Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 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 2,245,377 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 19,021 complaints for LINCOLN
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
exhaust manifold leaks gas fumes into the cabin via a/c
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
exhaust manifold leaks gas fumes into the cabin via a/c
Incident date: Sep 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while reversing the vehicle, the backup camera was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the backup camera assembly and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 109,000.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the battery and indicated that the gear selector indicator on the gauge cluster and shifter buttons remained illuminated while the vehicle was off causing the battery to drain. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manuf... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
Sudden loss of power and deceleration. This happens intermittently and sets a code P2111 every time. Can drive for days between incidents and never know when it will happen. Gives no warning just shuts down immediately. This is very dangerous and my wife almost got hit yesterday in traffic due to malfunction
Incident date: Oct 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Lincoln MKT. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 40 MPH, the power steering was seized, and the contact's husband had to manually steer the vehicle. The "Service Advance Trac" and "Steering Assist Fault Service Required" messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with intermittent sensor failure. The mechanic re... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2021
I took car in to get oil change found coolant leaking. Car has 32000 miles. I went to ford store and they said coolant is leaking out side of engine and cylinders no 3 and 4 have coolant inside Ford replaced engine. 2.0 Eco bost Engine
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2007 Lincoln MKZ. The contact had initially received a recall notice for NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part was unavailable. The contact also stated that while driving at various speeds, the brakes would intermittently fail to operate as needed and would depress to the floorboard without warning. The contact then received a second reca... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2021
I had to slam on the brakes due to a driver pulling out in front of me without looking. The brakes went to the floor and I had difficulty getting the car stopped. I took it in to my mechanic and they diagnosed as a master cylinder, which I had replaced 7 months prior for a similar incident. But, replacing the master cylinder didn’t solve the problem. After more work, they replaced the entire ABS... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2021
The brakes on my car stopped working and this caused me to crash into a wall. This accident caused by my brakes failing nearly killed me and put others at risk. There were no recalls, or warnings about the brakes failing before the accident.
Crash
LINCOLN
CONTINENTAL
(2019) - UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Sep 28, 2021
Incident date: Sep 28, 2021
I am not aware of an accident involving this defect. I am reporting a safety concern that occurred to me after I bought the car. All door controls(inside and out) are electronic. Doors are electronically opened by pressing a button. In the event of a crash that disables the electric system, occupants would be trapped in a locked car with no way to open the door. For this apparent reason, the ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2021
In a 55mph frontal crash the airbags failed to inflate to protect the driver. Severe damage to the front of the vehicle.
Crash
3 injured
Incident date: May 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKX. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V469000 (Service Brakes, Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the issue. The contac... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKX. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V469000 (Service Brakes, Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the issue. The contac... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2021
The backup warning at times doesn't alert you to cross-traffic. Also the backup camera image is terrible in the daytime and at night is almost impossible to see the image quality is so bad.
LINCOLN
CONTINENTAL
(2019) - SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES
Sep 23, 2021
Incident date: Aug 2, 2020
The contact owns a 2019 Lincoln Continental. The contact stated while exiting out of a parking spot, he attempted to depress the brake pedal but could not reach or find the brake pedal. The contact moved his foot closer to the accelerator pedal and was able to depress the brake pedal. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, he was unable... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKS. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the "electric power steering assist system, service required" warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact stated that excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle while driving at various speeds. The contact had then taken his vehicle to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagn... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2021
The rear backup camera is not working when you put the vehicle in reverse. I was told it was an issue with the camera, they replaced the camera - which I paid for - and its still not working! Then they said its not the camera - again, I paid for a NEW camera, and they still have not been able to fix my vehicle. Today is Sept 22, they have had my car since Sept 1!!!! They've had it 3 weeks and have... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
