Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim — NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,215,138 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports — when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report — that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints — specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened — feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 18,739 complaints for LINCOLN
Incident date: Jan 12, 2023
The warning light for the front passenger seat is lit up and has been for a while. I don’t use the sun roof so no clue how long it has even on. It reads passenger air bag deactivated. It stays on all the time wvem when my husband or mom sit and seatbelt in that seat
Incident date: Dec 31, 2022
This goes with Incident 11500972 2015 Ford Fiesta SE purchased 2.8.18 Crest Ford in Center Line, MI Right away, began having issues. Taken in to Dealership 9.18.18. In 2019, I contacted them 3-4 times, asking when I could bring in for Recall on ignition, which was Warranty. On 3.9.20, took to Costco, engine had no power, wouldn't go above certain speeds, felt like it would stall. Said needed... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
This vehicle has a known design defect with the oil filter housing and cooler assembly. This plastic assembly will crack and leak oil into a valley in the engine compartment and eventually will leak oil over the rest of the engine and onto the floor. Other times it will fail completely and leak a large amount of oil and/or coolant causing engine failure. Repair if this occurs out of the warranty p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
All door lock actuators (including the fuel cap door cover) stopped working after driving the vehicle. The passenger and both rear doors were able to open via the inside door handle, but the driver side door could not be unlocked via the key fob, console lock button, or manually pulling the inside door handle. The fuel cap door cover could only be opened via the emergency release pull in the trunk... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
Water pump failure 3 times. Internal water pump failed causing engine to overheat dumping coolant into the engine oil. Original water pump replaced 5/16/21. Replacement water pump failed and was replaced 6/19/22. Second Replacement water pump has failed also as of January 1, 2023 resulting in catastrophic engine failure.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2020
The middle rear seat belt locks up when you fold the seat down and the only way to lift the seat is to remove the seat belt from the car and allow it to fully retract. But as soon as the seat get laid down again you have to repeat the process. There are multiple videos on YouTube of multiple ford vehicles having the same problem. Secondly periodically all the lights on the dash come on and it sa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2020
The middle rear seat belt locks up when you fold the seat down and the only way to lift the seat is to remove the seat belt from the car and allow it to fully retract. But as soon as the seat get laid down again you have to repeat the process. There are multiple videos on YouTube of multiple ford vehicles having the same problem. Secondly periodically all the lights on the dash come on and it sa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Have a hard brake pedal. U0401 code. Ford replaced battery. It got rid of code but still had a hard brake pedal. Ford replaced power assist unit. That fix the problem.
LINCOLN
CONTINENTAL
(2017) — LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
Jan 5, 2023
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln Continental. The contact stated that the rear driver’s and passenger’s side doors could no longer be opened from outside the vehicle. The doors could only be opened from the inside of the vehicle. The failure was also intermittent with the front driver’s and front passenger’s side doors. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and m... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle began to lose power. The accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. The power train warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an unknown GMC dealer who restarted and test-drove the vehicle. The dealer diagnosed that no... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that the brake pedal would depress to the floorboard without warning. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the brake master cylinder was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was then diagnosed with a defective ABS system; however, the part for the repair was on backorder. The ma... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
I was driving on the interstate with my daughter (she was in her car seat in the second row), when all of a sudden we heard a very loud explosion type sound and then glass from the moon roof came flying into the car. My daughter was screaming and crying, and I wasn’t sure if she had been hit with glass at first (she wasn’t thankfully, but could have been)—she was just very scared. I had to... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
Unknown/Uncertain as to why the floor is wet on right rear passenger. Dealer unable to detect why floor board is wet. I need answers because this is a health risk/ lungs risk for my family and myself due to questionable mold May probably grow from the wet carpet and wet spell
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Lincoln Nautilus. The contact stated while sitting in the rear middle seat, the seat belt retracted independently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while attempting to unbuckle the seat belt, the seat belt failed to unlatch as needed. The contact had to cut the seat belt due to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not con... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2020
The contact owns a 1999 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the steering wheel started pulling to the left with extreme force. The contact attempted to correct the over steering and the vehicle started pulling to the right and the left. The contact stated that an unknown warning was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle back to his residence. The contact s... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2020
The contact owns a 1999 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the steering wheel started pulling to the left with extreme force. The contact attempted to correct the over steering and the vehicle started pulling to the right and the left. The contact stated that an unknown warning was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle back to his residence. The contact s... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2022
UNDER HARD ACCELERATION, THE CAR SPUTTERS AND CHUGS HARD AND SUFFICIENT PASSING SPEED MAY NOT BE MET. ON 2 OCCASIONS, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHED AND ON 1 OCCASION IT REMAINED SOLID FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. BOTH TIMES THE LIGHTS CLEARED OUT EVENTUALLY. LOCAL FORD DEALER SAID THEY CLAIM IT IS CONDENSATION IN THE 3.5L ECOBOOST TURBO HOUSING. OFF THE RECORD SOME RECOMMEND DRILLING A WEEPING HOLE T... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2022
Automatic shift lever bushing broke disconnecting the shifting cable from shift arm. Immediately disabled vehicle while in motion. There has already been a recall for this for Ford products of this era, why not Lincolns? Very dangerous if this had happened at high speed!
