Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Lincoln Navigator owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl contact owns a 1999 Lincoln Navigator. After driving and parking the vehicle, it exploded. The contact noticed black smoke and a fireball, and then the windows blew out. The police officer stated that the origin of the failure could never be determined because everything was burned to the ground, including the transmission and engine. It was noticed, however, that the fire seemed to have started from the front end. Before she exited the vehicle, the contact did not notice any warning lights or signs of overheating prior to the malfunction. A police report was filed. She consulted the manufacturer and was advised to call back. The current and failure mileages were approximately 140,000.
Tl contact owns a 1999 Lincoln Navigator. While proceeding to enter the vehicle, the contact noticed flames coming from the passenger side of the hood. She was unable to extinguish the fire and called the fire department. The fire department extinguished the flames and filed a report. There were no failures prior to this incident. The contact called her insurance company to file a claim and was informed that an insurance adjuster would inspect the vehicle. The cause of the failure was undetermined. The contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 190,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Lincoln Navigator. While traveling at 70 MPH, the contact noticed the smell of smoke inside the cabin. The contact parked the vehicle and several hours later, the vehicle caught on fire from under the hood. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire. A report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed for the failure. The current and failure mileages were 100,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that the vehicle caught on fire while parked with the engine off. The dealer was contacted in regards to the failure but denied any assistance with repairs. The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 99,000. The VIN was not available.
Consumer noticed smoke coming from under the hood. Consumer pulled over, popped hood, and noticed oil leaking onto the manifold. Dealer was contacted. Consumer found technical service bulletin 03-6-2002 from 03/31/2003 that explained the exact problem.
Water, vapor, condensation keeps getting on to the coil on plug assembly on the passenger side of my engine causing water build up, electrical failure, misfires and spark plug explosions in to my engine, causing fragments of metal and plastic to fire in to my engine. This has happened to me several times now, been repaired, and continues to happen. Despite 6 separate technical service bulletins, Ford / Lincoln have not recalled this problem with the 1999 to 2006 5.4l v8 engine, leading to thousands of people like me having to continually fix this problem, which is caused by a design / safety flaw in the engine / component construction. I was nearly killed today on the freeway because the truck hesitated and misfired while I was going up a large hill, stuck between two semi-trucks and I couldn't move out of the way due to failure to accelerate.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that the sparks plugs were becoming overheated and popping out from under the hood, and were also burning the attached coil. In addition, the contact stated that the suspension would intermittently fail and would not inflate. The contact would shut off the vehicle for a few moments to allow the suspension to reset itself. The vehicle was neither inspected for the failure nor repaired. The failure mileage was 220,000 and the current mileage was 240,000.
Spark plugs failed. As a result, vehicle jerked forward without warning. Coolant leaked twice in the past. The radiator assembly was reinstalled. The left front window squeaked. The trim on the front door panel was removed and reinstalled. The engine light had come on and the engine had run rough. The service dealer replaced the faulty coil pack on the #4 cylinder. The heater hose was replaced due to leakage. The heater did not blow air and displayed a burning smell.
My 1999 Lincoln Navigator [redacted] with 5.4l a engine with 80,000 miles. The spark plug blew out while driving on the highway. The head had to be replaced. The mechanic said that he recently had a number of customers with similar problems and thought the problem was due to a faulty design which utilized too few threads on an aluminum head.
During regular, casual vehicle operation, one of the spark plugs flew out of its seat. Causing the vehicle to smoke from the engine compartment and lose compression. I thought the engine had caught fire and there was no warning to this happening. Spark plugs were installed per manufacturers specifications when this incident occurred.
NHTSA investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On September 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 Ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or…
Engine complaints in other Navigator years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 1999 Lincoln Navigator?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 1999 Lincoln Navigator, 18% of the model year's 132 complaints. The component named most often is engine (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Lincoln Navigator engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 1999 Lincoln Navigator, 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 1999 Lincoln Navigator engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 100,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 5 fires and 0 injuries and 1 death to engine & cooling 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.