Car Defect Radar
Get the report
Built from NHTSA complaints and recalls collected for this model, generated October 26, 2026. Totals reflect what has been collected, not every complaint ever filed.
Urgent recall on this model.

At least one recall carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning. Confirm by VIN that the repair was completed before driving or buying this car. The fix is free at a dealer.

Recalls

7 total · 7 to confirm

Safety issues the manufacturer must repair for free. A recall means confirm the fix was done, not walk away.

Airbags recall

Do not driveRecall 19V001000 · Jan 2019

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall 19S01.
Status
Do not drive until repaired. A dealer fixes this free of charge.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Airbags recall

Do not driveRecall 18V046000 · Jan 2018

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Status
Do not drive until repaired. A dealer fixes this free of charge.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Airbags recall

Do not driveRecall 16V384000 · May 2016

An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Ford mailed interim letters informing owners that parts are not yet available on July 15, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Status
Do not drive until repaired. A dealer fixes this free of charge.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Airbags recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 21V158000 · Mar 2021

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side airbag inflator or module with an alternate one, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 9, 2021 for the passenger side, and November 14, 2022 for the driver side. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S12.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Airbags recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 21E013000 · Feb 2021

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy
Ford will notify dealers that purchased the affected parts, and dealers will provide replacement parts to purchasers, free of charge. The recall began March 18, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Airbags recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 21V081000 · Feb 2021

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Fuel system recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 15V712000 · Oct 2015

A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles and either clean and treat the fuel tank with a corrosion preventative or replace the tank, free of charge. The recall began on May 10, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S31.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Owner complaints by system

111 total

Unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA, grouped by the part of the car. Useful for spotting patterns. Open a group to read recent examples.

Engine & powertrain

Worth reading
14

Most reports here involve fluid leaks. Of these, 2 mention a crash, 1 mention an injury.

fluid leaks 4transmission slipping 2
A recent report: The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the odor of fuel was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. Later, while refueling, gasoline was spilling from…
Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the odor of fuel was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. Later, while refueling, gasoline was spilling from the vehicle onto the ground. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the fuel tank seam weld had corroded, and the fuel tank needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the vehicle was previously repaired under the NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V712000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the corrosion preventative solution was applied to the fuel tank, but the failure occurred. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 65,000.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11572126 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Electrical & infotainment

Worth reading
6

Most reports here involve electrical shorts.

electrical shorts 2fire 1
A recent report: The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that the headlights failed to illuminate as needed. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic…
Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that the headlights failed to illuminate as needed. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the headlight bulbs and wires; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the mechanic, who diagnosed that the headlight wiring harness kept disconnecting. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted however, the contact was not able to speak to a live representative. The failure mileage was approximately 159,000.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11447390 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Brakes

Worth reading
23

Most reports here involve loss of braking. Of these, 2 mention a crash.

loss of braking 18rollaway 2unintended acceleration 1
A recent report: The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. Additionally, while the…
Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. Additionally, while the brake pedal was depressed; the contact heard a hissing sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with brake booster failure. The contact was informed that the brake booster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11614380 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Steering, suspension & tires

Worth reading
1

Most reports here involve unintended acceleration. Of these, 1 mention a crash, 1 mention an injury.

unintended acceleration 1
A recent report: VEHICLE WAS DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY ON TWO LANE ROAD AROUND MOUNTAIN HIGHER ELEVATION AREA AND JUST RANDOMLY WHEEL JERKED AND TURNED ON ITS OWN AND MY BRAKES DID NOT WANT TO WORK WHEN THEY WERE WORKING…
Read full complaint

