Owners have filed 10 complaints
about the 2018 Lincoln MKT with NHTSA between 2020 and 2026.
The largest single group is the body & structure.
Across this model's run it ranks 9 of 9 worst.
The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew
an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous
ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 11
Against the median year of the Lincoln MKT. 50 means typical for this
model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0
0% of these complaints
involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of
9.7%.
Early failure — not reported
Too few complaints recorded a mileage to measure this.
Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade:
A
B
C
D
F
ungraded
What breaks on a 2018 Lincoln MKT
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
Other & Unspecified
330.0%
Body & Structure
330.0%
Median failure at 91,100 miles
Stability & Traction Control
110.0%
Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
110.0%
Fuel & Propulsion
110.0%
Electrical System
110.0%
When owners complained
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing
out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single
owner can see from inside their own car.
May 2020peak 3May 2026
Recalls on the 2018 Lincoln MKT
A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which
the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous
enough to fix for free — however old the car is.
Canada — Transport Canada
Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not
always mirror the American ones.
Recall 2025664501 units in Canada
Structure
Issue: On certain vehicles, the exterior B-pillar trims on the driver and front passenger doors may not be properly attached. As a result, the trim(s) could loosen and separate from the vehicle. Safety Risk: Trim that detaches from the vehicle could create a hazard for others and increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: Ford will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to secure the exterior B-pillar trims.
Recall 202005115,281 units in Canada
Suspension
Issue: On certain vehicles, the rear suspension toe link(s) could break. This could cause a sudden loss of vehicle stability. Note: Vehicles previously repaired under Ford Campaign 19R01 or 19S18 do not require repair under this recall. For the Taurus model, only the SHO Performance Package model is included in this recall. Safety Risk: A loss of vehicle stability could cause a loss of control and increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: The company will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to install improved rear suspension toe links.
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
at 133,200 milesOakmont, PA
STRUCTURE
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKT. The contact stated the black panel trim had detached while driving at 55 MPH on the highway. The driver ran over the plastic. The contact received the recall notification letter for the NHTSA Campaign Number. 25V827000 (Back Over Prevention) The contact called the local dealer regarding the recall. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Shults Ford Harmarville, 1300 Gulf Lab Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15238, where it was diagnosed, but they were unsure if the part was covered. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 133,200.
NHTSA complaint #11740353 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Union Beach, NJ
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Car started to hesitate, then when I stopped at a light it started running rough like it wanted to stall. Then the engine light started blinking. Vehicle was towed to dealership. All fuel injectors, spark plugs, and ignition coils replaced.
NHTSA complaint #11711523 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fargo, ND
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The problem is with the rear camera alerts. Sometimes, when I am backing up, it does not alert me when a person is walking in back of my car or sometimes it is a moving vehicle, and I am in reverse and slowly backing up. All of a sudden I see them right there in back of me so I step on the break quickly, or I would have hit them. It doesn’t always happen, but it has on numerous occasions. This has been happening for a few months now. I forget about it, until it happens again. Today on News Break on my phone, it was informing people with 2016-2018 vehicles that there is a recall on some of these vehicles. So I called Luther Ford in Fargo and told him what happens sometimes, but not always. He told me if there was a problem with the rear camera, there would be a message in my dash warning me of a problem. Then he ran my VIN number and told me there were no recalls for my vehicle. He never took in account, that there might be something wrong with my rear camera. I don’t know if he intended to talk down to me because I am a woman, but that is the way I felt. I will never take my vehicle there again. I had stopped taking my car there before because their oil change and inspection took about 20 minutes. No one can do a thorough inspection and oil change in that time. I ended up telling him twice that “you aren’t going to help me, are you. The second time I hung up on him.
