Engine complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2 | 40% | 75,000 miles |
| 2008 | 2 | 10% | 85,000 miles |
| 2007 | 4 | 5% | 29,000 miles |
| 2006 | 4 | 3% | 59,000 miles |
| 2005 | 7 | 6% | 80,000 miles |
| 2004 | 5 | 6% | 30,000 miles |
| 2003 | 14 | 7% | 86,000 miles |
| 2002 | 4 | 6% | 123,000 miles |
| 2001 | 15 | 9% | 95,000 miles |
| 2000 | 14 | 13% | 115,000 miles |
| 1999 | 17 | 11% | 112,000 miles |
| 1998 | 34 | 22% | 95,000 miles |
| 1997 | 92 | 29% | 90,000 miles |
| 1996 | 90 | 35% | 90,000 miles |
| 1995 | 16 | 10% | 104,000 miles |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
I was stopped and entering a turn. There was no ice on the pavement. As I turned left the Car accelerated and the brakes became unresponsive. The Car spun and hit a fire hydrant. This Car at other times as suddenly accelerated, but I was always able to apply the brakes and it calmed down in a few seconds.
The vehicle the 2007 Ford f-650 was towing caught fire. When the consumer pulled over toward the shoulder the Car being towed became engulfed in flames. 2007 Lincoln Town Car caught on fire and was destroyed. The police officer saw smoke coming from the vehicle which was being towed. By the time he reached the vehicle, he observed flames coming from the engine compartment and fluids leaking from the engine. (ohio traffic crash report)
Driving perhaps 30 miles per hour I suddenly heard the Car accelerate and it started to go faster. I hit the brakes and that did not slow down the Car. I was in heavy traffic and quickly went into a side street turning sharply and narrowly missing parked cars but struck two steel poles and than a parked truck. It was a horrible experience!
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle power failed and the engine stalled. The vehicle was steered onto the side of the highway and eventually restarted. The failure had occurred at least 50 times at various speeds, sometimes restarting right away and some times an hour was needed before the engine would restart. The service dealer and manufacturer were notified. The service dealer had worked on the vehicle 4 times. The first time the relay (part#4f1z-14n089-aa) was replaced. The second time, the catalytic converter and gasket were replaced. The third time the same relay was replaced as well as the wiring harness. The fourth time, the catalytic converter assembly and gasket were replaced again. Updated 11/03/06.
While accelerating approximate @ 30 mph, vehicle speed increased without assistance nearly plummeting into a body of water at a curve... exit 77 on I-95S MD. The car could not handled the curve at that rate of speed. Town Car had to be thrown into neutral and hard press brake pedal in order to stop. Safety issue could have been major accident or my death. I do not desire to reproduce a dangerous scenario with an accelerating vehicle. Dealership and private mechanic refused to reproduce incident. Zero warning lamps and nothing in computer to determine a problem/fix.
While in motion vehicle engine accelerates on its own. Not a driver error problem. This extremely dangerous engine revving has occurred several times when driving in the city and slowing down approaching an intersection. Can control the engine revving up by placing transmission on neutral, stopping Car turn ignition to off. Restart engine and engine behaves properly. Took Car to dealer 0n 9/22/16. Dealer kept Car to attempt duplicating problem. Car returned Car to me on 10/20/16. Dealer says no problem detected. This acceleration problem has happened numerous times going back to shortly after I purchased the new Car. I bought the Car in good faith. I now believe that the dealer and Lincoln sold me a defective product. Too dangerous to drive with passengers and safety for other persons. This problem has occurred probably about 20 times and reported several times to no avail.
We owned a 2004 Lincoln Town Car. We drove that Car that evening, parked it in the garage at 10:45 pm and went to bed. At 3:30 am, we were awoken by police breaking our door down and flames were shooting out of our garage. The source of the fire was determined to be from the Lincoln Town Car. The Town Car had no hood after the fire, 2 other vehicles were also destroyed. Our home also caught on fire and approximately 100% of our contents and 50% of our home was destroyed. Luckily, noone was injured.the Town Car engine was burnt beyond recognition, so they were not able to determine which part was defective, however the insurance co, (American family investigators) determined it had definitely started from the Lincoln . They stated that we cannot prove to Ford which part is defective so it was not reported to Ford.
Dt: while driving about 65 MPH the engine began to hesitate and finally stalled. Consumer inspected under the engine and smelled smoke. An individual stopped along the side of road where consumer was and noted he was from aaa. He took out the air filter which had smoldered and was slightly smoking. He poured water on it. The consumer drove home without the air filter in. That Monday morning went to a dealer and showed the service manager the air filter. Consumer left vehicle for repairs and four days later. Service manager noted that the air filter had picked up a foreign object, such as a cigarette butt. This would not be covered by warranty. Repairs were made, no problems so far.
Related recalls (1)
Engine and engine cooling › Exhaust system › Manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
Executive coach is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Lincoln town car limousines. The fuel rail shield was left off during manufacturing. In a frontal impact the engine could potentially bend or rupture fuel lines if the replacement shield is not in place, causing those lines to leak fuel.
Remedy: Executive coach will supply kits and installation instructions to have vehicles repaired at a facility of the owner's choice. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on December 1, 2010.
NHTSA investigations
Speed control deactivation switch fires
Based on the low rate of fire incidents (2.5 incidents per 100,000 vehicles sold) where failure of the scds is involved and the age of the vehicles ? 7 to 11 years ? A safety-related defect trend has not been identified and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.the agency reserves…
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…
Frequently asked questions
Which Lincoln Town Car years have engine problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 1997 (92), 1996 (90), 1998 (34), 1999 (17) and 1995 (16) model years. Engine complaints make up 29% of all complaints for the 1997.
Is there a recall for Lincoln Town Car engine problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 10V-638 (manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe, Dec 9, 2010). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Lincoln Town Car engine problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 90,000 miles; 13% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the exhaust system › manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe (91 mentions), followed by the engine › gasoline (53).
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.