Shaker 500 fixes

VeeKoo · 05-10-2005

Hi,

Anyone got refurbished shaker 500 yet? I got two options with my skipper 500:
- Get a refurbished one
- Get mine fixed

Refurbished one could be ordered now and would come in about 3 weeks. Then mine would be taken away and the refurbished would be put in. Just one day in the shop and I would not need to live without sound system.

Fixing mine would require half day in the shop, a hole in the dash for a week or two and then half day in the shop again.

Any ideas what to do? Refurbished sounds a good idea for me since it can't be more that 9 months or so old..

Do refurbished ones suck or are they ok? Does fixing the unit help at all? I have an A revision unit and my GT is build around end of November. 8 item list on issues, 1 fixed, for 2 parts coming...

05GTMustang · 05-10-2005

Hey VK,

I am having my 500 replaced so I will post how it went soon. I have read here that some have fixed thier problem

(CD Skipping) and some is just as bad or worse.

I can only hope that by now Ford has identified the bad lots and have replaced their stock with good ones. My Dealer said he is ordering a new one instead of shipping my old one to the repair facilitiy. We'll see.

Scott

pywacket · 05-10-2005

New to the forums. Catch me up. So CD skipping is a common problem with the Shaker? My dealership couldn't duplicate the problem. What to do? I really don't want them getting into the dash unless the problem will really be fixed.

Torch Red
V6 (yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a girl. A V8 would only get me in trouble.)

mrv8outboard · 05-10-2005

i gave my service guy the number at the end of the self test and he ordered me a new one. when it came in they R+R'ed the head unit. no problem.(just make sure they reprogram the new one)

05GTMustang · 05-10-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by pywacket

New to the forums. Catch me up. So CD skipping is a common problem with the Shaker? My dealership couldn't duplicate the problem. What to do? I really don't want them getting into the dash unless the problem will really be fixed.

Torch Red
V6 (yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a girl. A V8 would only get me in trouble.)

py,
Welcome to the family. The Shaker 500/1000 CD skipping problem has been common since the beginning of the 05's. Short story the CD's will start to skip after awhile of playing with no rhyme or reason then get worse as time goes on. If he did not let it play through a few CD's he did not give it enough time to "duplicate" the problem. If you press the 3 and 6 buttons at the same time and hold it while the radio is on it will go thru a self test ending with the part number. If that number ends in a "A" you for sure have a bad one and it needs to be changed. Their is a Ford TSP out for this problem so your dealer should be aware of it. If the number ends in a "B" and you still have the skipping then you need to have it swapped with another due to the software not programmed right. From what I have been able to get from here and from my dealer is the current ones being shipped have the good radios in it and the current stock of replacements should be converted. Let’s hope so as mine is due to be changed with in the week. Hope this helps.

pywacket · 05-10-2005

My service dept. has to know about this. Why do they play dumb? I'll combine this with the info I gather on my window tint scratch problem...

Thanx for the info '05.

R3dF1r3 · 05-11-2005

I just had my shaker 1000 replaced by Ford today, along with my first 2400mi oil/ filter. I will see what changes if any, this "new" unit accomplishes.

red05 · 05-11-2005

Ford knows about the shakers being bad not just mustangs but focus's freestyle's etc. These are made by delphi and ford and delphi are at war right now over the problem. I just had my shaker replaced (5-9-05) and it took two days because the service department was informed that the software in the computer that programs your car and radio was just updated (5-6-05) and they had to ship them a update disk overnite and it took 3 hours just to update their computer and 10 minutes to update my gt and the shaker radio. It's my understanding that you don't have a choice the parts department orders the radio from ford using your part number and vin number of your car and the replacement is sent to them from ford. So for mine is working ok but I have not used it enough to tell for sure. The service manager told me he had to put three radio's in one car before they got it to work right. This all comes with working the bugs out of a new design, they will get it right soon. also tell your service manager to code it as the radio will not eject the cd's.

Goliath · 05-11-2005

I've noticed the skipping but it is not as common as you make it sound... I probably need a new head unit, yeah?

red05 · 05-11-2005

Goliath this is known problem that will only get worst and then it will start giving you a error message when you insert cd's. It was relayed to me that delphi is having quailty issuses with all the shaker radio's it has something to due with the head alignment and the software installed in the radio. my shaker had more problems with factory cd's than burned cd's. but the service manager coded it as (no eject on cd) and ford shiped a new shaker in about two days.

wldchic · 05-11-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by pywacket

My service dept. has to know about this. Why do they play dumb? I'll combine this with the info I gather on my window tint scratch problem...