NHTSA complaint #11695030 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fargo, ND
BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
The problem is with the rear camera alerts. Sometimes, when I am backing up, it does not alert me when a person is walking in back of my car or sometimes it is a moving vehicle, and I am in reverse and slowly backing up. All of a sudden I see them right there in back of me so I step on the break quickly, or I would have hit them. It doesn’t always happen, but it has on numerous occasions. This has been happening for a few months now. I forget about it, until it happens again. Today on News Break on my phone, it was informing people with 2016-2018 vehicles that there is a recall on some of these vehicles. So I called Luther Ford in Fargo and told him what happens sometimes, but not always. He told me if there was a problem with the rear camera, there would be a message in my dash warning me of a problem. Then he ran my VIN number and told me there were no recalls for my vehicle. He never took in account, that there might be something wrong with my rear camera. I don’t know if he intended to talk down to me because I am a woman, but that is the way I felt. I will never take my vehicle there again. I had stopped taking my car there before because their oil change and inspection took about 20 minutes. No one can do a thorough inspection and oil change in that time. I ended up telling him twice that “you aren’t going to help me, are you. The second time I hung up on him.
NHTSA complaint #11695030 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vernon, MI
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
On [XXX] the drivers side keyless entry fell off our vehicle while traveling on the Ohio turnpike. The wiring harness held the trim component from falling off the vehicle, but caused it to fling and smash into the vehicle until we pulled off the turnpike. We duct taped the part in place until we could get the vehicle to our local Lincoln dealer. I noticed that the part had no clips to hold it into place, just double sided sticky tape that had only adhered to about 1/3 of the frame. On inspection, we noticed that the passenger side trim was also loose. I was told by Lincoln that at 53,000 miles this was a trim part and not considered an electrical component. We purchased a new component (part # BE9Z7420555BA) and had the dealership (Signature Ford of Owosso, MI) install the part. Now on [XXX] we heard a rattle coming from the drivers door. On inspection, the new part has almost came off again as well as the passenger side trim. We checked for a recall and found that the Ford Edge (the same basic vehicle with a Ford logo) has a recall on this same component. Can you be of any help in this matter. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11575730 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 49,000 milesParkland, FL
STRUCTURE
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKT. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the exterior windshield trim on the driver's side door detached. After some time, the exterior windshield trim on the passenger's side door also detached. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who did not provide a specific diagnosis, but the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 49,000.
NHTSA complaint #11544805 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Redlands, CA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My wife and I purchased a Certified, Pre-Owned, 2018 Lincoln MKT for her in July. Last month we finally looked at dash covers. Many Ford vehicles, including ours, have Adaptive Cruise Control. One feature included in this option is a Collision Warning System which flashes a row of red lights on the dash when it activates. Several manufacturers required the dash cover purchaser to check off whether, or not, their vehicle had Adaptive Cruise Control. My wife liked a fabric pattern offered by Coverking. When I found no place to check off Adaptive Cruise Control on their order system, I stopped placing the order and sent them an inquiry as to whether their dash covers had the necessary cutout for this feature because it doesn’t do any good to have such a great safety feature if the dash cover blocks the flashing lights. They responded and referred me to the following on their website “All Coverking Dash Covers are designed from the original vehicle dashboard using sophisticated software. Therefore, all cutouts, sensors, cup holders, and airbag openings are studied and the Coverking Dash Cover is designed not to interfere. Making the Coverking Dash Cover a superior product over the competition.” With that assurance, I returned to the website and placed my order. I was surprised to receive a dash cover with no cutout for the red lights. See attached picture. Please note that I MADE THE CUTOUT shown in the picture. You can see the absence of the black edge trim around the cutout I made. Blocking the driver from being able to see a very important safety feature when it activates, and which is intended to help the driver avoid a collision. is inexcusable. Question: “How many avoidable accidents have drivers had due to the negligence of Coverking in not providing the necessary cutout over the Collision warning red lights?”
NHTSA complaint #11436863 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Corona, NY
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
NAVIGATOR SYSTEM, BLUETOOTH SYSTEM, ARE DISCONNECTED ALL THE TIME, IN THE MIDDLE OF ANY TRIP.
NHTSA complaint #11323246 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Corona, NY
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
NAVIGATOR SYSTEM, BLUETOOTH SYSTEM, ARE DISCONNECTED ALL THE TIME, IN THE MIDDLE OF ANY TRIP.
NHTSA complaint #11323246 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Corona, NY
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
NAVIGATOR SYSTEM, BLUETOOTH SYSTEM, ARE DISCONNECTED ALL THE TIME, IN THE MIDDLE OF ANY TRIP.
NHTSA complaint #11323246 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.