2011 Lincoln MKZ

The defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr, Lincoln MKZ, 2006-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, and Lincoln MKX vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

The risk

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

The remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side airbag inflator or module with an alternate one, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 9, 2021 for the passenger side, and November 14, 2022 for the driver side. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S12.

Ford Motor Company · up to 2,602,668 vehicles across all model years covered

The defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ vehicles that previously received a replacement passenger air bag under recall 16V-384, 17V-024 or 18V-046. In the event of a crash requiring deployment of the passenger air bag, the bracket that secures the air bag inflator to the module housing may deform, allowing the gas that inflates the air bag to leak out.

The risk

If the air bag does not inflate as intended, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.

The remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 21, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S34.

Ford Motor Company · up to 215 vehicles across all model years covered

The defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.

The risk

If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

The remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.

Ford Motor Company · up to 393,623 vehicles across all model years covered

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened October 2, 2014 · closed September 10, 2015 · led to recall 15V340000

the steering

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate complaints of the loss of power steering while driving. The subject vehicles are equipped with a rack mounted Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) unit.Some of the complaints alleged that the steering assist failed and resulted in increased steering efforts that contributed to a loss of control and in some cases a crash.The EPAS system was manufactured by TRW Automotive for Ford and was designated as Generation I.These units were first produced and put into vehicle production in July 2008 beginning with the model year (MY) 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan.The system is comprised of a mechanical steering rack-and-pinion gear with torque sensor, electric assist motor, motor position sensor and a power steering control module (PSCM). The PSCM is self-monitoring and designed to detect faults within the system and can store diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) if a problem is detected.There are 29 potential DTCs the system can detect.Many of these allow the system to go into reduced-assist steering mode by using the default vehicle speed signal should the live speed signal be lost, if voltage to EPAS system falls below 10.7 or goes above 17 volts, the temperature at the PSCM goes above 105C (221F), or if high friction is detected.Some DTCs will cause the system to go into manual steering mode (no assist). On July 1, 2015, Ford filed a Defect Information Report (DIR) identifying a safety related defect in TRW GEN I EPAS systems installed in some of the subject vehicles (NHTSA Recall 15V-340, Ford No. 15S18).The DIR indicated that intermittent electrical connections caused by quality issues associated with conformal coat contamination and ribbon cable pin misalignment within the steering gear motor may lead to a loss of the motor position sensor signal, resulting in a sudden loss of power assist while driving.The recall covers approximately 393,623 vehicles built from September 2010 through February 2012:2011-12 Fusion built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012; 2011-12 Lincoln MKZ built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012; 2011 Milan built SEP 2010 - DEC 2010; 2011-13 Taurus built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012; 2011-13 Flex with 3.5L GTDI engine built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012; and 2011-13 MKS, MKT with 3.5L GTDI engine built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012.The repair consists of updating the PSCM software to prevent a loss of steering assist while driving. The revised software will provide audible and visual warnings to the driver. If one or more of the following DTCs are stored, C1B00-62, C200B-2F, C200B-61, C200B-62, C200C-2F, C200D-49, U0300-00, U2011-49, U2011-61, U3000-46, U3000-49, U3000-61, U3000-72, U3000-96, P07AE-09, the dealer will replace the EPAS system at no charge to the owner.ODI's analysis of failure data for this PE identified a total of 2,584 complaints to ODI and Ford and 9,967 Ford warranty claims related to the alleged defect.The recalled vehicles account for 1,634 of the complaints and 7,311 of the warranty claims.ODI's analysis identified 40 complaints alleging crashes that may be related to loss of steering assist while driving, 20 of which involved vehicles included in Ford's recall.The information available for the alleged crashes were not sufficient to assess specific causes of the incidents or to verify EPAS malfunctions in each case.Most of the crashes were low-speed impacts with curbs or roadside objects resulting in wheel or minor body damage.None of the injury claims indicated medical attention was required.In addition, statistical modeling of the failure data by NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis projected 10-year failur

