CSR

Lincoln · NHTSA safety record

2017 Lincoln Continental

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 75 safety complaints about the 2017 Lincoln Continental with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. 4 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is the body structure, named in 20 complaints, 27% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 50,000 miles, the median across the 39 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers May 2017 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

75 complaints on file

75

Complaints

1

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

1

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

Complaints rose by half year on year: 15 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 10 in the twelve before.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
STRUCTURE 20 · 27%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 · 21%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 15 · 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 · 19%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 11 · 15%
SEATS 4 · 5%
ENGINE 3 · 4%
POWER TRAIN 3 · 4%
STEERING 3 · 4%
AIR BAGS 2 · 3%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 · 1%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 · 1%
0 12 23

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 75.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 13.

16 12 8 4
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2017 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2017 Lincoln CONTINENTAL, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test 4 DR AWD 4 DR RWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 10.6% 10.6%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

4 on file

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

22V644000 · August 26, 2022

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2020 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and 2017-2020 Lincoln Continental vehicles equipped with the 360-degree camera system. Degradation of the camera's anit-reflective lens coating can lead to a foggy or cloudy rearview camera image.
The risk
Lack of a clear rearview camera image can reduce the driver's visibility of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 14, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S51.

Ford Motor Company · up to 277,040 vehicles across all model years covered

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

19V077000 · February 11, 2019

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Lincoln Continental vehicles. The door latch pawl motors may not function properly, possibly resulting in a door latch not fully engaging.
The risk
A door latch that is not fully engaged may result in a door opening while driving, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the latch assemblies on all four doors, free of charge. The recall began October 14, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S03.

Ford Motor Company · up to 27,609 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

17V123000 · February 27, 2017

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles and 2017 Lincoln Continental vehicles. In the event of a crash, the driver's frontal air bag may not fully inflate or the air bag cushion may detach from the air bag module. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk
During deployment, if the air bag does not fully inflate or the cushion detaches, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began June 16, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C02.

Ford Motor Company · up to 27,531 vehicles across all model years covered

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

16V731000 · October 12, 2016

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Lincoln Continental vehicles manufactured June 14, 2016, to September 23, 2016 and equipped with high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. The headlights may have been built with incorrect lenses, adversely affecting the turn signal visibility as well as not being properly marked. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Assoc. Equipment."
The risk
Reduced turn signal visibility to other drivers and pedestrians can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the headlights, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 16, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C15.

Ford Motor Company · up to 1,827 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SEATS

1 injured

I turned on my heated seats and felt my back burning. I turned it off and called the dealer immediately and noted my brand new winter arctic coat had a hole in it, the seat had a hole in the air bladder of the seat and the entire car was smelling of burning. I have owned the car without problems. My back had a first degree burn

NHTSA complaint 11443191. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

crash · 20 miles

I'M WRITING FROM LITHUANIA, SEVERAL MONTH AGO I BOUGHT LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 2017 AFTER SMALL ACCIDENT. I SHIP IT TO LITHUANIA, REPAIRED IT AND FIND OUT WHY ACCIDENT HAPPENED.. AFTER ALL BODY REPAIR (YES, ONLY BODY WAS DAMAGED), ALL DTC CODES CLEAR I TAKE CAR FOR TEST DRIVE, AND AFTER ~20ML OF DRIVE IN CITY ON ONE OF SHARP TURN MY CONTINENTAL STEERING WHEEL LOCKED BY ITSELF! I ALMOST HIT INCOMING TRAFFIC CAR, THEN I UNDERSTAND WHY ACCIDENT HAPPENS FOR THIS CAR IN USA. I'M ELECTRONIC SPECIALIST, SO I HAVE KNOWLEDGE AND ALL EQUIPMENT FOR SUCH DIAGNOSIS WORK LIKE THIS. SO I START TO CLEAR TROUBLE CODES IN CONTROL UNIT'S, EVERYTHING WAS OK EXCEPT ONE.. "ADAPTIVE STEERING FAULT SERVICE REQUIRED"

NHTSA complaint 11164821, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:ANTILOCK:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE

towed · 150,000 miles

The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln Continental. The contact stated while driving approximately 35–40 MPH, the parking brake activated, causing the driver to swerve, as the tires squealed. The driver was able to pull over. The contact was unable to release the parking brake. The vehicle was in LIMP Mode. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the ABS brake module had malfunctioned. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

NHTSA complaint 11541443. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN:TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE)

towed · 110,000 miles

The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln Continental. The contact stated while at various speeds, the contact noticed that there was an abnormal burning oil odor coming from the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds on several occasions, the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound, unexpectedly bounced and stalled. The message "4WD Off" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to different independent mechanics, and the transfer case was replaced twice; however, the failure persisted while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the transfer case needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired; however, the contact

NHTSA complaint 11740862, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Recall number 19S03 repaired prior to my purchase. Driver door latch has disassembled

NHTSA complaint 11761554. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
Date of Incident: XXX Location: [XXX] Vehicle Speed: 0 Description: The right front and right rear doors on my 2017 Lincoln Continental (VIN: [XXX]) became completely inoperable from the outside — the exact same safety defect addressed under recall 19S03. The recall repair was previously performed by an authorized Ford/Lincoln dealer, however that repair has since failed, leaving me with the same dangerous condition the recall was issued to correct. A door that cannot be opened from the outside while driving creates a serious safety risk to both the driver and passengers. I was forced to hire a locksmith just to access my vehicle and subsequently paid $1,142 out of pocket for professional

NHTSA complaint 11742865, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Vehicle: 2017 Lincoln Continental Black Label VIN: [XXX] I am reporting a seriously catastrophic brake system safety failure. The brake pedal intermittently travels to the floor with little to no resistance, resulting in a sudden loss of hydraulic braking pressure and significantly increased stopping distance. The braking response is spongy, inconsistent, and unreliable. A “Low Brake Fluid” warning appears despite no visible external leak, suggesting an internal hydraulic failure. I almost hit a vehicle from behind on several occasions before finally stopping to safety due to these issues that occurred. All of this occurred without any warning indication. The master brake cylinder has

NHTSA complaint 11731147, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have a 2017 Lincoln Continental that the passenger side front door will not open from the inside.

NHTSA complaint 11730206. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
Doors open while driving , happened 4 times in the last month . Back right door and drivers door 2 occasions on both doors . On line it says all Lincoln Continentals from 2017 2018 and 2019 were recalled and there telling me mine is not on the recall . This is a very dangerous situation this is my wives car and she does not like driving it anymore .

NHTSA complaint 11727962. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Lincoln Continental

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2019 32 3 —
2018 20 2 —

Other 2017 Lincoln models

Every Lincoln on this site — 85 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst