Lincoln MKZ Complaints (2012)

205 consumer complaints on file.

#11742028June 4, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
I have a Lincoln MKZ Hybrid 2012 with 88k miles on it. While I was slowing to a stop as I approached a stoplight at a busy intersection, the 'Check Brake' warning on the dashboard lit up without warning and no prior issues, and my ability to brake became near impossible as the pedal softened. I needed to push it all the way to the floor to get the vehicle to stop. I shifted into park and turned off the vehicle - following turning it back on, the dashboard warning disappeared, I was able to brake again, and the warning has not come back since. My vehicle just passed inspection earlier in the month, and nothing with the brakes came up. This is a critical safety issue! It could have been potentially fatal to myself, my passenger, or other drivers if I could not stop before the intersection, or if this had happened while I was on a main road or highway. I took it into the Ford Lincoln dealership. They cited a faulty HCU/ABS module and recommended replacement, but all parts are after-market at this point and would not come with a warranty. OEM replacements are also extremely difficult to come by. The repairs would take around $3.8k to complete, which is close to the current value of the vehicle. Ford issued Safety Recall 19S54 in December 2019, covering 600,166 model year 2006–2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr, and Lincoln MKZ vehicles for the exact same defect. No recall exists for anything in 2012 despite at least 17 NHTSA complaints have been filed for the 2012 Lincoln MKZ alone for this specific brake failure. The 2012 MKZ and Fusion use the same braking system architecture as the recalled vehicles. The failure mechanism is identical. The safety risk is identical.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11697881November 6, 2025
STEERING
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to steer in either direction. No warning light was illuminated. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had progressed over time. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained for further investigation; however, the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11673764July 15, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed and went all the way to the floorboard however, the vehicle failed to immediately stop. The contact stated that after pumping the brake pedal repeatedly the vehicle came to a stop. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with the ABS control module failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 119,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11670985July 3, 2025
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated that the front driver's side door failed to open while pulling the interior door handle, requiring the contact to open the door using the exterior door handle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the front driver's side interior door handle was replaced three times, and the door lock was replaced once; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the front passenger' side door failed to open completely. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the front passenger' side door lock was replaced once; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 55,567.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667052June 15, 2025
STEERING
My car has lost powering steering three times now. I have replaced the rack and pinion module twice and I’m fixing to a third time. This has happened all within the last 3.5 years
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11586690May 3, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I became the owner of a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to Ford with great difficulty where they reset the sensor or something and the power steering was working again. Now a couple of years later, the problem occurred again. The power steering chime came on, the car read “service advancetrac” in yellow and “power steering assist fault” in read, accompanied by the wheel stiffening. I pulled over turned the car off and back on, and the problem went away. It occurred several more times and turning the car off and back on remedied the problem. It would only occur every couple of months, but more recently it started happening every couple of weeks and now- the last ten days it has happened every time I drive. Each of those times, with the exception of the most recent occurrence, turning the car off and letting it sit for a couple of minutes, followed by turning it back on, solved the problem. The most recent time, I was traveling on the highway going 60 mph when the messages appeared and my wheel stiffened. It terrified me as I was moving fast on a Southern California highway where there are hundreds of cars. I was on my way to take a final exam, that I could not miss, so I kept driving. Steering was near impossible at low speeds. I went in to take my final and three hours later, when I turned the car back on, the power steering still was not working. After hours of research and years of dealing with this problem, I have found that there was a recall regarding the PSCM in the 2012 Lincoln MKZ. I am unsure if this problem extends to the hybrid model, and if so whether it was remedied by a past owner, but a detailed vehicle history report indicates that it was not. I have never received any notice as to this recall. I do know that my car was manufactured in the applicable time period (2011), and that it is experiencing exactly what the recall describes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581296April 5, 2024
STEERING
Power steering control module stop working. Ford is aware of this issue and refusing to classify it as a recall. Vehicle inoperable at 83k miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11568886January 30, 2024
STEERING
While driving I noticed that at times my steering wheel would be difficult to turn. At first, the problem seemed small until I was trying to make a left turn on a very busy 4-lane road, and without warning the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. I narrowly avoided being hit and ever since then, the steering has not been the same. I sought help at my nearest Ford dealership and after they inspected the car they determined that there was a problem with the steering assist and possibly the rack and pinion. We then discovered that the very same parts were recalled in 2011 for the same make and model car. I was never notified of any recalls and I asked why I was never contacted. The Ford dealership did not know why. According to them the vehicles that were recalled were vehicles that were made at the same facility as mine. They pointed out that normally my car would have been included in the recall and they did not know why I was excluded. I have attached the documentation they provided me proving that my car was built in a factory that had other cars recalled for the same reason. Currently, they are telling me that they cannot honor this recall because my car is not in the system as one that should be included in this recall. Due to the near misses that I have had I believe that this is a serious safety issue and should not be something that I pay over 2000 dollars to repair. Especially since all the other vehicles that had the same problem were recalled and repaired for free. Please help me figure out how to hold them accountable for not notifying me and refusing to honor the safety recall. NHTSA Campaign Number 15V340000
