Owners have filed 1,101 complaints on the Lincoln Navigator, covering 1998–2025. The system named most often is Electrical System (136 reports). Worst years by volume: 1998, 1999, 2003; cleanest: 2023, 2009, 2011. 69 reports describe a crash, 79 a fire, 18 a death. On average the car was 5.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Lincoln Navigator
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,101 Navigator complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 136 Read
Placing the vehicle in reverse we backed into a concrete piller and none of the safet sensors allerted us to the object
Car accelerated very fast while in reverse and brake would not work. After reversing into other cars the car Finally stopped. When the car was turned back on it would not going to gear because the break was not being registered as being pressed
I was driving and didn't notice this truck ahead of me as I switched lanes. Although fault is questionable since the truck we traveling extremely slow on the highway, my vehicle had plenty of time to stop with the Pre-Collision System. That system is intended to avoid front end collisions and apply emergency breaks if…
Power Train 131 Read
Had transmission problems before this final issue. With that said the dealership ended up replacing the transmission as it was under warranty. Not even 2000 miles later we are coming back from vacation and I lost total power of the vehicle but since I was going around 70 mph we made it to the shoulder of the highway.…
Connector for cooling hoses blew out causing engine to overheat and stand my family on the highway. This appears to be a common problem that someone did a YouTube video on it. I have put the video link below. Please have them recall before someone gets hurt. Ford Lincoln does not respond. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED…
As per Ford Customer Satisfaction Programs 19B05 and 19N01 down shift and molded lead frame. My truck was brought into the dealership to verify the problem. Codes revealed that the molded lead frame and output sped sensor went bad. My 2013 Navigator has 62,000 miles. It was determined that my vehicle was 60 something…
Suspension 116 Read
While driving in a parking lot a car pulled out in front of my 2003 navigator as I hit the brakes I felt my SUV drop from the front. The tire skidded and I hit the car that was pulling out. After the accident my truck was never the same .it was taken to the dealership but they said the warranty would not cover it.I…
I was driving my 1999 lincoln navigator and suddenly my rear suspension failed resulting in a tremendous amount of bouncing up and down cause a very serious control problem. Luckily there were no other vehicles around to cause a serious accident. I was able to get the vehicle home by driving slowly and scheduled an…
While driving ....... Without warning the air suspension line exploded and the vehicle became unmanageable ... Causing me to go off the road and strike various stationary objects
Tires 109 Read
Complete tiread separation and right axle separation, causing rollover. *ak( DOT number: )
While traveling on interstate and without prior warning there was a noise and vibration . He was able to pull over to shoulder, saw that right tire tread separated. Firestone, bridgestone, 24575r16, dueler at. Dealership was aware of problem
These tires have become uncontrollable in the rain. At 45 mph in light rain the vehicle slides all over the place. Traction control is going off and the vehicle is near impossible to stop and it slid sideways. I have been driving for 40 years including in the rain with a motorcycle even. I have never experienced…
Engine And Engine Cooling 69 Read
The contact owns a 2006 lincoln navigator. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags deployed and flames were noticed under the hood. The vehicle exploded five times. The fire department extinguished the fire and the vehicle was towed. A police report was filed. The cause…
The contact owns a 2007 lincoln navigator. While the vehicle was parked, the contact heard a popping noise followed by a loud explosion. He noticed that the vehicle was on fire. He then heard more popping sounds and noticed that the vehicle was completely engulfed in flames. The fire destroyed the vehicle and melted…
Loss of brake fluid, leaked through to cruise deactivation switch into cruise systems and electrical components causing corrosion which caused a short. Had trouble with cruise control working over time lead to higher flow of current that overheated and caused fire at switch under hood. Ford speed control deactivation…
Service Brakes 67 Read
The brakes on my car stopped working and this caused me to crash into a wall. This accident caused by my brakes failing nearly killed me and put others at risk. There were no recalls, or warnings about the brakes failing before the accident
On [XXX] during sunny, dry weather conditions I was travelling north bound on [XXX] at 25 mph, 4 to 5 car lengths behind the next driver. Driver ahead stopped for a crosswalk, I immediately braked and the anti-lock brake system erroneously engaged which did not allow the navigator to appropriately stop which caused a…
2008 lincoln navigator sometimes has no brakes. Have already had one accident because of this. Took the navigator in to the dealership and they checked it out and said there was nothing wrong. Wrote ford a letter and they replied "the circumstances which you outlined concerning your navigator, have been given careful…
Steering 60 Read
The contact owns a 2006 lincoln navigator. On july 17, 2009, while driving approximately 23 mph, the contact felt the steering pull to the right. She attempted to keep it centered and then heard a loud noise. The front passenger side of the vehicle instantly collapsed and she crashed into a parked vehicle. The contact…
Dt: while making a right turn off on an exit, the vehicle went out of control, the front driver's tire rolled off, then the tie rod snapped and the consumer was trapped. The consumer hit a guard rail. No other vehicles or people were involved. The consumer stated that tire or tie rod was so hot that as it rolled into…
I purchased a 2000 lincoln navigator from laurel-ford dealer in mississippi on august 21, 2003. After asking the dealership if all necessary maintenances were done on vehicle my family and I left for new york. I still had the original mfr warranties and I purchased an extended warranty plan. While traveling on the…
Vehicle Speed Control 50 Read
Run away lincoln navigator. In light of toyota's problems, the same problem occurred in 2007. Out of control acceleration, unable to stop, unable to shift to neutral. SUV kept increasing speed despite not depressing the gas pedal
The lane keeping system on the Lincoln Navigator L is very heavily “right handed”and hugs the right line while cruise control is active. The lane centering over corrects and bounces off of the center line and right hand side lanes on two lane highways. This caused me to strike a mailbox and chase $7k worth damage to…
Driving at about 25-30 mph on side street and my car surged out of control.. I attempted to control the speed with the brake. I was about 100-150 feet from a busy intersection (40 highway -the car surging really fast. I needed to make some quick decisions to protect a lot of people from being badly injured or killed.…
Navigator 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Air Bags,structure | — | — | |
| 2024 | Electrical System,lane Departure,back Over Prevention | 3 | — | |
| 2023 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2022 | Electrical System | 3 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Back Over Prevention | 1 | — | |
| 2020 | Electrical System | 2 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags,seat Belts | 3 | — | |
| 2018 | Back Over Prevention | — | 3 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags,seat Belts,seats | 1 | 1 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags,seat Belts | — | 1 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2014 | Electrical System,engine | 2 | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags,structure | 2 | — | |
| 2012 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2011 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2010 | Electrical System | 2 | — | |
| 2009 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2007 | Electrical System | 1 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 5 | 3 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 3 | 2 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 6 | 3 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | — | 5 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 6 | 11 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 7 | 14 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 4 | 10 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 10 | 17 |
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 | 575 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.9 |
| Worst single series | 13 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.2 years |
A model average of 1.9 hides a worst series at 13. 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
- No ads, on every page
- 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 Navigator?
By complaint volume, 1998, 1999, 2003 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 Navigator years are the cleanest?
2023, 2009, 2011 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Lincoln Navigator have?
1,101 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1998–2025. Of those, 69 describe a crash and 79 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.