Closed engineering analysis · opened December 12, 2012 · closed June 12, 2014 · led to recall 14E028000

vehicle speed control

On May 27, 2014, Ford Motor Company submitted recall 14E-028 (Ford recall #14S07) to correct a safety-related problem with certain driver's side Ford optional all-weather floor mats sold for use in model year 2006 through 2011 model year Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr, and Lincoln MKZ vehicles built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant (HAP) from November 9, 2007, to October 31 ,2010.NHTSA testing determined that the original accessory all-weather mat with a single retention clip (Figure 1), may interfere with accelerator pedal return to idle with the mat retained by the clip and rotated clockwise.Both the single- and double-clip (Figure 2) all-weather floor mats may interfere with the accelerator pedal return to idle when the mats are not secured by the retention clip(s).Testing showed that this can occur if the mats are moved forward from the clipped position approximately two inches into a position in which the rear edge of the mats will abut the retention clip(s) when installed singly and align with the clip(s) when stacked on another floor mat.The pedal interference incidents reviewed by the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) include 1 crash and 9 incidents with allegations of brake friction materials smoking and/or requiring repair for heat related damage.The crash incident occurred after the parking brake was applied at speed, resulting in loss-of-control vehicle yaw event caused by lock-up of the rear tires.The spin-out resulted in a side impact collision with an oncoming vehicle in an opposing lane of traffic. For the 29 incidents with sufficient information available to make an assessment; 23 (79%) were controlled by the driver either shifting to neutral, turning the engine off, or both; 4 (14%) were ended by the driver either kicking the pedal free (2) or pulling the mat away from the pedal (2); and 2 (7%) were ended by the pedal freeing itself from the mat with no apparent driver action.None of the drivers who reacted to the incident by shifting to neutral or turning the engine off reported any difficulties with either action.The subject mats were sold by Ford and Lincoln dealers directly to customers as an optional accessory equipment item or, beginning in November 2007, the mats were also available as a factory installed accessory if ordered with a new vehicle.Ford estimates that approximately 82,579 affected driver's side all weather floor mats were sold worldwide; either over the counter through Ford dealerships or as original equipment.Owners that purchased the subject all-weather floor mats as a factory installed accessory with their new vehicle will be notified to return their all weather floor mats to their Ford or Lincoln Dealership in exchange for replacement mats.Owners of all other potentially affected vehicles will be notified that, if they have an affected Ford driver's side all weather floor mat, they should return their mats to the dealership in exchange for replacement mats.The VOQs associated with the closing of this investigation are: 10327597, 10332233, 10334211, 10335336, 10339330, 10348772 (and duplicate 10342572), 10372674, 10379562, 10415911, 10426255, 10434107, 10521053, 10554966.This investigation is hereby closed.

While traveling on interstate at70 mph a red triangle appears on dash engine turns off warning on dash to stop asap. All you have is electrical power which is not much. Car needs to be turned off and restarted. This may occur again in a few minutes or not. Took to dealer they said they replaced an O2 sensor. It still turns off. Back to dealer. They can’t reproduce. Has happened to me at least 8 times on surface streets and highways. Extremely dangerous to loose power on highways. This started about 6 months ago. Still happening. Last incident was today

NHTSA complaint 11642912. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

As I was traveling home from work, I noticed the car jerk slightly and immediately decelerate. The engine temperature gauge light came on the dash and the temperature gauge immediately moved to the “H” position on the dash. Due to the fact that I was in rush hour traffic on the highway, I was worried I wouldn’t have enough speed to get to the median. I turned on my hazards and coasted safely to the side of the road but was nearly ran over by other vehicles not realizing the issue I was having. I was unable to accelerate out of the way and at the mercy of other drivers being courteous and give me space to move. I turned the car off and looked under the hood locating the coolant reservoir. It …

NHTSA complaint 11609001, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

towed · 70,000 miles

The contact owns a 2011 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a knocking sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated on another occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact was informed that it might have been an axle leak. The contact then took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who in turn advised her to take the vehicle to a dealer. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with water pump failure. The contact was informed that the …

NHTSA complaint 11607300, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

I was stopping at a stop sign and was unable to stop immediately, instead I coasted a little bit before stopping. Then the brake warning lights and ABS and traction lights came on. I pulled over to a parking lot and turned the car off and turned it back on: all the lights came back on. I put on my flashers and very carefully and slowly drove my car to Jiffy Lube. They did an $108 oil change and checked the brake pads and brake fluid levels and said everything was fine and I would need to take it to a larger shop. I contacted the Apple Ford dealer near me and had my family follow me as I dropped it off. They said it would be a total of $310 for diagnostic and brake flush. I did the flush and …

NHTSA complaint 11595694, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

I was driving home in rush hour traffic at approximately 50 mph. I tried to brake but the pedal went to the floor and I had no brakes at all. Turns out this was a recall issue for the same issue for the previous four years MKZs. Replacing the fluid did not fix the problem and the 2,000 dollars charged for just the module that controls this is disgraceful. That doesn't include the other thousand for a mechanic to install the part. I managed to avoid hitting anyone, but not by much. This is extremely dangerous and should be addressed

NHTSA complaint 11576429. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.