LINCOLN MKZ · model year

2018 LINCOLN MKZ

33 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report, and 2 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

5 / 5 ★

New Car Assessment Program

The 2018LINCOLNMKZ carries 33 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2018 MKZ is power train with 8 filings, followed by engine (7) and unknown or other (3). 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 2 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 2018 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.

33
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths
2018 LINCOLN MKZ — NHTSA crash-test profile NHTSA NCAP crash-test star ratings for the 2018 LINCOLN MKZ. Overall composite: 5.0 of 5 stars across 3 safety dimensions. Front CrashSide CrashRollover 5.0 NHTSA NCAP of 5 stars
  • Front Crash 4.0 ★
  • Side Crash 5.0 ★
  • Rollover 4.0 ★
NHTSA overall 5.0/5 stars, with front-crash, side-crash and rollover ratings from standardized NCAP barrier and dynamic tests.

Total Complaints

33 filings

Crashes Reported

1 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: 5/5 — Top NCAP rating · Front: 4/5 · Side: 5/5 · Rollover: 4/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
POWER TRAIN8
ENGINE7
UNKNOWN OR OTHER3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING2
STRUCTURE:BODY1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING1
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION1
BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING1
LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING1
AIR BAGS1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:BULBS1
SERVICE BRAKES1
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP1

Recalls (2)

18V16700012/03/2018

STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2018 Lincoln MKZ and Ford Fusion vehicles. The steering wheel retaining bolt may loosen allowing the steering wheel to detach while driving.

23V16200010/03/2023

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. The front brake hoses may rupture and leak brake fluid.

Recent Complaints

20260114POWER TRAIN

The car had an internal transmission failure and caused most of the transmission fluid to leak out between inspections. Upon removing the cv axle on driver’s side, the seal was fine and replaced along with cv axle. The fluid drained and was only about half a liter (needs about 4.5L normally). After servicing the transmission fluid, the dealership did their assessment and came to the following conclusion. “ Good Afternoon Sir We found the transmission system requires replacement due to an internal fault, including damage to the transfer shaft and bearings, with potential additional internal damage. Replacing the transmission can help restore smooth gear shifting and overall drivetrain functionality. To replace the transmission, you are looking at $9000.00 out the door. My apology on taking much longer to diagnose this properly. If you have any other questions please let me know. ” The drastic transmission failure which makes noises and engages and disengages while on cruise con

20251228POWER TRAIN

Car only has 97K miles and the transmission fluid has been leaking for some time causing loud noises from the transmission which took time to locate. The transmission leaked fluid and only had about half a liter of fluid when it should be around 4.5 liters. The fluid leaked from the transmission on the driver cv axle seal. The car shows no lights on dash of any kind. I discovered the leak after the noises were really bad while driving one day. I put the car on my ramps and got under and discovered the driver cv axle damaged and looked like electrical tape was jammed in the cv axle near the transfer case/transmission. Upon closer inspection the leak of transmission fluid was even more obvious. There is no dip stick for the transmission so I decided to drain and see and there is evidence of only about half a liter of fluid. The fluid is black and full of metal particles. This is concerning because the depth of damage is unknown until the car is repaired; this repair would include a new s

20251228WHEELS

Wheel lug nuts get swollen due to the material used causing problems when the wheels need to be removed. I was lucky to not be in an emergency situation needing to change a wheel out. This could have easily happened and I would have been unable to change a wheel on the side of the road. I went to Costco to get my tires changed and they refused to take the wheels off because the wheel lug nuts were ALL swollen and could cause issues on removal or/and installation. They were afraid of stripping the hardware during removal or being unable to torque to spec during installation. The replacement of the wheel lug nuts with parts that wont recreate the problem was about $90 and taking an extra day for the tire replacement appointment plus me replacing it on my own saved on labor.

20251126ENGINE

Check engine light came on. Error code 0302 and 0316 on ODB at dealer. Was advised that engine needed to be replaced due to coolant intrusion into cylinder 2 which cause the vehicle to overheat. Engine has 3200 miles on it. Safety hazard due to engine seizing at high speed and causing an accident due to loss of power. Also possible engine fire due to loss of coolant/overheating.

