Lincoln Nautilus Complaints

85 consumer complaints on file.

#11758830August 23, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY
The door broke and cracked the window when I opened the door to get in the car
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11757247August 16, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Unsure which individual or multiple system components failing. All occurred within 5 miles of home. Driving to destination noted that vehicle was acting or responding weird but did not show signs of any failure reported to daughter while speaking to her on the hands free system in vehicle but did not really pay much attention to what was happening because it did not affect the driving at that time. Approx. 1hr later left destination to head home and vehicle decided it had a mind of its own and would not respond to most physical commands ie, braking, slowing down, etc. and was actually increasing in speed. attempted to change the vehicle shifter to park, push the engine on / off button, depress brakes but no response to any of the commands. At this point so not to hurt anyone else drove into a fenced field and back out eventually hitting a tree head on. Prior to this occurring there was reporting to dealership of hard shifting but nothing else and dealership wrote off to the adaptive learning of the transmission. Vehicle was inspected by the Lincoln rep with assistance from the dealership / svc dept. and was deemed nothing was found to be wrong with car per the data box of vehicle, BUT the dealership noted in the finding in emails that the black box was only scanned for the day the Lincoln rep was at vehicle NOT the day the vehicle was in accident. as noted above the vehicle did appear o not be responding correctly driving the destination that day but it was minor not something that would have caused concern at that time BUT again on the way back home is when the incident occurred and was on phone at that time panicking on what to do hence ended up driving off road and ending up stopping due running into the tree.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11757108August 15, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY
The driver’s side front door inner sheet metal housing has suffered a severe structural failure where the door check-arm brackets mount to the vehicle frame. Under completely normal vehicle operation, the thin-gauge metal has cracked, buckled, and completely torn away from the inner door assembly. This creates an immediate safety hazard as the door can no longer be safely controlled, dampening its swing. A certified independent collision center evaluated the damage and officially recommended a total door shell replacement, explicitly warning that localized spot-weld patching is structurally insufficient to restore safety due to metal fatigue. Lincoln Client Services was formally contacted regarding this defect but refused assistance or goodwill coverage, citing a minor calendar expiration of the factory warranty. If left unaddressed by the manufacturer, this stamping defect risks the door catching wind, overextending, or failing to latch and secure properly while the vehicle is in motion, presenting a direct risk to occupants and nearby traffic.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11755029August 5, 2026
VISIBILITY
The contact owns a 2025 Lincoln Nautilus. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH during 105-degree weather, the contact became aware of a micro-fracture on the front windshield from the front driver's side over to the passenger’s side. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was determined that the crack was caused by possible road debris. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact stated that the cause of failure could be due to the hot temperature. The contact was adamant that the front windshield was not struck by road debris. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754787August 4, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On August 4 2026, I drove my 2024 Lincoln Nautilus home for lunch. Upon leaving my house to head back to my office, and without realizing it, I left the vehicle's key fob inside my house, approximately 30 feet from where the vehicle was parked. I was able to gain entrance to my locked vehicle and I was able to start my vehicle and drive all the way back to my office. It was not until I turned my car off, closed the door and searched my pocket for my key fob to lock the vehicle that I realized I had left the key fob at my house (approximately 3 miles from my office). I was still able to re-start my vehicle and drove back home to retrieve my key. Despite the key fob being absent from the vehicle's vicinity, the vehicle was able to be accessed (while locked), was able to be started, and the vehicle ran normally, with no warning indicating the key fob was not detected. I am concerned this defect could allow unauthorized vehicle operation, theft, or an inability for the vehicle to properly disable itself when the intended operator's key is not present.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754440August 3, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY
Drivers side door hinge has completely broken away from interior side panel. This is a know manufacturing defect due to the weight of the door on this vehicle. We called dealership on 5/4/2026 after discovering issue, spoke with the service manager who advised us to bring vehicle to the dealership. On 5/5/2026 the vehicle was brought to Tasca Collision Center a service team member took extensive pictures of damage, stated how the repair would go forth which has since not happened. Tasca and Lincoln have refused to make repair stating that the vehicle was out of warranty effective 5/4/2026. This is also a safety issue in the advent of a side crash.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754393August 3, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