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566004January 17, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he observed abnormal soft feedback from the brake pedal and that the brake pedal depressed to the floorboard before bringing the vehicle to a complete stop. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a possible brake fluid leak with the brake master cylinder or hydraulic control module. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 138,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566117January 17, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My brakes stopped working with no warning while driving. All of the brake related lights came on and the pedal went to the floor and I was unable to stop the car. This is a safety issue for the driver and everyone else because there seems to be no warning that the brakes will stop working. I brought the vehicle into a repair shop and they could not find anything wrong with the brakes, however there are multiple reports on this website of the very same issue that I dealt with. When attempting to report this to the ford/lincoln manufacturing, they stated that their system was down and they had no way of taking a report. This is very dangerous and needs to be addressed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11557871December 1, 2023
STEERING
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist and driving track warning lights illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to his place of employment. The contact stated that after work he started the vehicle and, while driving, the steering seized. The contact used both hands to turn and steer the vehicle. The contact phoned the local dealer and made the dealer aware of the failure. The dealer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report to failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11557491November 29, 2023
STEERING
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated that while her husband was attempting to reverse, he became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, and the vehicle displayed a message stating "Electric Power Steering Assist Fault". The EPS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the power steering control module. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering) however, the VIN was included but the vehicle was already repaired under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was 66,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544239September 13, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
i cannot open the front drivers side door from the inside... it is as if the latch became disconnected
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544020September 12, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving and all of a sudden break light came on service break system came on all at one time I never had a problem with this never got a warning before hand , I couldn’t stop the car, break pedal literally on the floor, almost hit 2 cars trying to stop the vehicle, I have brand new break pads, break fluid was checked, had to get the car towed back home because its no longer drivable
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542076September 1, 2023
STEERING
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated that while his grandson was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the power steering control module was reprogrammed; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was determined that the steering gear assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535619July 31, 2023
STEERING
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated while starting the vehicle the steering wheel was firm. The "power steering assist fault" and "service advance trac" messages were displayed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the steering operated normally. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the recall for the failure had expired and provided no additional assistance. The failure mileage was 100,288.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11534652July 26, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Breaks suddenly stopped working. Lights on dash including ABS came on. Car would not stop until pedal pressed almost to floor. Almost as quickly it started working again and our mechanic can not reproduce it. There a number (17) of other complaints describing the problem with more drama. (See [XXX] for one) Incident happened three times, twice going forward and once backing up. Please recall this quickly before someone is killed. 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
#11533539July 20, 2023
STEERING
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, there was a beeping sound heard and the "Steering Assist" and "Service Track" warning lights illuminated. The contact stated slightly corrected the steering wheel and became aware that the vehicle had lost power steering functionality. The contact was able to pull off the roadway and shifted the vehicle into park(P) and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted however, the power steering functionality was still inoperable. The contact drove the vehicle to the residence. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11533180July 19, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
There have been several occasions now where I go to brake and there is no brake! My foot goes all the way down to the floor. This can happen at a steady speak of 50 or at 10 miles an hour. It is very scary and very dangerous. I have had to use my emergency brake to stop the car. I have had my brakes changed and "bled" several times. I am concerned this is going to cause a catastrophic accident. In researching this issue, I have seen that this is a common issue with the Lincoln MKZ. In fact prior years have already had a recall. Please, remedy this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11533308July 19, 2023
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the brake was inoperable. The Service ABS warning light was illuminated; however, the contact stated that the vehicle was driven to her residence with caution. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact researched and discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V162000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) in which her vehicle experienced the same failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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