The lights on the visor mirrors and the garage door opener located on the visor stopped working. 2 days later, all of the switches on the drivers door ( window controls and mirror adjustments) stopped working. Now the dome lights have stopped working. The dealership had the car for a week and performed a master reset and a DDM configuration and window learn procedure. None of these problems we... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
The lights on the visor mirrors and the garage door opener located on the visor stopped working. 2 days later, all of the switches on the drivers door ( window controls and mirror adjustments) stopped working. Now the dome lights have stopped working. The dealership had the car for a week and performed a master reset and a DDM configuration and window learn procedure. None of these problems we... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Lincoln MKS. The contact stated that upon start of vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had initially called the dealer and was informed that his vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V247000 (Air Bags). The contact then called the manufacturer and was provided the same information as the dealer. The manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2021
Acutely while driving, the brake petal went all the way to the floor. The brakes slowly slowed the car but didn’t stop it. Car was towed to the dealership May 21st. I was refused a loaner. Despite receiving two separate notices (one of which was after they had my car) telling me to go get the free fix, they have failed to provide the part. Leaving me without a car for four months. This has ... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2021
Acutely while driving, the brake petal went all the way to the floor. The brakes slowly slowed the car but didn’t stop it. Car was towed to the dealership May 21st. I was refused a loaner. Despite receiving two separate notices (one of which was after they had my car) telling me to go get the free fix, they have failed to provide the part. Leaving me without a car for four months. This has ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2021
DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR LOCK WILL NOT UNLOCK FROM INSIDE OF CAR. THIS IS A SAFETY FACTOR IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. NOT ABLE TO OPEN DOOR FROM INSIDE - HAD TO ROLL WINDOW DOWN AND OPEN FROM HANDLE ON OUTSIDE OF CAR. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. Note There is at least one other report of this happening on your web site and YouTube has several videos of others having this problem and how to replace the hand... Read more
LINCOLN
MKZ HYBRID
(2020) - SEATS
Sep 20, 2021
Incident date: Sep 12, 2021
[XXX] came out to his vehicle and rear seats and seat belts were melted from interior part of the seats. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
LINCOLN
MKZ HYBRID
(2020) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Sep 20, 2021
Incident date: Sep 12, 2021
[XXX] came out to his vehicle and rear seats and seat belts were melted from interior part of the seats. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Incident date: Sep 17, 2021
The rear back-up camera regularly fails during vehicle operation, sometimes as soon as the vehicle is turned on. Turning the vehicle off and then on again will fix it temporarily. According to vehicle recall number 21V223000, the image processing module may become unable to provide video feed to the display, resulting in a loss of backup camera image. Not stated in the recall is that this has also... Read more
LINCOLN
CONTINENTAL
(2017) - UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Sep 16, 2021
Incident date: Sep 2, 2021
Defective E-Latch (press button activated door latch), rear passenger side door. The button is defective- subject to recall, however, my VIN not included. In addition to the defective button installed on our car; this car has a safety design defect in that the manufacturer has not provided the rear passengers a mechanical means of escape in the event of an accident and the button malfunctions or... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2021
I was driving my 2010 Lincoln MKX in heavy traffic when the signal light turned red. When I pushed the brake to stop it was very stiff and I almost hit another vehicle. I could have been seriously injured if I had it another car because there is another safety recall on this vehicle relating to the driver airbag spewing shrapnel in a front end collision. I have had the recall notice regarding t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2021
Our power steering went out while driving into town. I'm lucky my husband was driving because it was so hard to turn the car to get to a safe location. Honolulu Ford stated we have a faulty steering rack and there is a recall for this issue 19V632000 but our car is not on the recall because the state we purchased is not listed. We purchased the car in Alaska and we currently live in Hawaii. We ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2021
The power steering assist failure began showing up as warning light when started and power steering failed. Restarting the car removed the warning light and the power steering worked again. The restart failed to clear the problem last week and I brought the vehicle into the dealership. I had found on several sites that vehicle in question is included in a Ford recall along with several other vehic... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2021
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2007 Lincoln MKX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called the local dealer who confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2021
I was driving and when I pressed on the brake, the pedal went far down and had no indication of the care stopping. It did, but it took a long time to brake. I took it for repair at Firestone, because my dealer warranty was expired. However, the Firestone let me know there is a booster brake replacement letter; the number of the recall is: 13N02. My car still qualifies as it is under 150,000 miles... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2021