The contact owns a 2021 Lincoln Nautilus. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for an oil change and trade-in, the contact was informed that the front driver’s side door had a crack and that the welding was cracked and loosened. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 92,800.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11751759July 21, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY
Spot welds in both front doors are failing. How would these cars do in a side impact with failing spot welds? The drivers door has approximately a 4" tear/crack around the broken spot welds.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749708July 11, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This was the first long trip for the new Nautilus. I was using cruise control, along with adaptive cruise control, and hands free driving. A prompt came up to resume control. The road was not twisty, so it was somewhat unusual for this to happen from my experience. I put my hands on the steering wheel to resume control. The engine began stuttering and the flashers came on. The car then began decreasing speed. Please, something is clearly not right with this car. This was a dangerous situation on a highway at 65 mph. The car was rapidly decreasing speed and the highway was busy with holiday traffic, campers, etc. going to Mt. Hood. Yes, this car is available for inspection upon request. This was a dangerous situation on a busy highway when the vehicle suddenly began decreasing speed requiring me to take immediate action while traveling at 65 mph. No, the problem has not been reproduced. No, the dealer has not looked at it despite repeated phone calls. I do not have another car and cannot afford a rental. They have had me on a LONG wait list for a loaner. No, there were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11748565July 6, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
The transmission occasionally jerks/studders between second and third at acceleration and deceleration.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11747124June 29, 2026
LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This is the third Lincoln Nautilus that the facial recognition sensor does not operate as it should and creates a significant distraction while driving. The system constantly will go into the "Watch the Road" warning and then proceed to the "Resume Control" which also activates the four way flashers and pulses the brakes despite taking action such as moving the steering wheel or pressing the "OK" on the steering wheel touch pad to acknowledge the warning which does not clear out. If the vehicle is being tailgated which happens frequently this could lead to a collision either from the tailgater that hits you or the tailgater making a sudden move to avoid a collision and cause a different impact or loss of control. I have video of this occurring frequently while driving, however it is too large of a file to upload. The design and placement of the sensor on the top of the steering column is also a contributing factor due to glare that frequently occurs and will increase the instances of this warning as well. I also tested it while wearing sunglasses and that too increases the frequency of the warning indications which makes this a very flawed design overall because of the fact that milions of drivers wear sunglasses daily (especially here in Florida) yet the designers and developers obviously did not take that (sunglasses) into account along with the failure of the system when glare is produced - another frequent item that happens on sunny days. As stated, this is the third new Lincoln Nautilus that I have experienced this on, the first two were 2025 models, this vehicle is a service loaner from the dealer while mine is in the shop for this and other problems.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11746052June 23, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY
Lincoln Nautilus door hinge and check strap area of the driver's door has a significant crack which could lead to door failure in the event of a crash. Manufacture has issued a CSP (Customer Satisfaction Program 23B56. Year models 2022-2024. Mine is a 2022 but the VIN does not fall in the range of known defects. Mfg. refused repair based on the VIN, but all other criteria have been met. Dealer acknowledges the defect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11742586June 7, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The panoramic display on the car went black from just left of center to almost the end of the display on the drivers side . Alll information was blacked out speed mileage Etc. I restarted the car no change went back the next day it was working. If this happens while driving it could cause a serious problem
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11742585June 7, 2026
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
The blind spot warning and the turn signal marker are the same color so when trying To change lanes the blind spot warning is worthlesss because it is the same color and right next to the signal flasher both yellow. It needs to be changed and have an audible warning . The Blind spot warning is essentially useless because when looking in the side mirror you can’t distinguish between the signal and the blind spot. This is true on both sides and is an accident waiting to happen. There should be a recall as A Safety feature is not a safety feature unless It works .