VEHICLE WAS DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY ON TWO LANE ROAD AROUND MOUNTAIN HIGHER ELEVATION AREA AND JUST RANDOMLY WHEEL JERKED AND TURNED ON ITS OWN AND MY BRAKES DID NOT WANT TO WORK WHEN THEY WERE WORKING JUST FINE A FEW SECONDS PRIOR AND I WOULD NOT CONTROL STEERING WHEEL AND I HEARD CAR ACCELERATION GOES MORE POWER WHICH I DID NOT DO AND IT DID ON MY OWN CAUSING ME TO HIT GUARDRAIL AND BREAK THROUGH IT AND DOWN A CLIFF SMASHING INTO A TREE ON DRIVER SIDE DOOR MAKING ME TRAPPED IN CAR WHEN AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY FROM STEERING WHEEL AND EXPLOSION OF CHARDS OF MENTAL AND GLASS GETTING IN MY FACE AND HAND.*DT

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11415618 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Airbags & seat belts

Worth reading
51

Most reports here involve airbags deploying unexpectedly. Of these, 3 mention a crash, 2 mention an injury.

airbags deploying unexpectedly 5airbags not deploying 1
A recent report: I am satisfied with the help that the customer service assisted me with and that was getting my service moved up to September 26th from the original date of October 30th. But I am not satisfied with…
Read full complaint

I am satisfied with the help that the customer service assisted me with and that was getting my service moved up to September 26th from the original date of October 30th. But I am not satisfied with the remedy. I have received several written letters from Lincoln that go into detail of the recall on my car and as well they say and in BIG RED LETTERS ..DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR UNTIL REPAIRS ARE DONE. WELL, I should say that you see my 2010 Lincoln Mkx is my and only vehicle I own I can not just park it up and forget I have a life and a job because of no fault of my own that my one and only car urgently is needing repair to the factory installed air bags. Therefore I ask Lincoln to assist me with a rental until my car had been repaired. I do not feel safe DRIVING MY CAR.Letter's I have on hand from Lincoln plainly stating DO NOT DRIVE. I am upset Lincoln ortrays they care so much to bombard me with all the recall letters and such but pretty much told me NO WE DONT DO RENTAL CARS So what I am to do??? I don't have rental coverage on my insurance. I couldn't afford it. So what choice do I have??? If I do die from their faulty air bags imploding on me atleast make sure my children and grandchildren knew I begged for a rental but Lincoln couldn't back me with that. I guess making luxury car's for so many years has not left them with much profit Seeing as how in a life or death situation brought on by their mistake they leave their customers to chance it because it cost to much for rentals to ensure their customers are kept safe until their car is serviced and safe to drive. They have no compassion for people is how I am feeling about this whole situation. Only covering themselves legally in the cheapest fix possible to avoid legal issues. Guess Lincoln owners are just numbers and dollar signs and not mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, aunt or uncles or grandparents that are loved and would be missed severely in the event of their death by a recalled air bag.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11613278 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Structure & body

Worth reading
9

Most reports here involve software faults. Of these, 1 mention a crash.

software faults 1
A recent report: I was Driving in my 2010 Lincoln MKX January 16,2023 and the front sunroof exploded i hear a loud sound but when I looked up the front sunroof shattered, it all most caused me to have a car accident…
Read full complaint

I was Driving in my 2010 Lincoln MKX January 16,2023 and the front sunroof exploded i hear a loud sound but when I looked up the front sunroof shattered, it all most caused me to have a car accident but I maintain and pull over to the side road. I really think that the manufacture done properly on the sunroof I was not using the sunroof because it’s cold outside !

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11502161 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Other systems

Minor
7

Most reports here involve premature wear.

premature wear 1
A recent report: The front seat when we had to come to a stop the seat bounced forward and then back. Very dangerous. This should be a recall. I have many read letters of this happening for many others. It is an…
Read full complaint

The front seat when we had to come to a stop the seat bounced forward and then back. Very dangerous. This should be a recall. I have many read letters of this happening for many others. It is an accident waiting to happen.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11451864 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Is 111 complaints a lot? They were filed between 2010 and 2024, roughly 8 a year, which is about the same as the typical model in this dataset. We do not have sales figures for this model, so treat this as a rough volume, not a rate per car on the road. Popular, high-volume models naturally collect more complaints over time.

How does it compare with other years? The 2010 has 111 complaints on file, fewer than the 2011 (149). Of the 9 model years of the Lincoln MKX we cover, the 2013 has the most (163). Older model years have had longer to collect complaints.