Most common 2001 Lincoln Town Car problems
Share of the 161 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Lincoln Town Car complaints by model year
Best Town Car years: 2009, 2011, 2010. Years to avoid: 1997, 1996, 2003, 1998, 2001. Compare all years →
2001 Lincoln Town Car recalls (5)
Visibility › Windshield wiper/washer › Motor
Vehicle description: passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, and light and medium duty pickup trucks. A switch located in the plastic cover of the wiper motor gear case could malfunction and overheat, potentially resulting in loss of intermittent wiper function, loss of wiper park function, complete loss of wiper function, or…
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the date code on the wiper motor. Motors built with the suspect time frame will have the wiper motor gear case cover replaced. Owner notification began August 20, 2001.
Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
Vehicle description: passenger and sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and minivans. Equipped with seat belts supplied by trw. It is possible that the driver's and/or front passenger's outboard seat belt buckle May not fully latch. Ford crown victoria built at st.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the front outboard seat belt buckles and if the buckle fails the inspection process, it will be replaced. Owner notification began July 25, 2001.
Tires
Vehicle description: certain limousines stretched over 60 inches fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no. 109, "new pneumatic tires," and no. 110, "tire selection and rims."
Remedy: Dealers will replace all 5 tires (including the spare tire) with Michelin tires (225/70r16 107t reinforced white sidewall) with a sufficiently higher load rating. Owner notification began January 10, 2001.
Air bags › Frontal › Sensor/control module-inactive
Vehicle description: minivans and passenger vehicles. A restraint control module (rcm) or a side or front crash sensor May have been assembled with one or more of the screws that mount the circuit board in the housing missing. If some or all of the screws are missing, the performance of the occupant restrains could be affected.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rcm and crash sensors and, if necessary, replace them.
Air bags
Certain passenger vehicles, limousines, and Mini vans were built with a newly designed restraint control module (rcm). In some cases, the rcm does not recognize certain system faults that could result in an air bag or seat belt pre-tensioner unexpectedly activating during the self-test sequence at vehicle start-up.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rcm in these vehicles. Owner notification began September 14, 2000. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy…
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 6 possible defects involving the 2001 Lincoln Town Car:
Post rear end collision fires
There is no summary currently available
Front seat belt buckle assembly
Under recall campaign (01V227), Ford recalled approximately 1.3 million vehicles to inspect and if necessary replace the front driver and/or passenger seat belt buckle.approximately 1.1 million owners responded by taking their vehicles to a dealer for inspection of the buckle using a specialized buckle test tool.Ford reported that 829,927 vehicles had both buckles pass the tool test and another 167,336 vehicles had…
Inadvertent side air bag deployment
Odi has identified 173 complaints alleging inadvertent or non-crash deployment of side air bags on model year (my) 1999-2003 Lincoln town cars.most of the complaints allege that one of the side air bags deployed while driving without any impact.analysis showed that my 2001 through early my 2003 town cars have much higher complaint and warranty claim rates (138 complaints and 120 warranty claims) than the remaining…
Front seat belt buckle assembly
During the initial recall campaign in 2001, the subject vehicles were inspected by Ford dealerships using a test tool that would detect a defective front seat outboard seat belt buckle assembly.approximately one million vehicles passed the inspection test for one or both front buckles.subsequent to the recall service action, odi received 15 consumer reports alleging that a passed inspection buckle subsequently…
Inadvertent side air bag deployment
This investigation identified a total of 182 reports alleging inadvertent or non-crash deployment of the side air bags.the data examined during the investigation suggest that the side air bag crash sensing system's algorithm May recognize certain non-crash incidents as deployable events.odi has not, however, identified any failed component that relates to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.also, odi has not…
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…
What 2001 Lincoln Town Car owners say
Air bags all 54 →
The contact owns a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the passenger's side curtain air bag inadvertently deployed without warning. While the contact was startled by the deployment of the air bag, there was no injury sustained. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,930.
I lost control of the Car when it hit ice at 9:20a- 1/25/2013 on I-94 near chesterton, in, spun around and crashed twice (front/rear) into the left concrete barrier parallel to the roadway. None of the 4 air bags deployed. I (age 77) and my passenger (age 83) wore seat belts that saved us. Car front smashed; Car rear less damaged. Sides are o.k.. Isp report id:201300021141. Neither of us sought medical treatment. My chest still hurts! Air bags would have helped had they deployed. Lake shore Ford, chesterton, in [phone] said Car was "totaled." isp officer weems reported that I May receive a ticket for "too fast for conditions." tc failed the only air bag test it ever had. Seat belts did not. No other cars were involved on busy I-94. We were lucky!
Speed control & acceleration all 26 →
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle spontaneously accelerated. The contact had to shut off the vehicle in order to stop. No warning indicators illuminated. The contact also stated that the failure occurred one other time and had to depress the brake pedal coming to a screeching stop. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
Tl contact owned a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. While driving 5 MPH, the vehicle automatically accelerated while entering the contact's parking garage. She depressed the brake pedal, but nothing happened. The consumer crashed into her den. The investigator from her insurance company was unable to identify the cause of failure. The contact sustained an injury to her knee. The vehicle was destroyed. The mileage on the vehicle was 68,000. Updated 05/23/07.
Windows, wipers & sunroof
On wipers the intermediate dont work and when washer fluid sprayed cant shut wipers off 2 now on wheels constantly loosing air due to rims peeling and the inside rims are peeling causing tire not to hold air and 3 front end wobbles and raddles had new tierods and ball joints wondering if any recalls were due to be done and previous owner neglected to get done please help
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated that the windshield wiper motor had to be replaced multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000. Updated 12/30/15 the consumer was informed his VIN was not included in the recall. Updated 04/07/16.
2001 Lincoln Town Car engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 16 / 23 / 18 |
EPA ratings. Class: Large car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2001 Lincoln Town Car a good car?
Based on 161 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2001 Town Car rates use caution: 1.6× as many complaints as a typical year of the Town Car at the same age. It is one of the Town Car years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2001 Lincoln Town Car?
The air bags — 54 complaints, 34% of all complaints for this model year, most often about side/window. Next are the speed control & acceleration (26) and windows, wipers & sunroof (16).
How many recalls does the 2001 Lincoln Town Car have?
There are 5 recalls for the 2001 Lincoln Town Car, the most recent from August 8, 2001 (motor). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Lincoln Town Car?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2009, 2011 and 2010. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1997, 1996, 2003, 1998 and 2001. See the full Lincoln Town Car years comparison.
At what mileage do 2001 Lincoln Town Car problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 80,000 miles; 28% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
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.