There are 9 stored owner reports matching the body & structure leading-label group for the 2003 Lincoln Aviator in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 9 of 9 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 LINCOLN AVIATOR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR LIFTGATE GLASS WAS CRACKED ALONG THE BASE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE LIFTGATE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, HOWEVER THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 59,000 AND THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 LINCOLN AVIATOR. THE CONTACT STATED THE REAR HATCH NEAR THE EMBLEM WAS CRACKED. THE HATCH WAS NEVER USED AND THERE WAS NEVER A CRASH THAT OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THERE ARE NO RECALLS AND THE DEFECT WAS STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. THE REPAIR COST WILL BE AT THE OWNERS EXPENSE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,104.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 LINCOLN AVIATOR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HINGES ON THE REAR WERE NOT HOLDING THE REAR GLASS PROPERLY. THE REAR PANEL ALSO BEGAN TO CRACK. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER WOULD NOT COVER THE REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 64,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 65,000.
CRACKS IN REAR HATCH PANEL. *TR
THE BACK LIFT COMPONENT HAS A CRACK ON EACH SIDE OF THE LINCOLN EMBLEM. THE BODY SHOP NEAR WHERE I WORK TOLD ME THAT THIS IS VERY COMMON WITH THE AVIATORS, AND THAT HE HAS REPLACED MANY OF THEM. IT IS A MANUFACTURING ERROR AND SHOULD BE REPLACED BY FORD/LINCOLN. I HAVE PURPOSELY LOOKED AT OTHER AVIATORS AND FOUND THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME CRACKS IN THE SAME PLACE BY THE EMBLEM. I WAS TOLD BY THE FORD DEALERSHIP HERE THAT THE COMPANY WOULD NOT FIX IT. MY VEHICLE IS NO LONGER IN WARRANTY. IT NOW HAS ABOUT 66,000 MILES, BUT I NOTICED THE CRACKS ABOUT A YEAR AGO, SO AT THAT TIME, IT HAD 50,000+ MILES. *TR
OWNER OF 2003 LINCOLN AVIATOR (ACQUIRED EARLY 2004). SINCE THAT TIME, WHILE VEHICLE UNDER WARRANTY, ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, A CRACK HAS APPEARED NEAR THE EMBLEM ON THE REAR LIFTGATE. ON ALL FOUR OCCASIONS, THE ENTIRE LIFTGATE PORTION WHICH CONTAINS THE WINDOW AND THE EMBLEM HAS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. NOW, IN NOVEMBER 2008, A CRACK HAS APPEARED FOR THE 5TH TIME, BUT THE VEHICLE IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY, AND THE DEALERSHIP STATES THAT FORD/LINCOLN WILL NOT STAND BEHIND ITS VEHICLE. ALSO, LATELY THE BATTERY HAS WEAKENED AND DIED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. IT SEEMS THAT THE CRACKED LIFTBACK MAY NOT BE CLOSED SECURELY. *TR
THE LIFTGATE CRACKED AT THE LINCOLN EMBLEM ON MY 2003 LINCOLN AVIATOR. THIS CONDITIONS APPEARS TO BE SIMILAR TO THE SERVICE BULLETIN NHTSA #: 0485. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 LINCOLN AVIATOR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR HATCH HAS A HUGE VERTICAL CRACK. SHE DOES NOT KNOW HOW THE CRACK APPEARED. THROUGH ONLINE RESEARCH, SHE DISCOVERED MANY AVIATORS THAT WERE EXPERIENCING THE SAME FAILURE. THE CONTACT BELIEVES THE FAILURE MAY BE DUE TO A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. THE BATTERY CONTINUED TO FAIL AND SHE IS UNSURE IF IT IS A RESULT OF THE HATCH NOT BEING ABLE TO CLOSE COMPLETELY BECAUSE OF WHERE THE CRACK IS LOCATED. THE CRACK IS LOCATED NEAR THE LINCOLN EMBLEM. LINCOLN REFERRED HER TO NHTSA. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 60,500. UPDATED 01/17/08 *BF UPDATED 01/17/08 *TR
THERE IS A CRACK BELOW MY BACK WINDOW THAT CAUSES LOTS OF AIR TO COME IN AND ALSO LOTS OF WATER LEAKS AND WHEN IT RAINS I HAVE SMALL CHILDREN AND THE DEALERSHIP IS UNABLE TO WORK WITH ME TO GET THIS REPAIRED IT GETS VERY COLD IN THERE WITH ALL THE COLD AIR THAT COMES IN WITH MY SMALL CHILDREN HOPEFULLY SOMETHING CAN BE DONE FOR THE AMOUNT THAT WE PAID ON THIS VEHICLE
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.