Owners have filed 789 complaints on the Lincoln LS, covering 2000–2006. The system named most often is Suspension (219 reports). Worst years by volume: 2000, 2001, 2002; cleanest: 2006, 2003, 2004. 66 reports describe a crash, 3 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 6.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Lincoln LS
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 789 LS complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Suspension 219 Read
While driving about 5 mph vehicle swerved across center lane, and side swiped oncoming truck. Damage was $ 7200. After vehicle was repaired steering wheel was off center, about 45 degrees. Dealer then aligned front end. 2 weeks later, wheel went off center oi other direction by 45 degrees. Dealer then found one lower…
Vehicle had electrical problems, gearshift panel lights went out/ back up light were not working. *ak consumer was involved in an accident, while driving the vehicle drifted across the center lane and sideswiped 2 vehicles, there were no injuries, however there was property damage, consumer feels this is related to…
Suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint. I took my car into velde lincoln mercury in peoria, ill. 7/11/03 and told them that my car was fish tailing in the front. They told me I needed new tires, they did not tell me that anything else was wrong with the car.I was getting new tires and the place where I put the…
Engine And Engine Cooling 94 Read
The contact owns a 2004 lincoln ls. The contact stated when traveling at 35 mph, the vehicle would sporadically surge forward then correct itself without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the ignition coil was replaced. There were no prior warnings of the failure. The failure mileage was…
Making a soft right turn at speed of 10mph, engine failed, shifted into n to restart the vehicle while moving without power steering, rear-ended a front vehicle. Engine started without a problem and hasnt happened since. Damage to front vehicle was at $310. Damage to ls was at $960
Engine stalled during normal operation of the vehicle while traveling approximately 45 mph. Consumer lost control before traveling into a ditch. Dealership has examined vehicle and determined that alternator failed which resulted in stalling of engine. Please provide any additional information / documentation. *note:…
Air Bags 89 Read
In a severe crash where my 2006 lincln ls airbags did not deploy. The passenger airbag opened after the fact but the driver airbag or side airbags did not deploy. I had severe crush damage to the front of the vehicle as well as the undercarriage
The 2005 lincoln ls left the road, hit a ditch, and overturned several times in a field. The vehicle overturned side to side. The airbags did not deploy during the crash. The driver seat and the passenger seat we're both occupied at the time of the crash. We do not believe that the accident was caused by in a faulty…
The contact stated while traveling 60 mph, the vehicle struck a tire lying in the road. The damage was in the front end between the center and passenger side below the headlight. The airbags did not deploy when this occurred. There was no inspection to determine why the airbags did not deploy. Two years later, while…
Power Train 76 Read
My car rolled backward out of a parking spot at a mall. When it came to rest upon the bumper of a truck, it was still in park. The windows were up and the doors were locked. It was witnessed rolling backward with no one in the car
04 ls was purchased brand new in 2004. I have had continual major problems. Beginning in 2004, the solenoid pack was replaced, followed by the following: all 6 coils, a new transmission (2008), heater core (twice), fuel sending unit, oxygen sensor, some hose/gasket (can't remember) and now the ignition coil is bad.…
My 01 lincoln ls 3.9 v8 caught fire while it was sitting in my driveway at 11:30 pm. By the time it was noticed, the entire front half was engulfed. It exploded about 3 times (possibly the airbags exploding). The fire department put the fire out before it reached the fuel tank. I had driven it around an hour before.…
Steering 45 Read
Numerous random failures involving different computers within vehicle over 1-1/2 years, including failure and replacement of rack and pinion system. Brake system failure on 6/03/05 - ABS computer was reprogrammed but they did not correct what caused corruption. Warned them of concern for my safety. July 10, 2005 went…
I was driving down the highway at 50 mph when I heard a loud noise coming from the back passenger side. Then I felt the car go out of control and I managed to safely get the car to the shoulder. My passenger door side airbag came out. When I got out of the car my tire was almost completely of the rim. I had my car…
Vehicle lost steering and went into an uncontrolable skid. Total vehicle's rotation was greater than 360 degrees. Crossed three lanes of interstate twice before contact with concrete highway barrier. Insurance has conducted an independent investigation and determined that steering components separated causing complete…
Service Brakes 44 Read
Slowed and turned into parking space noted vehicle was not stopping pressed firmer on brakes did not stop hit cement post at chatham county tag department with an officer watching $10,000 damage left driver side damage started at headlight and stopped at wheel. I had pain in neck and from seat belt
In past month lincoln ls 2002 VIN [xxx] experienced two low-speed (less than 10 mph) brake failures.one resulted in a minor accident.the first occurred approx. May 1, but no accident resulted.while I was attempting to stop at an intersection, brakes failed to hold and car rolled through a stop sign into the cross…
Brake failure. My wife and I purchased the 2002 lincoln ls in august, 2005 from our local ford dealership. Later that month on two occasions my wife reported that the brakes failed during low speed stops. We took the vehicle back to the dealership but the service department found nothing wrong. The service department…
Electrical System 41 Read
Car accident with full left side impaction door will not open doors will not open and I was not able to move out of my seat and yet I was stuck behind the steering wheel behind smashed impacted buckled, steering wheel did not deploy the airbags
While driving 45 mph vehicle was involved in a head on collision and the air bags did not deploy. *ak the seat belt light was on and was on at the time of the accident
When driving the car stall and I get this message on th car etc engine failsafe mode
Vehicle Speed Control 40 Read
I was completely stopped at a red light with my foot on the brake. The car suddenly lurched on it's own. My reaction was to apply both feet to the brake with force. In spite of that, the vehicle continued to crawl and it rolled into the intersection. I was hit by an oncoming car. My car was totaled
Dt: contact states while parking the vehicle it accelerated and crashed into a building. The vehicle was towed to a local service dealer, they were going to repair the vehicle. *ak the consumers foot was on the brake pedal when the vehicle accelerated. *sc
Driver was slowly approaching a low curb while parking in a church parking lot car was moving at no more than 1 or 2 miles per hour as the curb was approached and the brake was lightly applied pending a full stop. Vehicle suddenly lurched forward with the sound of high engine revolutions. Car crossed over a three foot…
LS 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 13 | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 19 | 1 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 17 | 1 |
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 | 169 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.7 |
| Worst single series | 24 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.2 years |
A model average of 4.7 hides a worst series at 24. 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
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 LS?
By complaint volume, 2000, 2001, 2002 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 LS years are the cleanest?
2006, 2003, 2004 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Lincoln LS have?
789 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2000–2006. Of those, 66 describe a crash and 3 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.