Lincoln MKZ Complaints (2018)

38 consumer complaints on file.

#11772952October 22, 2026
ENGINE
Around end of May or beginning of June 2026 a check engine light came on in our 2018 MKZ. The code showed cylinder 3 misfire. We called our local Ford dealership for diagnosis. We almost didn't get there as it started to overheat on the way. Once at Ford they diagnosed it with coolant intrusion in cylinder 3. They said this was a known issue and needed a new block. $11,500 for replacement. They said driving it could cause catastrophic problems to the vehicle and possibly the passengers in it. The vehicle had 65,873 miles on it at time and once home it has stayed in the garage since. They said warranty was over and to call Lincoln for assistance programs as it was a known safety defect. I did call and Lincoln denied any help with repairs.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11767035September 25, 2026
ENGINE
Head gasket and long block. I was at risk along with the public. I was driving on [XXX] when the car suddenly started to overheat and would not accelerate anymore. The problem was diagnosed today the coolant is leaking into cylinder 3. The check engine light came on and gave me p303 for a code. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11766289September 23, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I recently have been losing antifreeze, The car stared to overheat, the P303 engine code came on. The car hasn't been inspected yet but my mechanic said it's a sign of a long or short block issue. I've been looking the problem up. It seems to be a problem with many of these cars, a known issue with the card from 2017-2020.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11764046September 14, 2026
ENGINE
While driving, the car stalled. I could not restart it. It was towed to Lincoln Dealer and determined that coolant had leaked into the cylinders and seized the engine. This is a known defect on the Ford EcoBoost Engine. Fully aware of the defect, Ford redesigned the engine in 2019 for later models. I am now faced with the huge expense of having Lincoln replace the engine. Ford needs to take responsibility and pay for this. Please help me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11756956August 14, 2026
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30-35 MPH, the engine overheated. The contact pulled over and became aware that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact added coolant to the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that there was coolant leaking into the cylinder, which caused engine failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the engine was replaced. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11748460July 6, 2026
ENGINE
The engine light came on. The car suddenly wouldn’t go past 35 mph . Thankfully I was on a local road. I had it towed to the dealer and was told that the engine needed to be replaced because coolant leaked into the engine. There were no warning lights except the day of . The car did not give any indication of a leak. Nor was it running hot. Everything was functioning fine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11747716July 1, 2026
POWER TRAIN
Scanned codes P0741, P1450, P1744, & P2196. Check the transmission fluid level and condition. No fluid drained from hole, added a little fluid, and retrieved a sample of the fluid. The fluid is very dark. Identifix states, if the fluid smells or has the appearance of being black due to internal clutch slippage, the transmission should be replaced or overhauled. If the transmission fluid is in good condition and found to be at the proper level, monitor the Torque Converter Clutch actual slip (TC_SLIPACT) and TCC desired slip (TC_SLIPDSD) PIDs through the scan tool as the vehicle is driven noting these reading should stay relatively closed together expecting the reading to show to be within 10 RPM of each other. Seeing the values spread apart supports the setting of the P0741 and P1744 codes. Note that excessive TCC slip can be caused by multiple internal factors including mechanical failure of the TCC solenoid, an issue of a valve body component that does not hydraulically react to the activation of the solenoid, a leaking valve body gasket, a leaking input shaft seal, or failure of the torque converter seal. There are no external testing measures that can be taken to verify any of these as the specific cause of the concern. Per the test drive, the difference between actual and desired TCC slip was 100-125 rpm.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11747721July 1, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Scanned codes P0741, P1450, P1744, & P2196. Hard starts after fuel refills.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11746143June 24, 2026
ENGINE
My 2018 Lincoln MKZ began misfiring on startups. Eventually the check engine light came on with a code of P0302. About a week later while driving, the engine temp gauge reached the hottest temp reading on the gauge. I had to immediately pull over. Upon pulling over I immediately checked the coolant level in the overflow reservoir and it was empty. After refilling with coolant I was able to drive the car home. Over the next few days I monitored the coolant level but at the same time the car was experiencing rough startups and smoke coming out of the exhaust upon startup. Sometimes turning the engine off and restarting it would stop the smoke, but sometimes it wouldn't. I began doing some research and discovered, Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 19-2346, which explains my exact experience with my 2018 Lincoln MKZ. I have yet to take my car to the dealership for repairs due to the costs that are expected to have this issue resolved. Documents in the legal case, Miller, et al. v. Ford Motor Company (Case No. 2:20-cv-01796) claim that Ford was aware of this defect in their vehicles dating back to 2010. I purchased my 2018 Lincoln MKZ back in 2019.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11743958June 14, 2026
