Lincoln · MKZ · 2016
7
Recalls
59
Complaints
5/5
Safety Rating
The 2016 Lincoln MKZ has 7 recalls and 59 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Overall safety rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Most reported issue: steering (8 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
Overall Frontal Rating
Driver and Passenger Assessment
Driver Side
Passenger Side
Overall Side Rating
Side Barrier and Side Pole Tests
Driver Side
Passenger Side
Rollover Resistance
10.9% rollover risk in single-vehicle crash
Safety Features
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. The front brake hoses may rupture and leak brake fluid.
Remedy Status
Dealers will replace the front brake hoses, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 27, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S12.
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.
Remedy Status
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel bolt with a longer bolt, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S08.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured September 3, 2015, to September 13, 2015, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured September 3, 2015, to September 12, 2015. The affected vehicles have a fuel tank that may have insufficent wall thickness. As a result, the fuel tanks may crack in the event of a crash and thus the vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 301, "Fuel System Integrity."
Remedy Status
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began on October 19, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15C11.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015 Fiesta, 2016 Fusion, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A component inside the door latches may break, which can make it difficult to latch or possibly allow the doors to open while driving.
Remedy Status
Dealers will inspect the door latch date codes and if necessary, replace all four side door latches, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 20, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S15. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 20V-177.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Fiesta, 2014-2016 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.
Remedy Status
Ford will notify owners, and Ford or Lincoln dealers will replace the side door latches, free of charge. The recall began September 21, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S15.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 Ford Edge, and 2016 Lincoln MKX vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Road salt or other contaminants may corrode the electric power steering gear motor attachment bolts.
Remedy Status
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear motor bolts and apply a wax sealer. If any of the steering gear motor attachment bolts are broken or missing, a new steering gear will be installed in the vehicle. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 18, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S26.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain Replacement Headlamps, part number DP5Z-13008-T and DP5Z-13008-V, sold for use with 2013-2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. The headlamps may have an improper beam pattern and incorrect horizontal adjustment, the side markers may not illuminate and DOT markings may be missing. As such, these headlamps fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Remedy Status
Ford will notify vehicle manufacturers, and dealers will inspect the headlamps, and replace the headlamps, as necessary, free of charge. Additionally, Ford will instruct dealers to return all improper headlamps and not to install them on any vehicles. The recall began June 3, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20C10.
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became loose, and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact stated that the front end made an abnormal humming sound. The vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist functionality. The contact pulled over, and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
We own a 2016 Lincoln MKZ hybrid that is having issues with the backup camera randomly going blank, or significant delays at random times. Ford/Lincoln addressed the exact issue as a software recall in other models under Recall 25S72, but failed to list our vehicle. This is becoming a big issue with safety not having the backup camera working with the way the rear window is placed, it is difficult to see certain areas behind you. Since this was already identified as a software issue by Lincoln/Ford, we would like to see them extend the recall include our vehicle. This randomly has been happening for the last month.
regarding the rear view camera. It stopped working intermittently and now it shows the picture inverted (backwards) I see an extensive list of vehicles that have been recalled, but my vin is not listed. How do I get this repaired?
Rear camera malfunction in that the image is reversed and the reference lines are missing, fertile lines also appear obstructing view
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost automotive power. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Prior to the failure, the vehicle had been taken to a local dealer on several occasions for a START/STOP repair, and other unknown repairs; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed back to the same local dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the results were unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.
My MKZ started slowly losing coolant and running rough particularly upon starting the engine. Two days later the overheating warning came on and I pulled over and shut off the engine. Sioux Falls Ford has diagnosed it as coolant intrusion in the engine requiring a new engine block.
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated with smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle lost motive power but was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
The back up camera mostly is blank and doesn’t warn me of a vehicle coming from either side resulting in almost getting hit several times
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera was inoperable, and the message "Camera Is Unavailable" was displayed. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 43,800.
I’ve had my car for 7 months and the power steering went out. Not able drive until repaired for $2000.
Eco Boost 2.0 Coolant Intrusion to Cylinders Needs new motor, very well known issue by Ford and they are not willing to pay for repairs
I have had this problem now for over a year, the backup camera on my 2016 Lincoln MKZ shows a panoramic view of the rear but things are reversed, left is on the right side and visa versa or the screen goes blank and a message states camera unavailable contact dealership. Sometimes it works okay but then goes into one of the two issues mentioned above. I talked with my dealership and they wanted to diagnose it, for a fee, or replace the camera which would be between $500 and $800 but I declined. You have had a few reports of this for the MKZ but just recently Ford issued a recall for this specific issue and symptoms for 2015 to 2019 Mustangs, Lincoln Navigators, Lincoln MKC, Edge, Fusion and others along with the entire F-series pickup trucks. The recall issued indicated a software issue and that any authorized dealership could replace the camera but when talking to my dealership today, Irwin Lincoln/Mazda in Freehold New Jersey, they said since my car/vin isn't currently under the current recall for this they would have to charge me a diagnostic fee and parts/labor to fix what they find. You need to include the 2015 to 2019 MKZ under this recall as I and others have had the exact symptoms indicated on the current recall for the backup camera.
Backup camera is showing opposite side. Left side is on yhe right and right side is on the left
My power steering electric system doesn’t work, the steering gear motor may have detached from the gear housing resulting in a loss of power steering assist, requiring a greater steering effort, especially at lower speeds
While driving a complete loss of brake incident occurred. The brake pedal got still, and the car would not stop. Luckily, we were close to home and was able to slow down enough to turn around and get home slowly. Upon investigation it was found the coupler (Part that connects camshaft to brake pump) failed causing the brake pump to not work. This situation is extremely dangerous as we had no prior warning to failure. Even the complete loss of brakes did not have any indicator lights during the incident. Considering the operation of the coupler, how could something so small and so important be weak enough to snap internally, causing a complete loss of brakes with no warning.
The issue is the back up camera works correctly sporadically. Often times the screen is blank or says to contact the dealer. I took it to the Ford dealer and said to fix the issue the camera would have to be replaced.
I brought my 2016 MKZ in for a Safety Recall on front brake hoses. I was told that the lug nuts were swollen and would have to be replaced and would cost 166.27. Had to do it to have the brake hoses replaced. They were replaced with the same type of aluminum lug nuts. This defective type lug nut has been a problem for over 10 years yet nothing has been done to change it. Luckily I didn’t have a flat tire I couldn’t have changed.
Steering wheel is wobbly and loose
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while shifting into reverse(R), the image on the rear-view camera was frozen or distorted. The contact stated that on other occasions the screen was black. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the back over prevention camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V572000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Check engine light came on, car ran hot, and emitted smoke. It also began to run rough. Frightening to say the least. I immediately drove home and took it to my mechanic the next day. He found coolant leaked into cylinder 3. He did research and found tons of reports of the same problem with the Ford 2.0 eco boost engine. Several people reported engine seizing, smoke, or fires. This is a safety hazard.
Showing 1–20 of 25 complaints
The 2016 Lincoln MKZ has 7 recalls recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 59 owner-reported complaints for the 2016 Lincoln MKZ.
The 2016 Lincoln MKZ received an overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars from NHTSA.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2016 Lincoln MKZ are steering (8 reports), air bags (6 reports), service brakes (6 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 7 recalls on record for the 2016 Lincoln MKZ. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
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This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.