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Prior issue 11497970 reported on 12/19/2022. Car stopped without warning in traffic on November 30 and would not start or switch gears to neutral. Towed to Hines Park Lincoln and spent 16 days in the repair shop. It was returned to me on December 15. On December 20, I started the car to drive it for a first test drive around the block. It traveled 2 houses and stopped. After several tries, I got... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Prior issue 11497970 reported on 12/19/2022. Car stopped without warning in traffic on November 30 and would not start or switch gears to neutral. Towed to Hines Park Lincoln and spent 16 days in the repair shop. It was returned to me on December 15. On December 20, I started the car to drive it for a first test drive around the block. It traveled 2 houses and stopped. After several tries, I got... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Prior issue 11497970 reported on 12/19/2022. Car stopped without warning in traffic on November 30 and would not start or switch gears to neutral. Towed to Hines Park Lincoln and spent 16 days in the repair shop. It was returned to me on December 15. On December 20, I started the car to drive it for a first test drive around the block. It traveled 2 houses and stopped. After several tries, I got... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Brake Booster faulty almost caused me to not to be able to come to a complete stop in traffic. My thoughts were that I needed to have brakes replaced. I did have front and back replaced. But braking are still the same the same ..not coming to a complete stop, hissing sound.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKT. The contact stated that the twin-turbo became inoperable. The contact stated that oil was entering the exhaust and the contact was unable to see other vehicles. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the turbo needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the fai... Read more
LINCOLN
MKT
(2012) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:OTHER FUEL TYPES:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER
Dec 20, 2022
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKT. The contact stated that the twin-turbo became inoperable. The contact stated that oil was entering the exhaust and the contact was unable to see other vehicles. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the turbo needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the fai... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
The car unexpectantly stopped on Nov. 30 and would not start on a residential road close to a traffic light. It totally conked out and nothing worked except for the hazard lights. Cars had to be diverted around us in busy traffic, The tow truck driver could not get it in neutral and had to take something apart on the dashboard console. The dealership worked for days pulling the plugs, cleaning the... Read more
LINCOLN
CONTINENTAL
(2017) — BACK OVER PREVENTION
Dec 15, 2022
Incident date: Aug 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln Continental. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V644000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that he had experienced a clouded rear view camera image. The contact stated that he contacted the dealer and was informed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
Windshield wipers will stop working when driving in weather that requires the windshield wipers. They stop in place and will not move even when trying to move them manually. This is an intermittent problem. The windshield wipers will reset and start working after a period of 6+ hours of the car being turned off. This happened on 12/1/22 and 12/10/22 while driving the car. Car dealership wil... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2022
TSB 19-2346 ... Engine gives no warning until to late ... Then multiple warnings and alarms happen all at once ... says the car is overheating but before you have time to react (Like pulling over) the alarms clear ... engine light is only warning on ... This could cause the motor to seize or stop running loosing power steering and control ... This has been known since 2019 when TSB-19-2346 was an... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2022
I was travelling down an interstate highway in my vehicle when I noticed several momentary losses of engine power over the course of approximately five minutes. These moments became more frequent over the next two to three minutes, then the engine abruptly shut down with no power when pressing the accelerator and no warning lights. Only after I restarted my vehicle did I receive a powertrain fault... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2022
The Brake Booster on my vehicle failed. I had it replaced and two years later it failed again. Many owners of the 2013 Lincoln MKX have this same issue. This is very dangerous and it putting my families and others lives in danger if my brakes were to completely fail while driving down the highway. There should be some kind of recall on this as I have seen thousands of complaints for the same thing... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that while at the dealer for routine maintenance, the mechanic discovered multiple wheel lug nuts had swollen and the wheels could not be removed using the standard wrench supplied by the manufacturer. The contact indicated that the failure was present on each of the four wheels. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact wa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2022