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My Check Engine Light came on, I took my car to the dealership that I have using for eight years with less than 38k miles on it and I was told by the service technician who gave the diagnose as, there was coolant in the cylinder where the spark plug #3 is housed. He stated that the car is misfiring and I was told I needed to get an new engine replace to correct the problem. I was given a Service Bulletin stating the manufacturer knew of the problem with this model. I talk to the dealership service manager and questioned why no indication, clue, or suggestion was told to me of the problem with that type of engine. I have not contact my insurance company and I don't if they have information on the problem of the engine problem. I did tell the service technician on routine maintenance for the car that is running "rich" in using gas. In May of this year is when the engine problem started, 3 weeks before actually being eight years officially, no other indication lights came. I drive to work on the streets and freeway everyday.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11710990January 14, 2026
POWER TRAIN
The car had an internal transmission failure and caused most of the transmission fluid to leak out between inspections. Upon removing the cv axle on driver’s side, the seal was fine and replaced along with cv axle. The fluid drained and was only about half a liter (needs about 4.5L normally). After servicing the transmission fluid, the dealership did their assessment and came to the following conclusion. “ Good Afternoon Sir We found the transmission system requires replacement due to an internal fault, including damage to the transfer shaft and bearings, with potential additional internal damage. Replacing the transmission can help restore smooth gear shifting and overall drivetrain functionality. To replace the transmission, you are looking at $9000.00 out the door. My apology on taking much longer to diagnose this properly. If you have any other questions please let me know. ” The drastic transmission failure which makes noises and engages and disengages while on cruise control shows the failure internally. Many metal pieces were found among the fluid when drained. This could and still can easily leave someone on the middle of the road with no time to drive to the shoulder. Car still has less than 100k miles with the severe transmission failure and the fluid leak which occurred prior to the transmission making noise. Essentially, the internal components caused the leak which the caused even more damage. I’m quoted $9,000 for the repair which occurred really early in the car’s life. I do a lot of longer trips away from home and can easily be left stranded in the middle of nowhere or even cause huge accidents when in heavy fast moving traffic if I lose drivability or if metal components fly off. The cv axle moves in and out of the transaxle side meaning the shaft can pop off as well.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11707404December 28, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Car only has 97K miles and the transmission fluid has been leaking for some time causing loud noises from the transmission which took time to locate. The transmission leaked fluid and only had about half a liter of fluid when it should be around 4.5 liters. The fluid leaked from the transmission on the driver cv axle seal. The car shows no lights on dash of any kind. I discovered the leak after the noises were really bad while driving one day. I put the car on my ramps and got under and discovered the driver cv axle damaged and looked like electrical tape was jammed in the cv axle near the transfer case/transmission. Upon closer inspection the leak of transmission fluid was even more obvious. There is no dip stick for the transmission so I decided to drain and see and there is evidence of only about half a liter of fluid. The fluid is black and full of metal particles. This is concerning because the depth of damage is unknown until the car is repaired; this repair would include a new seal, cv axle and fluid replacement. There is no way to know what internal damage was done and this was such a short period of time. Periodic inspections are conducted on the vehicle when oil changed are completed. This can easily lead to transmission failure and the risk is exponential due to it happening regardless of where you are on the road with the unknown weather and road conditions. Miles reflected is when the leak was discovered after the noises. 97,839 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11707406December 28, 2025
WHEELS
