Buying an 06 XLS, have questions...

[06XLS]

New member here... My wife and I are actually buying an 06 XLS 4x4 4.0L V6 today. Hence my username. After reading the forum and internet about all of the radiator and transmission problems, I am really leery about going forward with the sale tonight. The truck has 151xxx miles on it and will only be about 5900.00 for it. We are trading in our 2001 Susuki XL-7 4x4 for it.
We have driven it for about an hour so far split on two occasions. Took it over some really good bumps at the beach and up and down some hills, and on some twisties and some nice straights. It seemed to perform really well in each situation. It really is a quiet running engine. I actually almost started twice, until I saw the tachometer was sitting at 700. LOL

How likely to need some of the scary repairs are we going to be? We want to drive it to Reno in 2 weeks. 1000miles round trip or so. Going to get an oil change and check the fluids. Only thing is, I can't check the tranny fluid. No dipstick. What genius came up with that idea?

Anything obvious I should really pay special attention to?

Any and all help is really appreciated!

Thanks,

Mike!

 

[Boomyal]

Don't have a concrete answer for you, 06, beyond the statement that reading this forum before you buy is like is like reading all the possible side effects of a prescription drug.

I am just glad that I did not run across this forum before I bought my 2006 V8 Limited with 125K on it. I bought it just before Christmas and have only run a couple of tanks thru it but so far, so good and it is fun to drive and very quiet and tight.

Keep in mind that they made thousands of those things and you are seeing a relatively small sample here.

 

[06XLS]

Yeah, sometimes TMI is just that... LOL I wish it was only on here though. Edmunds, and other sites similar to that one also have lots of upset people. I guess I am just leery because I recently got a 2002 Jeep Liberty and within 650 miles, the engine blew, but luckily the dealer agreed to fix it. I bought it on 12-10-13 and it blew on 1-09-14. I still do not have the truck back though. It should be finished sometime this week. Call me a little gun shy I guess...

 

[F SANE IL]

Here's my experience and this is all mostly recent..

On the 2006 V6, all was good until one day the timing chains went out and started rattling very loud. Was pricey job and pain in the ass. otherwise car drove fine.

I drove one with a shot trans, you will feel that the car is revving, but not moving or clicking clancking when giving gas.

When you test drive, make sure to check 4x4 high and low to see if it all works. If the transfer case works and trans works, i think you'll be fine going long distance. The motor, hard to say.

The mechanic told me after fixing, "its good now, no guarantee how many miles this motor will run, it was made by an idiot" also "these engines were not made to be worked on, mostly tossed and rebuilt dropped in"

I like the truck personally, looks good, drives good, feels pretty solid and I've been able to crawl out of all the snow and ice mountains around here. Parking has been awesome since other cars don't dare park in snowed/iced in spots.

 

[06XLS]

Well, I think we are going to go ahead and take a chance on it. So, you guys will probably be seeing more of me around here. At least it don't have the Limited or Eddie Bauer package to have all of the electronics that can go bad. That was what my wife wanted. She didn't even want power windows either, but they come STD on all of them now.

 

[F SANE IL]

Well, I think we are going to go ahead and take a chance on it. So, you guys will probably be seeing more of me around here. At least it don't have the Limited or Eddie Bauer package to have all of the electronics that can go bad. That was what my wife wanted. She didn't even want power windows either, but they come STD on all of them now.

I don't believe there are any well known electrical issues. Just as stated by all, v6 chain and v8 plugs. Both issues are engine related.

 

[06XLS]

I bought it, now a few more questions.

I went ahead and bought the truck. Got it for $4700.00. $3500 cash plus trade in. 01 Suzuki XL-7.

I think we got a real good deal. Found out that it was a corporate vehicle owned by a cell phone company. I would bargain to guess that it has been well taken care of service wise.

I did take it for a third test drive and did a little off roading to test the 4WD in both 4Lo and 4Hi, as well as 4Auto. It did great in all modes.

I am having trouble with two things though... The remote lock control doesn't work. I bought a new battery and it still don't work. Is there something I may need to do to program it?

Also, I am having trouble locking the doors with the door lock button on the door panel. I press it to lock and within about 1 second it unlocks again. Not sure what to do about that. I can't lock it.

 

[F SANE IL]

I went ahead and bought the truck. Got it for $4700.00. $3500 cash plus trade in. 01 Suzuki XL-7. I think we got a real good deal. Found out that it was a corporate vehicle owned by a cell phone company. I would bargain to guess that it has been well taken care of service wise. I did take it for a third test drive and did a little off roading to test the 4WD in both 4Lo and 4Hi, as well as 4Auto. It did great in all modes. I am having trouble with two things though... The remote lock control doesn't work. I bought a new battery and it still don't work. Is there something I may need to do to program it? Also, I am having trouble locking the doors with the door lock button on the door panel. I press it to lock and within about 1 second it unlocks again. Not sure what to do about that. I can't lock it.

Congrats! You should probably post your issue as a new topic. Doubt many will look in here through entire thread.

I'd guess your unlocking issue maybe related to remote problem. Is try to resolve unlocking pard first. Then just buy another key/remote.
Try removing battery from remote and locking using keypad. Maybe remote is messed up. Second thing is try is resetting power. Disconnect ground from battery, let car sit for 10 min. Connect battery and test, while keeping battery out the remote.

If you have 2 keys with the truck, you can get one of the all in one remote key. Check my posts. $25 on eBay I think.

 

[Boomyal]

..... The remote lock control doesn't work. I bought a new battery and it still don't work. Is there something I may need to do to program it?......

First off, you should always check battery voltage before you throw it away and buy a new one.

There is a remote fob programming procedure outline in the manual. It is too lengthy to quote here. You can probably google "programming a 2006 explorer entry remote"

 

[06XLS]

Wasn't raining today, so I could really check out the truck. I ran it up on ramps and got under it and looked. It looks brand spanking new! No oil anywhere, no leaks of ANY sort. I changed the oil and the filter I removed was a Motorcraft brand filter. I paid more attention to the components under the hood, and the battery looks brand new. Maybe a couple months old and is also a Motorcraft brand 650CCA battery. It looks like the cell phone company who owned it sure did take good care of it.

 

[Boomyal]

Where in Oregon are you?

 

[06XLS]

Southwest. Coos Bay area.