The contact's grandmother owned a 2012 Lincoln MKT. The contact stated that when his grandmother was starting the vehicle, she experienced a loss of power steering assist. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become very difficult the turn in either direction. Additionally, the instrument panel display became distorted and unreadable, the brake light remained illuminated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was tak... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become very difficult the turn in either direction. Additionally, the instrument panel display became distorted and unreadable, the brake light remained illuminated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was tak... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2005 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated that the windshield wipers became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000. The consumer stated wipers are only turned on when raining, back warning only works when backi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic signal with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle suddenly accelerated to approximately 10 MPH and crashed into the rear of the vehicle in front of her. The contact's vehicle crashed two times into the rear of the other vehicle. The contact said she was able to place the vehicle in park (P) and turned it off. The... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, he saw smoke entering through the vents. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving the vehicle to a near friend's residence. The contact stated when he open the hood he saw the fire was located on the engine. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with water nearby. The conta... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, he saw smoke entering through the vents. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving the vehicle to a near friend's residence. The contact stated when he open the hood he saw the fire was located on the engine. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with water nearby. The conta... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
The backup camera and 360 degree camera periodically malfunction and display a blue image. The backup camera does not work again until I restart the vehicle. This has happened both on a roadway while parallel parking and in a parking garage.
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
The backup camera and 360 degree camera periodically malfunction and display a blue image. The backup camera does not work again until I restart the vehicle. This has happened both on a roadway while parallel parking and in a parking garage.
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
First incident 10-15-2019 (purchased used vehicle 09-30-19) Exiting freeway at 55mph and suddenly brakes stopped working( was able to pull aside) then brakes worked normal again. Took vehicle to check breaks and nothing wrong was found. Second incident 02-17-2020 Driving son to school at 35mhp brakes stopped working while doing a right turn and ran over sidewalk to avoid hitting vehicle in front. ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
First incident 10-15-2019 (purchased used vehicle 09-30-19) Exiting freeway at 55mph and suddenly brakes stopped working( was able to pull aside) then brakes worked normal again. Took vehicle to check breaks and nothing wrong was found. Second incident 02-17-2020 Driving son to school at 35mhp brakes stopped working while doing a right turn and ran over sidewalk to avoid hitting vehicle in front. ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
First incident 10-15-2019 (purchased used vehicle 09-30-19) Exiting freeway at 55mph and suddenly brakes stopped working( was able to pull aside) then brakes worked normal again. Took vehicle to check breaks and nothing wrong was found. Second incident 02-17-2020 Driving son to school at 35mhp brakes stopped working while doing a right turn and ran over sidewalk to avoid hitting vehicle in front. ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
Speedometer light randomly goes off every time I drive the car and it is difficult to see the speed I am driving
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
Speedometer light randomly goes off every time I drive the car and it is difficult to see the speed I am driving
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
There is a design flaw in the way coolant flows around the engine block which allows coolant to leak into cylinder 3 the result of which is the mix of coolant and motor oil damages the engine with no probability of repair. The only recourse is engine replacement. A Ford service bulletin as to this issue has been issued by Ford to its Service Departments. A design change in the motor block has s... Read more
LINCOLN
MKZ HYBRID
(2014) — FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
Nov 22, 2022
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH and accelerating from a stop at a traffic signal the vehicle stalled in the middle of traffic. The contact placed the vehicle in park(P) and attempted to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that several attempts were needed to restart the vehicle. The contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
Front sub frame rusted out completely on drivers side, passenger side is fine. The frame could separate at any time which could cause you to loss control of car without warning. Took car to get lower control arm replaced and repair shop saw rust damage to sub frame and took pictures. Called Ford to tell them about issue, they are having a dealer inspect it on 11/25/2022.
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
I remote started my SUV I got in after 7 minutes put it in reverse heard a loud noise and my panoramic sunroof shattered in on me. There was nothing on it, nothing hit it, it just shattered and rained glass down on me.
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2003 Lincoln Aviator equipped with Cooper Tires, Tire Line: Hercules HTS-Terra-Trac, Tire Size 245/65/R17, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's side front tire sidewall separated in the center. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The contact stated that the failu... Read more