Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Lincoln LS owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Randomly when applying the brakes the car accelerates instead of stopping. This is referred to as unintended acceleration. In some cases this happened on the freeway and others on city streets at very low speeds. Attached is my correspondence with Ford over this matter. As you will see from the correspondence, these incidents occurred soon after I bought the vehicle in 2000 (first incident was in 2001) up until most recently, 2/28/2015. I'm uploading three documents: 1 - my initial to Ford dated 08/23/2015 summarizing the entire episode of incidents 2 - the response letter from Ford date 8/27/2015 3 - my final letter to Ford dated 10/25/2015 asking them to pick up the car from my house.
Tl contact owns a 2000 Lincoln LS. The contact stated that she would repeatedly feel abnormal bouncing while driving various speeds. Secondly, when applying pressure to the brake pedal, she would hear a loud squealing noise accompanied with mild sliding. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel prior to the failures. She took the vehicle to the dealer on numerous occasions and the brakes were replaced four times within one year. As of March 10, 2009, all the remedies have been insufficient in resolving the failures. The failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 77,000.
Concerns of the locations of the brake and accelerator pedals on 2000 Lincoln LS. When brake are depressed, it is easy to hit the accelerator pedal as well. When this happened the consumer had to turn off the ignition while keeping pressure on both pedals. If both pedals were release at the same time the vehicle would lurch forward. The vehicle lurch once which resulted in the vehicle hitting the consumer's garage door and right turn signal lens. The manufacturer was contacted but there has been no follow-up correspondence.
When applying pressure to brake pedal pedal, it will fall to the floor and consumers foot will inadvertently hit accelerator pedal. When this problem occurred for the fourth time, he had to avoid hitting a pedestrian, and crashed into a garage door, causing $1,800.00 damage. Dealership examined vehicle, and could not find a problem.
Tl contact owns a 2000 Lincoln LS. The contact shifted from park to reverse while parked on a flat surface. The vehicle began to roll backwards while the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle did not stop until the gear was shifted into park. The vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer. The current and failure mileages were 29,688.
Uphill at 45 MPH vehicle lurched/took off, applied brake for about 1/8 of a mile. Brakes could not hold vehicle.went through two intersections before consumer was able to stop vehicle. Dealer had vehicle for 2 weeks, could not find cause. Consumer no longer felt safe driving vehicle.
When driving 15-20 MPH and upon depressing brake pedal to make a gradual stop vehicle suddenly accelerated, causing an accident. Vehicle hit a brick wall in which driver's side and passenger's side air bags did not deploy. Consumer has contacted dealer.
The Lincoln LS is made on a european model Jaguar frame which has all controls on the right side. In order to fit American standards all controls except the ABS system has been moved to the left side of the car. Since the ABS system remains on the right side, Lincoln had to run brake lines across the car. In doing so, they have ran these lines on top, beside and along the radiator and right along the exhaust system. This short cut of running these lines, instead of moving the ABS assembly to the left side, causes the brake fluid to get excessively hot which eventually breaks the plastic reservoir container causing leakage of brake fluid. This leakage can substantialy cause brake failure. I have been informed by my dealer that they will no longer replace this reservoir because they have not figuered out what is the problem. …
I brought a 2000 Lincoln LS from a dealer by the name of import auto sales located at 589 e 32nd st. Paterson new jersey 07513. When I was taken for a test drive by the salesman I question him on a squeaky bumpy noise on the front side of the car . He told me that the tires needed air and the road in this area is very bumpy. To later find out that on that model car there was a ball joints recall . Before I found out thru the website google about the recall I took it to a repair shop ( Lincoln Ford dealer ) and the price they gave me was $4,000 including labor. I had just finished spending $2,000 on regular maintenance work (tune-up - oil change - cooling flush- new rotors with brakes .and other regular work that you need to do on a car with over 100,000 miles.now the car is park because I don't have the money to repair it. …
Wife driving, I'm passenger. Applied brakes, helf firmly, went thru stop sign. Lucky ! Next, at red light, car quickly lurched forward but was able to brake before hitting car in front. Reported this to the dealership. They reported back that they looked for any such problems in their computer system and "there was none." this is most frightening. What should I do?
Brake complaints in other LS years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2000 Lincoln LS?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the brakes of the 2000 Lincoln LS, 6% of the model year's 354 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (9 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Lincoln LS brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2000 Lincoln LS, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Lincoln LS brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 48,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.