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2012 Lincoln Mkz

The Verdict

65 Solid Pick

The 2012 Lincoln Mkz has 146 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (74 complaints) and body (45 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 65/100, it earns a "Solid Pick" rating. If you're shopping for a Lincoln Mkz, consider the 2020 model year which has 98% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2020 has 98% fewer complaints

View the 2020 Lincoln Mkz dashboard →

65

Klunk Score: Solid Pick

Fewer complaints than most vehicles. Generally dependable, but check the top problems below.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
20073040169106
2008396915876
200915246744
2010163810474
2011522391143
201245197453
2013556191612
201448817168
201536151294
201625131581
20171315107615
2018614146
201980351
202020000

By Category

Electrical
74
Body
45
Brakes
19
Engine
5
Transmission
3

By Severity

1
65
2
68
3
1
4
12

Worst Problems

Complaints

Body 2

The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to steer in either direction. No warning light was illuminated. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had progressed over time. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained for further investigation; however, the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

8mo ago
Body 1

My car has lost powering steering three times now. I have replaced the rack and pinion module twice and I’m fixing to a third time. This has happened all within the last 3.5 years

13mo ago
Electrical 2

I became the owner of a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to Ford with great difficulty where they reset the sensor or something and the power steering was working again. Now a couple of years later, the problem occurred again. The power steering chime came on, the car read “service advancetrac” in yellow and “power steering assist fault” in read, accompanied by the wheel stiffening. I pulled over turned the car off and back on, and the problem went away. It occurred several more times and turning the car off and back on remedied the problem. It would only occur every couple of months, but more recently it started happening every couple of weeks and now- the last ten days it has happened every time I drive. Each of those times, with the exception of the most recent occurrence, turning the car off and letting it sit for a couple of minutes, followed by turning it back on, solved the problem. The most recent time, I was traveling on the highway going 60 mph when the messages appeared and my wheel stiffened. It terrified me as I was moving fast on a Southern California highway where there are hundreds of cars. I was on my way to take a final exam, that I could not miss, so I kept driving. Steering was near impossible at low speeds. I went in to take my final and three hours later, when I turned the car back on, the power steering still was not working. After hours of research and years of dealing with this problem, I have found that there was a recall regarding the PSCM in the 2012 Lincoln MKZ. I am unsure if this problem extends to the hybrid model, and if so whether it was remedied by a past owner, but a detailed vehicle history report indicates that it was not. I have never received any notice as to this recall. I do know that my car was manufactured in the applicable time period (2011), and that it is experiencing exactly what the recall describes.

26mo ago
Body 2

Power steering control module stop working. Ford is aware of this issue and refusing to classify it as a recall. Vehicle inoperable at 83k miles.

27mo ago
Body 1

While driving I noticed that at times my steering wheel would be difficult to turn. At first, the problem seemed small until I was trying to make a left turn on a very busy 4-lane road, and without warning the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. I narrowly avoided being hit and ever since then, the steering has not been the same. I sought help at my nearest Ford dealership and after they inspected the car they determined that there was a problem with the steering assist and possibly the rack and pinion. We then discovered that the very same parts were recalled in 2011 for the same make and model car. I was never notified of any recalls and I asked why I was never contacted. The Ford dealership did not know why. According to them the vehicles that were recalled were vehicles that were made at the same facility as mine. They pointed out that normally my car would have been included in the recall and they did not know why I was excluded. I have attached the documentation they provided me proving that my car was built in a factory that had other cars recalled for the same reason. Currently, they are telling me that they cannot honor this recall because my car is not in the system as one that should be included in this recall. Due to the near misses that I have had I believe that this is a serious safety issue and should not be something that I pay over 2000 dollars to repair. Especially since all the other vehicles that had the same problem were recalled and repaired for free. Please help me figure out how to hold them accountable for not notifying me and refusing to honor the safety recall. NHTSA Campaign Number 15V340000

30mo ago
Brakes 2

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.

30mo ago
Brakes 1

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.

30mo ago
Body 1

i cannot open the front drivers side door from the inside... it is as if the latch became disconnected

34mo ago
Brakes 1

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

34mo ago
Brakes 1

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 [XXX] for one) Incident happened three times, twice going forward and once backing up. Please recall this quickly before someone is killed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

36mo ago
Brakes 2

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.

36mo ago
Body 4

On August 30, 2022, upon traveling home from Palm Springs airport, I stopped at a restaurant in Morongo Valley. As I was eating, someone said that a car was on fire under the hood. The fire department jawed up the hood and put the fire out under the hood. The police and the fire department were called and present to file a report. I had it towed to my house. I believe that this a safety issue.

37mo ago
Body 2

After getting an oil change and battery software update, I headed home. Before arriving home the warning light to service Power steering and traction control came on. Returned to dealer, they said the power steering needed to be calibrated. Left and before making it home power steering stopped working and warning lights returned. Dealer has stated the power steering gear needs to be replaced but because the milage is 224,000 and the car is over 10 years old Ford will not extend the warranty and it will cost $2,500 to repair.

44mo ago
Body 2

Took the car to the dealer to have the driver airbag inflator replaced when it says here there are no parts available yet the dealer fixed something? The dashboard airbag light never went out!!

46mo ago
Electrical 2

I was notified April 2021, that my vehicle had an airbag safety recall repair. To date, I have not been notified to bring my vehicle in for the repair to be performed. The parts were to be in the third quarter of 2021, I have been patient. But, this recall addresses the driver side airbag. I am concerned that if it explodes, I could be seriously hurt. Please advise me. What is my next step.

48mo ago
Body 1

The middle rear seat belt became stuck around my child and could not be removed. It progressively became tighter and tighter as we tried to unbuckle it. Ultimately the seatbelt needed to be cut off

51mo ago
Electrical 2

Takata recall. The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts are not available.

55mo ago
Body 2

While traveling at approximately 22 mph I entered a roundabout when the steering wheel pulled out of my hand and the car was no longer turning, but going straight towards another car that was waiting to enter the roundabout. The car no longer had power steering but I was able to steer past the waiting vehicle and into a curb where I stopped the vehicle off the road. There was no warning prior to the incident, with the traction control warning light coming on at the same time the power steering stopped working. The vehicle has been diagnosed by a reputable independent shop with a faulty steering gear at a cost of approximately $2,200 to repair. This is the same problem that has been addressed by recall 15S18 for the 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, but Ford/Lincoln has refused responsibility for this repair based on date of manufacture of this specific VIN.

56mo ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault message intermittently appeared on the instrument panel. The contact restarted the vehicle and the vehicle resume normal operation. Recently, the contact stated that the traction control and the power steering warning lights would illuminate at start-up and remained illuminated despite the engine restart. The contact also mentioned that excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle while driving at various speeds. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer and he was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty and the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

57mo ago
Body 2

DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR LOCK WILL NOT UNLOCK FROM INSIDE OF CAR. THIS IS A SAFETY FACTOR IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. NOT ABLE TO OPEN DOOR FROM INSIDE - HAD TO ROLL WINDOW DOWN AND OPEN FROM HANDLE ON OUTSIDE OF CAR. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. Note There is at least one other report of this happening on your web site and YouTube has several videos of others having this problem and how to replace the handle when this happens

58mo ago

146 total

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