FaultScore

Worst years for a Lincoln Navigator

Owners have filed 1,794 complaints about the Lincoln Navigator with NHTSA across model years 1998 to 2025. More of them are about the electrical system than anything else.

Avoid

2003 Lincoln Navigator

179 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly suspension.

Cleanest on record

2012 Lincoln Navigator

15 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every Lincoln Navigator year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2025 B 21 0 0 2,000 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2024 C 28 8 0 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2023 9 0 0 Electrical System
2022 C 33 8 2 Electrical System
2021 B 40 3 0 Engine & Cooling
2020 C 35 2 2 23,050 Transmission & Drivetrain
2019 D 97 4 0 40,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2018 C 69 0 6 51,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2017 B 45 2 2 87,000 Brakes
2016 B 33 0 2 79,500 Windows, Mirrors & Wipers
2015 C 31 3 1 66,500 Electrical System
2014 C 25 6 0 86,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2013 C 20 3 0 20,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2012 A 15 0 0 30,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2011 B 10 1 0 88,600 Transmission & Drivetrain
2010 C 22 4 0 78,000 Brakes
2009 C 10 0 0 66,057 Engine & Cooling
2008 C 40 2 1 60,000 Brakes
2007 D 56 3 6 70,000 Brakes
2006 D 90 7 5 68,000 Engine & Cooling
2005 D 71 5 4 56,296 Suspension
2004 D 119 4 3 54,000 Suspension
2003 F 179 12 5 55,000 Suspension
2002 C 48 2 6 90,000 Engine & Cooling
2001 F 116 7 15 73,322 Tires
2000 F 137 19 20 70,250 Tires
1999 F 155 10 12 86,000 Tires
1998 F 240 21 24 100,000 Tires

What breaks on a Lincoln Navigator

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Electrical System 200 11.1%

Worst in 2003

Engine & Cooling 188 10.5%

Worst in 1999

Worst in 2018

Tires 170 9.5%

Worst in 1998

Suspension 163 9.1%

Worst in 2003

Brakes 111 6.2%

Worst in 1998

Worst in 1998

Worst in 2003

Worst in 2003

Airbags 78 4.3%

Worst in 2003

Worst in 2019

Steering 71 4.0%

Worst in 1998

Worst in 2007

Worst in 2016

Exactly what failed on a Lincoln Navigator

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Tread/Belt 64 23.5%
Automatic Transmission 34 12.5%
Body 33 12.1%
Engine 31 11.4%
Front 23 8.5%
TIE ROD Assembly 21 7.7%
Lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs 18 6.6%
Frontal 17 6.3%
Sidewall 16 5.9%
Cruise Control 15 5.5%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every Lincoln Navigator, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Nov 1997 peak 27 Aug 2026

Lincoln Navigator problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the Lincoln Navigator

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.