Owners have filed 1,339 complaints on the Lincoln Continental, covering 1981–2020. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (253 reports). Worst years by volume: 1991, 1994, 1990; cleanest: 1981, 1984, 1986. 57 reports describe a crash, 75 a fire, 7 a death. On average the car was 6.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Lincoln Continental
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,339 Continental complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 253 Read
Vehicle was involved in a flip over, the engine remained on. Consumer was able to crawl in and turn the ignition switch off. Dealer was not notified at this time. Ts vehicle was totalled
After driving for 200 miles the right electric radiator cooling fan caught on fire and had to be put out
While making a u-turn consumer noticed smoke coming from the engine, vehicle was on fire. High pressure plastic line on top of engine cracked and fuel went out onto exhaust pipes and spark plug wires
Suspension 162 Read
The moon roof was replaced because the motor did not work, the air bags were replaced several times, and the light did not illuminate. When the vehicle was returned to the consumer, the horn did not work, there was a chiming noise every 30 minutes, and also the air bags did not deploy when the vehicle was involved in…
Driver side front door window moves out of chanel and jams. Driver side front power window motor failed. Driver side front door fails to lock automatically. Air conditioning vents fail to open. Air conditioning blows on windshield only. Irratic shifting of transmission from 1st to 2nd gear. Slipping of transmission…
Front suspension bolts fell off while driving, resulting in loss of steering control/accident/injuries. Tt
Electrical System 125 Read
While driving, noticed smoke coming from under the hood. Driver pulled over/ popped hood, and saw wires burning. Driver felt this was unsafe because there was no smoke coming from underhood. *ak
Right after turning the vehicle off a fire started under the hood area. Vehicle was totalled in the fire. The fire was put out by the fire department. Fire seemed to have started in the fuel recovery system. Please provide any further information
While traveling noticed air bag indicator light on. Also, noticed smoke coming from the steering wheel. Dealer has been contacted
Service Brakes 97 Read
Intermittently when hitting the brake pedal, brakes failed and vehicle went out of control, causing a rear end crash. On july 14th after backing out of driveway, driver put the vehicle in drive and the vehicle went into reverse and hit a tree. Upon impact, the driver's and passenger's seatbacks collapsed. The vehicle…
Accident due to brake pedal failure prior to recall. (94V129000)
Previosuly reported "NHTSA vehicle owner's questionaire reference number 806372 dated 12/16/1996. On two separate occasions at approx, 20,00 miles (10/28/96) and approx. 55,000 miles(10/9/98) the brakes on the subject vehicle(1994 lincoln contintial) have failed. In both instances the failure occured at low speed…
Steering 96 Read
Recently purchased this vehicle, it’s got a different problem all the time usually electronics. The other day I was in a fender bender because I’m driving with the steering wheel 30-45 degrees to the right just so I can drive safe. Essence ford in Stuart FL where I purchased it, two different gentlemen thought it…
I'm writing from lithuania, several month ago I bought lincoln continental 2017 after small accident. I ship it to lithuania, repaired it and find out why accident happened.. After all body repair (yes, only body was damaged), all dtc codes clear I take car for test drive, and after ~20ml of drive in city on one of…
When the consumer applied the brakes, the brake pedal became hard, and consequently the consumer hit another vehicle. *jb the vehicle pulled to the left which happened when the brakes were applied, the engine had run rough, the driver window has become inoperative, the windshield wipers left too many streaks, the left…
Power Train 86 Read
After pulling into a parking space at pharmacy and with foot still on brake, car lurched forward at high rate of speed, onto sidewalk and into the stone wall of pharmacy. No damage to pharmacy. Airbags deployed and airbag and seat belt injuries
Vehicle was parked and suddenly jumped out of park and rolled foward into another vehicle. Consumer was not in vehicle. Dealer has been contacted, said that there are no open recalls standing, repairs have to be made at owner's expense. Minor damage to other vehicle
Immediately after wife and kids got out of the vehicle, it caught on fire and burned. This happened about 10 to 15 seconds after occupants got out of the vehicle. Fire dpeartment stated that the fire was due to the leakage of transmission fluid. The vehicle was totalled. Please provide any further details
Structure 81 Read
While driving vehicle into the garage, the piece between the passenger compartment and the engine compartment fell down an top of the brake pedal, causing the vehicle not to stop and hit a divider in the garage. The problem was reported to the dealership. The part was ordered to correct the problem. Part #…
Drivers door would not latch at times. Dealers problem code shows latch problem with the front passenger also
Door opens while driving Door latch failure
Seat Belts 70 Read
Seat belt failed to retract during an accident, resulting in injuries
Seat belt failed twice, one during an accident, resulting in injuries
Car was in an accident hit from the rear the seat belt retractor failed, consumer was injured. Tt
Continental years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2019 | Back Over Prevention | 1 | — | |
| 2018 | Back Over Prevention | 1 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 4 | 3 | |
| 1996 | Electrical System,visibility | 2 | — | |
| 1995 | Electrical System | 4 | 3 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 12 | 1 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 3 | 2 | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 2 | 3 | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 3 | 17 | |
| 1990 | Air Bags | 2 | 10 | |
| 1989 | Air Bags | 2 | 15 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | 3 | 7 | |
| 1987 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1986 | Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 1 | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | — | 5 | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | — | 2 | |
| 1981 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 517 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.6 |
| Worst single series | 18 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.1 years |
A model average of 2.6 hides a worst series at 18. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Continental?
By complaint volume, 1991, 1994, 1990 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Continental years are the cleanest?
1981, 1984, 1986 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Lincoln Continental have?
1,339 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1981–2020. Of those, 57 describe a crash and 75 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.