Thanx for the info '05.

The TSB is below. Demand that they replace your stereo with a new one. You didn't buy a refurbished car, right? I went through the service manager, showed him the TSB, he ordered one that day, it was replaced with a new one in about 1 week, and took an hour. I saw the new one before it was installed. I don't have any problems now.

TSB 05-6-9

FORD: 2005 Five Hundred, Focus, Freestyle, Mustang, F-150
MERCURY: 2005 Montego

ISSUE:
Some 2005 Freestyle, Five Hundred/Montego vehicles built 5/17/2004 through 2/24/2005, and 2005 Mustang, Focus, F-150 vehicles, all vehicles equipped with a single or 6 disk CD player with MP3 capability, may exhibit one or more of the following intermittent CD player concerns.

CD player skips
Locks up when playing homemade CDs
Displays "Error" or "Bad Disc"
Will not accept CDs
CD inoperative or inconsistent playability of some CDRs.

ACTION:
Replace CD player with latest service level through your facing audio service center. When replacing the audio unit (radio) on 2005 Freestyle, Five Hundred, Montego and Mustang vehicles it is necessary to perform programmable module installation (PMI) prior to removal of the old audio unit. This information must be uploaded into the new audio unit once installed. Failure to perform PMI on the new audio unit may result in inoperative backlighting and/or diagnostic trouble code (DTC) B2477. If communication cannot be established with old audio unit to download this information, as built data will need to be used. As built data can be obtained at the Professional Technician Society (PTS) website or at www.motorcraft.com. For additional information, refer Workshop Manual Section 415-01 and 418-01.

red05 · 05-11-2005

I do believe they are new units there are using, but you don't demand from ford, the parts department and service department have to do exactly what ford tells them to do, if they don't they will have to pay for the repair out of their pocket. If you read your fine print in the warranty ford reserves the right to use new or refurbished part's. I saw mine before they installed it and it looked new but I could not be sure because most refurbs look like new. but the service manager said he would order as many as it takes to we get one that works right. Always remember when your car leaves the lot it is considered a used vechicle. I don't agree with ford all the time but that how the system works. some times trying to work with the service department to iron out bugs will help you down the road when you really need them. Also most of all the service departments have a system that they read every morning to see if ford has a repair for certain issuses and I believe they (all) already know about 99% of the problems that certain cars have even if they pretend they don't. One of my best friends is the service manager for two car dealerships and he has shown me how the system works for all ford dealerships and he is one of a hand full of ford certified master mechinics for all ford vechicles and he keeps both of my ford vehicles serviced, so I really trust him when he does a repair. good luck with the shaker radio

pywacket · 05-11-2005

Hang on to that Service Manager. He sounds like a good one.

pywacket · 05-11-2005

Hey Red,

Py here again. Do you mean they're just following protocol? Maybe they don't tell customers they know about the TSB to rule out something that might just be a fluke? I can kinda understand that. I just seemed like they were playing dumb, then I find out it is a common occurence. Shouldn't they recall the Shakers? I think they should make it right. I have a 5 month old used car. It's not like it's 5 or 10 years old. Same issue with my tint. They kinda insinuate I must have caused the scratches somehow. Come to find out, it is also a common occurence with new mustangs. Having my car serviced causes me anxiety, not because I'm a girl...but because I don't know jack about mechanical issues.

Anyhow. Thanx again for the info.

gtstangsoon · 05-11-2005

i took my gt into my dealership about 2 weeks ago and told them the shaker 500 system was skipping and all the other things that have been mentioned...the service guy sat in it for about 5 minutes and then said that it wasnt happening so their was nothing he could do...i then complained that i spent all this money on my car and their was nothing he could do...i told him to check fords site to see if their was any info on all the problems people where having..2 minutes later he came back and said he would order me a new one...he said he wasnt aware of the problems with the 500s...im having the new one put in tomorrow morning... he said it would take 2 hours ...ill let you know if the problem is solved ....jerry