Total Complaints
328 filings
LINCOLN MKZ · model year
328 NHTSA complaints, 20 crash reports, and 5 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2008LINCOLNMKZ carries 328 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 20 crashes, 0 fires, 7 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 2008 MKZ is air bags with 164 filings, followed by service brakes (52) and wheels (30). 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. This model year has 5 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 15 investigation files overlapping the 2008 MKZ, 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
328 filings
Crashes Reported
20 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | 164 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 52 |
| WHEELS | 30 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 22 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 6 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 6 |
| POWER TRAIN | 6 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 5 |
| ENGINE | 5 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 3 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 3 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL | 2 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR | 2 |
| TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS | 2 |
| WHEELS:RIM | 2 |
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever register
EQUIPMENT
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain all weather driver side accessory floor mats sold for use in model year 2006-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, 2006 Lincoln Zephyr, and 2007-2011 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured November 9, 2007, through October 31, 2010. The affected floor mats ma
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2006-2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles. The valves within the ABS Hydraulic Control Units (HCU) may react with brake fluids containing specific corrosion preventative additives. This reaction may cause the valves to not
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
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
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
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 Marian
Have tried to schedule an appointment with my local Lincoln dealer to have the recall on my car fixed but they told at this time they have no way to fix it.
2008 Lincoln MKZ AWD. Driver's door won't open from inside. Multiple Online mentions of this dangerous problem. Can't get out of vehicle in case of emergency.
Bought vehicle from owner 02/2023. Check brake system light came on a few months after, breaks started to skip and making a sound. Took it in to Ford dealership and they showed 2 recalls but never said it would be fixed.
Bought vehicle from owner 02/2023. Check brake system light came on a few months after, breaks started to skip and making a sound. Took it in to Ford dealership and they showed 2 recalls but never said it would be fixed.
Vehicle is AWD, part is Transfer Case/Power Transfer Unit. Many issues from customers online and what was marketed as a lifetime part was changed to maintenance at 30,000 miles since the amount of gear oil is minuscule and the heat this part has to contend with is extreme due to location. Car becomes undriveable very quickly and is very dangerous. A leak began and due to small amount of oil it starts to grind, jerk and tires wonât move very rapidly. Extremely dangerous! Instead of a change it should be a recall. This part is also about $1600 alone which means Ford is making money on this to top it off. The mechanic said it was starting to melt the parts and could have been a fire if I didnât drive it right over.
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated, and smoke was coming inside the cabin through the A/C vents. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road to inspect the vehicle and noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the thermostat was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred on four other occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who refilled the coolant in the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that on 5 separate occasions while driving, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond, causing his vehicle to rear-end his wifeâs vehicle. There were no injuries sustained. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would shudder while depressing the brake pedal. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The
Mileage: 122,416
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated, and smoke was coming inside the cabin through the A/C vents. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road to inspect the vehicle and noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the thermostat was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred on four other occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who refilled the coolant in the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that on 5 separate occasions while driving, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond, causing his vehicle to rear-end his wifeâs vehicle. There were no injuries sustained. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would shudder while depressing the brake pedal. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The
Mileage: 122,416
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated, and smoke was coming inside the cabin through the A/C vents. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road to inspect the vehicle and noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the thermostat was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred on four other occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who refilled the coolant in the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that on 5 separate occasions while driving, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond, causing his vehicle to rear-end his wifeâs vehicle. There were no injuries sustained. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would shudder while depressing the brake pedal. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The
Mileage: 122,416
I experienced unintended acceleration upon entering a highway. The vehicle accelerated normally in first gear, but upon shifting into second gear, acceleration exceeded pedal input, as though the cruise control 'Resume' function had activated. Acceleration continued with my foot completely off the accelerator pedal and with full brake application. The event stopped when I kicked the accelerator pedal, suddenly, to full deflection, and engine operation returned to normal. I experienced three separate occurrences of this problem within a few hours. No codes were generated to activate the 'Check Engine' light, or any other warning light. Cruise control was off at the time of the events.
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
I called ford dealerships to fix the problems back in 2019 but the two recalls have not been fixed yet. Recently, my car was almost failing to stop while I was breaking down.
I called ford dealerships to fix the problems back in 2019 but the two recalls have not been fixed yet. Recently, my car was almost failing to stop while I was breaking down.
Manufacturer Recall Number19S54 NHTSA Recall Number19V904 Manufacturer Recall Number21S12 NHTSA Recall Number21V158 I've been waiting to complete the first recall for my car for over two years and during that time a second recall for the airbag has come out. I am afraid to drive my car and put others in danger and I'm afraid to sell my car because I could be knowingly putting other people at risk of injury or death and I can't do that knowingly.
Manufacturer Recall Number19S54 NHTSA Recall Number19V904 Manufacturer Recall Number21S12 NHTSA Recall Number21V158 I've been waiting to complete the first recall for my car for over two years and during that time a second recall for the airbag has come out. I am afraid to drive my car and put others in danger and I'm afraid to sell my car because I could be knowingly putting other people at risk of injury or death and I can't do that knowingly.
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal would only respond when depressed all the way to the floorboard. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the vehicle speed sensor needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the speed sensor was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic), and the vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that the vehicle had passed the hydraulic control unit test. The dealer replaced the brake fluid; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the hydraulic control unit had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer submitted a report to the manufacturer for assistance with the repair of the vehicle; however, the manufacturer informed the dea
Mileage: 113,000
Acutely while driving, the brake petal went all the way to the floor. The brakes slowly slowed the car but didnât stop it. Car was towed to the dealership May 21st. I was refused a loaner. Despite receiving two separate notices (one of which was after they had my car) telling me to go get the free fix, they have failed to provide the part. Leaving me without a car for four months. This has to be past a customary fix time.
Acutely while driving, the brake petal went all the way to the floor. The brakes slowly slowed the car but didnât stop it. Car was towed to the dealership May 21st. I was refused a loaner. Despite receiving two separate notices (one of which was after they had my car) telling me to go get the free fix, they have failed to provide the part. Leaving me without a car for four months. This has to be past a customary fix time.
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was notified of the issue. The manufacturer was notified of the issue but did not provide any assistance. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2008 Lincoln MKZ. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was notified of the issue. The manufacturer was notified of the issue but did not provide any assistance. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
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.