The Used Car Index

2012 Lincoln MKZ problems

NHTSA lists 146 complaints for the 2012 Lincoln MKZ, 10 of them mention a crash and 2 mention a fire. 7 complaints mention an injury, with 9 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as LINCOLN MKZ.

At a glance

Complaints
146
With crash
10
With fire
2
With injury (complaints)
7
Injuries
9
Deaths
0
Recalls
5
Do not drive recalls
2
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
2,602,668
Investigations
2
Open investigations
1
Manufacturer communications
38

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
AIR BAGS6846.6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER2215.1%
STEERING2013.7%
SERVICE BRAKES1711.6%
STRUCTURE106.8%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM96.2%
ENGINE53.4%
POWER TRAIN42.7%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING32.1%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC32.1%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY10
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEAUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING2
POWER TRAINAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION2
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESDOORS1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICPEDALS AND LINKAGES1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
restraint or airbag5948.4%0.93
loss of control2722.1%0.89
mechanical failure1411.5%0.83
unclear75.7%0.85
electrical electronic54.1%0.57
structural or corrosion43.3%0.59
visibility or lighting43.3%0.99
fire or overheating10.8%1.00
noise or comfort10.8%0.28
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate5343.4%0.80
low4839.3%0.61
high129.8%0.88
none97.4%0.60

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 122 tagged complaints of 146 complaints (83.6%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

5 recalls.

21V158000

Date: 2021-03-10. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr, Lincoln MKZ, 2006-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, and Lincoln MKX vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Consequence: 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.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

19V001000

Date: 2019-01-07. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury (excerpt)

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

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. (excerpt)

Do not drive: Yes. Park outside: No.

18V775000

Date: 2018-11-01. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ vehicles that previously received a replacement passenger air bag under recall 16V-384, 17V-024 or 18V-046. In the event of a crash requiring deployment of the passenger air bag, the bracket that secures the air bag inflator to the module housing may deform, allowing the gas that inflates the (excerpt)

Consequence: If the air bag does not inflate as intended, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 21, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S34. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

17V024000

Date: 2017-01-10. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Z (excerpt)

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death. (excerpt)

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. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Fo (excerpt)

Do not drive: Yes. Park outside: No.

15V340000

Date: 2015-06-02. Systems: STEERING.

Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The a (excerpt)

Consequence: If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford custome (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

2 investigations; 1 open.

EA21002

Opened: 2021-09-17. Closed: Not listed.

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupt

Systems: AIR BAGS.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

PE14030

Opened: 2014-10-02. Closed: 2015-09-10.

Electric power steering failure

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate complaints of the loss of power steering while driving. The subject vehicles are equipped with a rack mounted Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) unit.Some of the complaints alleged that the steering assist failed and resulted in increased steering efforts that contributed to a loss of control and in some

Systems: STEERING.

Linked campaign numbers: 15V340000.

Manufacturer communications

38 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM9
POWER TRAIN5
ENGINE3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING3
STEERING3
AIR BAGS2
SERVICE BRAKES2

11029052

Date: 2026-02-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. Unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the

11008948

Date: 2024-10-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

While performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.

10254138

Date: 2024-04-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

All accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. Unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,

10250305

Date: 2024-02-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

When performing any transmission fluid change or topoff involving MotorcraftA A? Premium ATF, MERCONA A? V has replaced all versions of MotorcraftA A? Premium ATF and can be used going forward. Mixing MotorcraftA A? Premium ATF and MERCONA A? V in the same transmission is acceptable. After 31-Jan-20

10240415

Date: 2023-07-27. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2005-2006 GT, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion and MKZ/Zephyr, 2006-2011 Milan, and 2007-2010 Edge & MKX Vehicles Driver & Passenger Airbag Module Quality Control Inspection REASON FOR THIS SUPPLEMENT A A?A A A A? Updated Ranger Technical Information to include images

10236689

Date: 2023-05-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.

Some 2010-2012 Fusion/Milan and 2011-2012 MKZ vehicles equipped with a 2.5L or 3.0L engine and electronic power assist steering (EPAS), a remanufactured replacement steering gear (MU2Z-3V504-ARM) is available which is significantly less expensive than a new replacement gear. When conducting repairs

10234103

Date: 2023-04-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN.

Some 2010-2012 Fusion hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), 2010-2011 Milan HEV and 2011-2012 MKZ HEV vehicles may experience reduced electric vehicle operation and increased gasoline engine operation around 10 years of vehicle age and beyond. This may be due to software in the battery energy control modu

10209374

Date: 2022-03-28. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2005-2006 GT, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion & MKZ/Zephyr, 2006-2011 Milan, and 2007-2010 Edge & MKX Vehicles Driver & Passenger Airbag Module Quality Control Inspection: Ford Motor Company has determined that some vehicles claimed by dealers as repaired under Takata A

10164497

Date: 2019-08-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

For Ford and Lincoln vehicles that require positive or negative battery terminal replacement, it is not necessary to replace the complete battery cable harness (14300 and 14301) for this concern. Positive battery cable clamp BT4Z-14450-AA and negative battery cable clamp BT4Z-14450-BA are available

10160931

Date: 2019-05-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

On vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission it is imperative that the converter pilot hub be greased with Motorcraft Multi-Purpose Grease Spray XL-5-A even if grease was not applied from the factory. Also verify that the engine/transmission alignment dowel pins are present as well as the eng

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
MKZ146

Same model, other years

All model years | All Lincoln models

Other Lincoln models, 2012

Sources

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