REAR END - REAR DIFFERENTIAL I TOOK CAR IN MANY MANY TIMES BECAUSE OF A STRANGE NOISE IT WAS MAKING AND THEY KEPT TELLING ME NOTHING IS WRONG, WELL NOW MY REAR END SOUNDS LIKE IT IS FALLING APART. THEY GAVE ME MY CAR BACK AND TOLD ME PARTS ARE ON A NATIONAL BACKORDER. NO WARNING LIGHTS IN THE CAR ARE ON, NOR EVER CAME ON. MY CAR WAS SERVICED REGULARLY BY THE LINCOLN DEALERSHIP, Bob Ferrando in Gir... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2021
This vehicle's steering gear is not functioning properly. It goes in & out, causing the power steering to fail which is an extreme safety risk. This was issue was under a recall, 15S18, but this specific vin was not listed. We are asking that a closer look be taken & this vin number be added.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while her husband was driving 45 MPH and approaching a traffic light, he had to depress the brake pedal to the floor to stop the vehicle. The driver stated that the advance trac and ABS warning lights were illuminated but turned off shortly after. The driver stated after a week, he experienced the failure again and same the warning lights wer... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Lincoln MKS. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering failed, and the steering wheel was stiff and difficult to turn. The failure almost caused a collision. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed that the steering gear, front lower control arm, rear toe link and rear upper control arm were faulty and needed replacement. Th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while the husband was driving approximately 50 mph a 2nd vehicle crashed into the front passenger side of the vehicle. During the crash, the front driver side seat belt failed and did not secure the driver and the driver side air bag did not deploy. The driver sustained fractured sternum, chest, head, neck, and back injuries and was tran... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
The fuel pump/sensor. My vehicle died (steering column locked as well) while in motion on a busy highway. I took it to the Ford dealership and they replaced the sensor. After I picked it up from the dealership, my car died again on the same highway only this time I was in the middle of turning into oncoming traffic. I could not start my vehicle for several minutes. On both occasions, there were no... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2021
Unknown. Fire started in engine while car was not turned on and parked.
Fire
Incident date: Aug 28, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated that while in his driveway, the manifold plate detached into the steering shaft however, he was able to remove the part. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the local dealer. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000. The... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKS. The contact stated that while driving, the steering wheel was difficult to turn and had switched to manual mode, and was inoperable. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the power steering sensor needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was not repaired. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2021
SECONDS AFTER STARTING AND DRIVING APPROX 200 FEET MY, 2011 LINCOLN MKZ HYBRID , CARS POWER STEERING STOP WORKING. ON THE MESSAGE CENTER ON THE DASH LITE UP LISTING THE POWER STEERING ASSIST FAILURE IN RED LETTERS. I STOPPED TURN THE KEY OFF RESTARTED THE CAR UPON STEERING WAS NORMAL, THIS HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, I HAD THE FORD DEALER,"MULLAHEY FORD" IN ARROYO GRANDE LOOK A... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that he noticed that there was water leaking into the trunk of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the weld off the assembly line had failed and was letting water inside the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there were not enough complaints related to the fail... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brakes would fail intermittently, and the brake pedal was difficult to be depressed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed as a brake booster failure. The contact was informed that the brake booster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2021
The contact owned a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while entering a gated garage, when lifting his foot from the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into a parked vehicle and continued to accelerate and pushed the first vehicle into two additional vehicles. The contact stated he depressed the brake pedal but failed to stop the vehicle. The contact stated he was not... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 8, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Lincoln MKT. The contact stated that at start-up the power steering assist failed to operate as needed with the power steering assist message on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer and was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The contact was referred to the dealer for ass... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, he heard an abnormal noise and had to depress the brake pedal to the floor to stop the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the brake booster system needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired. A dealer was not cont... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2007 Lincoln MKZ. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2021
With booster seats in rear seat, passenger side seat belt is extremely difficult to snap in in place. Got extenders but will not work on passenger rear seat different than the other 2 rear buckles. Wife can not strap grand children in and I the grandfather have a hard time. Shouldn't all the belts be the same? No problems with the other's.