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 2012 Lincoln MKZ owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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.
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.
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.
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 [redacted] for one) Incident happened three times, twice going forward and once backing up. Please recall this quickly before someone is killed.
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
Traveling n on 95 just beyond richmond va on 11/26/16 traffic came to a stop and I was attentive and recognized the need to brake quickly. The car initially slowed but did not respond further to applying brakes. I rear ended a Jeep grand cherokee. Major damage to my car - minimal to the Jeep. Airbags did not deploy. I am still confused by what happened - I had time to stop the vehicle but it did not respond. I am 60 years old and a long time city commuter along with having traveled this route regularly since 1979. I cannot help but conclude there was some type of brake malfunction with my 2012 Lincoln MKZ.
I was on a city street making a left turn when I was hit by a barreling car after he hit me once then he backed up and hit me again to push me out of the way he took off then my car accelerated going up curbs the steering an brakes did not work it took two of us to avoid a brick wall after pulling the emergency brake twice it finally stopped with a bang
While driving, alarms dinged and lights popped up in my instrument panel. The warning lights illuminated were: brake system & parking brake system (or brake system warning?), check brake system, ABS, advancetrac, advancetrac off, throttle control/powertrain, check engine, and press reset to turn off rear parking assist. Pressing my brakes revealed that the warning lights were not all bark and no bite; there was in fact something going on. The pedal was soft, too easy to depress at first. Then it was very difficult to depress and ineffective. Not stopping at all until all the way down. This previously happened on 9/6/2020, but resolved after 2 days. This current incident happened on 10/2/2020 and remains active 5 days later. The service station found no cause previously. The first incident happened right after leaving my home. I was driving about 20mph on a rainy day. …
The ABS module in my car failed on 11/20/19. The car had approximately 53,500 miles at the time of failure. The car had been serviced at the dealer five days prior on 11/15/19 including a multi point system inspection and replacement of the recalled air bags . No "warning" or indicator of a problem with the ABS system was identified. When the ABS malfunction indicator lights came on I had just turned the vehicle on and was pulling out of my driveway and so proceeded very slowly down my street (which has a downgrade) only to realize I had lost braking power and had to use my emergency brake to firmly / completely stop. I was towed to the dealer who indicated that there would be no warning in an ABS module failure and so could not have been identified five days prior. …
In January 2021, my vehicle had reached about 60,000 miles. As I was backing out of my driveway, I noticed multiple warning lights on the instrument panel and as I tried to stop the car discovered that the brakes were not working. I pulled the emergency brake handle and stopped the car. Had the car not stopped, I probably would not have avoided going into the street. I turned off and restarted the car but the brakes did not work (after you start the car, the ABS light goes on and then the brake warning light goes on; the brakes only work a little near the floor). The vehicle was taken to the dealer and both the ABS module and hydraulic control unit had to be replaced at a cost of about $3200. I noticed a recall for basically the same thing but the recall only went up to 2010.
Brake complaints in other MKZ years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2012 Lincoln MKZ?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the brakes of the 2012 Lincoln MKZ, 14% of the model year's 146 complaints. The component named most often is pedals and linkages (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2012 Lincoln MKZ brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2012 Lincoln MKZ, though it has 5 recalls 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 2012 Lincoln MKZ brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles, and 13% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 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.