Total Complaints
4 filings
LINCOLN MARK · model year
4 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1997LINCOLNMARK carries 4 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1997 MARK is steering: steering wheel/handle bar with 1 filings, followed by wheels (1) and steering (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 15 investigation files overlapping the 1997 MARK, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
4 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR | 1 |
| WHEELS | 1 |
| STEERING | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
HORNS- ONE CORRODED SO MUCH THAT IT WONT BLOW AT ALL. THE OTHER IS ALSO CORRODED BUT DOES MAKE A SLIGHT SQUEAL. PROBLEM IS THEY ARE LOCATED BELOW AND BEHIND THE RADIATOR AND SUBJECT TO DIRT AND WATER FROM THE ROAD. SAFETY INVOLVED IN SOME SITUATIONS.
THE STEERING WAS LOOSE, CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE.
THE WHEELS ARE CRACKING FROM UNDERNEATH THE CHROME. A BLISTER APPEARS BEFORE THE CRACKING. THESE WHEELS ARE ALUMINUN UNDER THE CHROME AND WERE USED ON 96 TO 98 LSC MODELS ONLY. A FORD REPRESENTATIVE LOOKED AT THE PROBLEM, CONSULTED WITH ENGINEERING, AND OFFERED TO REPLACE THE WHEELS AT 40% OFF LISTED PRICE. IF MY VEHICLE WAS STILL UNDER WARRENTY (LESS THAN 50K MILES) LINCOLN WOULD HAVE REPLACED THEM WITHOUT COST TO ME.
DRIVING ABOUT 15MPH, GETTING READY TO GET ON PKWY AND STEERING WHEEL JUST POPPED OUT INTO LAP. HAD TAKEN IN 2 MONTHS AGO BECAUSE FELT VIBRATION IN STEERING. DIDN'T FIND ANY PROBLEM. *AK
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.