thanks for the info

Fortunately for me, I've never had to replace the clockspring assembly, so I don't know what the part cost is or the labor to replace it. Maybe someone will chime in and let you know what theirs cost to have replaced. It will involve removing the air bag assembly and steering wheel.

-Rod