20250825ENGINE

Coolant Intrusion of Cylinder 3, car has less than 50,000 miles total and has been very well taken care of. Has had over a gallon of coolant added within the month of Aug

20250530POWER TRAIN

My 2018 Lincoln MKZ with the 2.0 Ecoboost Engine incurred premature engine failure at ONLY 40k miles. My safety as well as other drivers' safety at risk due to EcoBoost Engine in certain model year 2013-2019 Ford and Lincoln vehicles have an inherent design defect which makes them predisposed to leak coolant, including allowing the coolant to seep into the engine cylinder, which causes overheating and cylinder head cracking, and can cause the engine to misfire, suddenly stall, or even catch fire while driving. In April the car began to "shake" at start up. The shaking was intermittent. After a few days of this, the check engine light came on. I took it to the mechanic (T&H) to have it looked at. They said the "shaking" is the car misfiring at start up. They were not able to locate any leaks or identify the cause of the misfire. They code on the check engine light was Code P0301-Cylinder #1. During April and May the misfires have continued and got worse. I was going back and

20250530ENGINE

My 2018 Lincoln MKZ with the 2.0 Ecoboost Engine incurred premature engine failure at ONLY 40k miles. My safety as well as other drivers' safety at risk due to EcoBoost Engine in certain model year 2013-2019 Ford and Lincoln vehicles have an inherent design defect which makes them predisposed to leak coolant, including allowing the coolant to seep into the engine cylinder, which causes overheating and cylinder head cracking, and can cause the engine to misfire, suddenly stall, or even catch fire while driving. In April the car began to "shake" at start up. The shaking was intermittent. After a few days of this, the check engine light came on. I took it to the mechanic (T&H) to have it looked at. They said the "shaking" is the car misfiring at start up. They were not able to locate any leaks or identify the cause of the misfire. They code on the check engine light was Code P0301-Cylinder #1. During April and May the misfires have continued and got worse. I was going back and

20250204ENGINE

I own a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The vehicle Engine overheating warnings came up, and I took the car to the dealership. They informed that the Lincoln MKZ vehicle had a frequent problem with coolant leaking into the engine due to faulty power train assembly. The dealer has seen and repaired hundreds of vehicles with this problem. Lincoln company denies responsibility for this manufacturing defect. The vehicle is only 7 years 3 months and 30 days old with 67914 miles used by single owner. A reputed company like Lincoln should be held responsible for manufacturing and marketing vehicles where the power train and engine fails on a fairly new vehicle.

20250204POWER TRAIN

I own a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The vehicle Engine overheating warnings came up, and I took the car to the dealership. They informed that the Lincoln MKZ vehicle had a frequent problem with coolant leaking into the engine due to faulty power train assembly. The dealer has seen and repaired hundreds of vehicles with this problem. Lincoln company denies responsibility for this manufacturing defect. The vehicle is only 7 years 3 months and 30 days old with 67914 miles used by single owner. A reputed company like Lincoln should be held responsible for manufacturing and marketing vehicles where the power train and engine fails on a fairly new vehicle.

20250107POWER TRAIN

Initially when buying the vehicle in 2021, it had 30k miles. Car continued to give me a "cylinder 2 misfire code" after numerous trips to different garages and then the car beginning to start up rough and anti freeze missing i came across a "service bulletin" regarding it being a faulty ring in the engine. I took the vehicle to Ford and they replaced the engine. My car just hit 100k miles All of the sudden one day when trying to stop at a red light the car was shaking . There was no codes and only happened while in drive and at a red light or stop sigh:( complete stop) I took the card to Ford, who diagnosed it and open up my tranny and found out there was no fluid ,was burnt and had metal in it. There is still no code on my dash board and i need to pay 7k to replace a transmission. The fluid is housed internally , there was no leaks, and no codes was thrown on the dash. How was i to know transmission fluid was leaking and wher was it going?