Wheel lug nuts get swollen due to the material used causing problems when the wheels need to be removed. I was lucky to not be in an emergency situation needing to change a wheel out. This could have easily happened and I would have been unable to change a wheel on the side of the road. I went to Costco to get my tires changed and they refused to take the wheels off because the wheel lug nuts were ALL swollen and could cause issues on removal or/and installation. They were afraid of stripping the hardware during removal or being unable to torque to spec during installation. The replacement of the wheel lug nuts with parts that wont recreate the problem was about $90 and taking an extra day for the tire replacement appointment plus me replacing it on my own saved on labor.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11701761November 26, 2025
ENGINE
Check engine light came on. Error code 0302 and 0316 on ODB at dealer. Was advised that engine needed to be replaced due to coolant intrusion into cylinder 2 which cause the vehicle to overheat. Engine has 3200 miles on it. Safety hazard due to engine seizing at high speed and causing an accident due to loss of power. Also possible engine fire due to loss of coolant/overheating.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682914August 25, 2025
ENGINE
Coolant Intrusion of Cylinder 3, car has less than 50,000 miles total and has been very well taken care of. Has had over a gallon of coolant added within the month of Aug
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11663894May 30, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
My 2018 Lincoln MKZ with the 2.0 Ecoboost Engine incurred premature engine failure at ONLY 40k miles. My safety as well as other drivers' safety at risk due to EcoBoost Engine in certain model year 2013-2019 Ford and Lincoln vehicles have an inherent design defect which makes them predisposed to leak coolant, including allowing the coolant to seep into the engine cylinder, which causes overheating and cylinder head cracking, and can cause the engine to misfire, suddenly stall, or even catch fire while driving. In April the car began to "shake" at start up. The shaking was intermittent. After a few days of this, the check engine light came on. I took it to the mechanic (T&H) to have it looked at. They said the "shaking" is the car misfiring at start up. They were not able to locate any leaks or identify the cause of the misfire. They code on the check engine light was Code P0301-Cylinder #1. During April and May the misfires have continued and got worse. I was going back and forth to T&H trying to diagnose the issue. On May 12th, while taking the kids to school, I went to pull out into traffic and the car would not accelerate. The dashboard lights said the engine was overheating. The car would not go above 10mph. Luckily my mechanic is down the street. They were concerned about excessive use of coolant and not seeing a leak anywhere. They filled the coolant, and I made a follow up appt in one week to do a borescope inspection. On May 19th, T&H did a Borescope inspection and visually confirmed coolant in cylinder #1. They provided me a copy of a TSB 22-2229 that states the engine block needs to be replaced. The cost of the engine block replacement was estimated at $8k. Engine failure at 40k miles is unacceptable. An engine block replacement due to a manufacturing/design flaw should be covered by Lincoln Motor Co as a goodwill repair regardless of warranty status.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11640579February 4, 2025
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
I own a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The vehicle Engine overheating warnings came up, and I took the car to the dealership. They informed that the Lincoln MKZ vehicle had a frequent problem with coolant leaking into the engine due to faulty power train assembly. The dealer has seen and repaired hundreds of vehicles with this problem. Lincoln company denies responsibility for this manufacturing defect. The vehicle is only 7 years 3 months and 30 days old with 67914 miles used by single owner. A reputed company like Lincoln should be held responsible for manufacturing and marketing vehicles where the power train and engine fails on a fairly new vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11634568January 7, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
Initially when buying the vehicle in 2021, it had 30k miles. Car continued to give me a "cylinder 2 misfire code" after numerous trips to different garages and then the car beginning to start up rough and anti freeze missing i came across a "service bulletin" regarding it being a faulty ring in the engine. I took the vehicle to Ford and they replaced the engine. My car just hit 100k miles All of the sudden one day when trying to stop at a red light the car was shaking . There was no codes and only happened while in drive and at a red light or stop sigh:( complete stop) I took the card to Ford, who diagnosed it and open up my tranny and found out there was no fluid ,was burnt and had metal in it. There is still no code on my dash board and i need to pay 7k to replace a transmission. The fluid is housed internally , there was no leaks, and no codes was thrown on the dash. How was i to know transmission fluid was leaking and wher was it going?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11618089October 4, 2024
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11612211September 3, 2024
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the engine light illuminated. While the vehicle was idling, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who referred the contact to the local dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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