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11742531June 7, 2026
LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Recently took a trip from [XXX] to [XXX] and during the course of this trip the lane departure, lane keeping and automatic braking would constantly fail during the course of the drive as the facial recognition sensor kept failing to detect my face and would start going into the Resume Control mode which pulses the brakes and turns on the four way flashers. There was also two different warnings displayed on the dash from the camera failure "Driver Facing Camera Blocked" and also "Driver Facing Camera Cannot Detect Face" several times during the past couple months. Additionally, the system would go straight to the Resume Control mode, when it is supposed to begin with the "Watch the Road" preliminary warning which is supposed to be able to be cleared with either the button on the steering wheel or by shaking the wheel, and that too does not operate properly. These instances happened even more frequently when the "Blue Cruise" hands free driving system was in operation. Additionally when the Blue Cruise Hands Free Driving system was making a lane change, over half the time the Blue Cruise would suddenly disengage before the lane change was completed, so the lane assist would try to take over and jerk the wheel back into the lane, making it seem like there was a loss of control over the vehicle. Furthermore the lane centering system is highly biased to the right side lane marker as it would not center the vehicle in the lane but stay right on the right side line even when passing another vehicle it stayed close to the lane line when the system is showing that it was moving the vehicle away from the vehicle being overtaken. And when I tried to move the vehicle away manually the system was fighting the manual correction and trying to keep the vehicle along the line. Very unsafe operation, not to mention that constantly fighting against these systems made this one of the most tiring drives I have done, and I have made this trip many times since 1983. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOI
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11741378June 1, 2026
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
2021 Lincoln Nautilus Reserve 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with coolant intrusion caused by a blown head gasket on cylinder #6. Vehicle would not accelerate properly and lurch forward when the gas pedal was pressed over 25%. The issue was taken to the shop and not found. The issue progressed and was taken to the shop a second time. The issue was found from a misfire code on cylinder #6. Vehicle is currently being repaired.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11739719May 23, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When I went to change lanes on the highway, I went to look in the passenger side mirror to check for traffic. What I saw was my shirt. The mirrors have auto open and close. They malfunctioned and did not open,. This was a safety risk. I have an appointment with the service center at the dealership.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11738904May 19, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I was driving on M 53 south bound approximately 11:30 am when I heard two consecutive soft “tick” tick” sounds and immediately noticed the stress cracks appearing on my windshield top drivers side. I will be taking it for inspection as there was not any type of object to cause these cracks.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11738703May 19, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
The brake pedal is designed in such a manner that the shaft/arm gets in the way of the pedal as you start pressing the pedal. As the pedal is pressed away from the driver, the shaft is setup in such a way that the driver's foot then hits the shaft and loses the ability to press the actual pedal. Given the shaft is a small metal bar rather than a flat grippy surface like the pedal, this creates unstable footing. It is very difficult to use and is quite unsafe. It is an issue in all cases when pressing the brake (i.e., it is not only for aggressive braking; it is always persistent). I have found in many cases my foot slipping on the shaft and it causing real danger to myself, my family, and other drivers as the inability to brake effectively has obvious implications. This is not a unique case of me having large feet or anything like that; in fact, I have small feet. It is probably a much bigger issue for the average person with larger feet than me. I reported it to the dealership, and they acknowledged that they have heard the complaint, but their response was "get used to it". No other parties have inspected the component. There are no warning lights. This is not a "failure" of a component, but rather a design flaw that is unsafe. I would recommend inspecting the 2026 Lincoln Nautilus to assess the risk of the brake pedal / shaft design and suggest a recall on the brake pedal whereby Lincoln must replace with a design that does not cause this interference.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11737338May 12, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
My 2025 Lincoln Nautilus forward collision avoidance system reduces cruise control speed unexpectedly and wanders between lane markers. The driver-facing camera is also overly sensitive — triggering “watch the road” warnings even when glancing over a shoulder to change lanes, while wearing sunglasses, and does not stop warning even when looking straight ahead out windshield. Then the system activates a “resume control” warning and braking and hazard lights. This distraction has almost caused me to have three accidents. The BlueCruise also shuts off without warning, which is also dangerous. This is a time when a warning noise would be justified. Lastly, random cancelled messages appear on dashboard and I have zero idea what wa cancelled. I can only enter one date below but this is an ongoing issue. Service continues to claim there is no issue even though this is a known issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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