20250107ENGINE

Initially when buying the vehicle in 2021, it had 30k miles. Car continued to give me a "cylinder 2 misfire code" after numerous trips to different garages and then the car beginning to start up rough and anti freeze missing i came across a "service bulletin" regarding it being a faulty ring in the engine. I took the vehicle to Ford and they replaced the engine. My car just hit 100k miles All of the sudden one day when trying to stop at a red light the car was shaking . There was no codes and only happened while in drive and at a red light or stop sigh:( complete stop) I took the card to Ford, who diagnosed it and open up my tranny and found out there was no fluid ,was burnt and had metal in it. There is still no code on my dash board and i need to pay 7k to replace a transmission. The fluid is housed internally , there was no leaks, and no codes was thrown on the dash. How was i to know transmission fluid was leaking and wher was it going?

20241004ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.

Mileage: 46,000

20240903ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the engine light illuminated. While the vehicle was idling, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who referred the contact to the local dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

Mileage: 65,000

20240731ENGINE

I have been told by a ford mechanic on 7.11.2024, 6 weeks before buying the car that there is coolant intrusion in cylinder 2 and the only fix to this would be to replace the long block that cost a little over 8k, some how some way this vehicle dont have any recalls about this well known issue. This in no way should be on the customer due to a defect by Ford engine in there vehicles.

20240228UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Upon driving north on rt. 95 in GA our pan Aramaic moonroof unexpectedly exploded. There was no apparent reason. No debris was present and environmental conditions were not extreme. ( sunny day about 72 degrees F) . The explosion was very loud and alarming creating a risk of losing control of the vehicle. Bodily injury could have resulted if the moon roof cover was open and chards of glass were shot into the vehicle. We have not contact the manufacturer yet , but plan to. There was absolutely no warning of this. It was sudden, unexpected and explosive. The tempered glass was shattered and glass was missing from all along all 4 sides of the moon roof. Very scary. I assume this is due to a manufacturing defect.

20240130ENGINE

I own a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. Starting the second week in January I started to notice a strange smell in the cabin of my car and outside of my car. I told my husband that I was smelling something strange, and he noticed that the exhaust was a billowy white smoke. My husband noticed that this was not a good sign. We also noticed that my Lincoln app was saying there was a misfire in cylinder 2. My husband checked my coolant and saw that my coolant reservoir was completely empty. My husband added coolant and informed me that we would need to take the car to the shop. By the following week ([XXX]) my husband checked my coolant again and saw that my reservoir was empty again and my app was saying cylinder 2 was misfiring again. On Tuesday [XXX], we took the car to the Suburban Ford of Waterford to have my car looked at. On Wednesday [XXX], the dealership called my husband and informed him that I would need a new engine in my car because the coolant is leaking into cylinder and mixing with the o

20231205POWER TRAIN

Torque converter stuck off pcm code 6f35 transmission vin look up doesn't show recall but it has same transmission installed with the same problem as 2017 model

20221114FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

2018 LINCOLN MKZ. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO FAULTY FUEL PUMP. THE CONSUMER IS REQUESTING TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THE FAULTY FUEL PUMP.

20221027VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY

On 10/20/2022 while driving the sun roof exploded. Nothing hit the roof. The glass shatter all around the perimeter of the roof. The sound was like a shot gun blast next to your ears. Fortunately, the shattering glass did not cause a wreck or injury. The Ford garages I called stated I would have to pay for the damage. It seems this is not an uncommon occurance.

20220413EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:BULBS

The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving at night at approximately 35 MPH, the low beam light's visibility was blinding and made the vehicle unsafe to drive. The vehicle was diagnosed at a local dealer with a headlight failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,300.

Mileage: 20,300

Compare 2018LINCOLNMKZ to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2018 LINCOLN MKZ have?
The 2018 LINCOLN MKZ has 33 NHTSA complaints, 1 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2018 LINCOLN MKZ?
The 2018 LINCOLN MKZ received an overall NHTSA safety rating of 5/5, front crash rating of 4/5, side crash rating of 5/5, and rollover rating of 4/5.
Are there any recalls for the 2018 LINCOLN MKZ?
Yes, the 2018 LINCOLN MKZ has 2 recall(s). The most common affected component is STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2018 LINCOLN MKZ?
The most-complained component for the 2018 LINCOLN MKZ is POWER TRAIN with 8 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE and UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Is the 2018 LINCOLN MKZ safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2018 LINCOLN MKZ has an NHTSA safety rating of 5/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

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.