2007 Lincoln MKZ Air Bags Problems

Source: NHTSA · Updated Jun 11, 2026 · 184 complaints analyzed

Owners have filed 184 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2007 Lincoln MKZ, 71% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 66,285 miles. The words owners use most often: “takata air bags” (30% of reports).

What owners describe

Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.

  • Takata air bags: mentioned in 55 of 184 complaints (30%)
  • Confirm become: mentioned in 17 of 184 complaints (9%)
  • Bag indicator: mentioned in 11 of 184 complaints (6%)

At what mileage do air bags problems happen?

Based on 40 complaints that reported the odometer reading.

Under 10k miles1 · 3%
10k–25k miles2 · 5%
25k–50k miles9 · 23%
50k–75k miles10 · 25%
75k–100k miles6 · 15%
100k–150k miles5 · 13%
150k+ miles7 · 18%

How serious are the reports?

Of 184 complaints, 6 mention a crash, 2 an injury.

Lincoln MKZ air bags complaints by model year

Peak: 2007, with 184 complaints
2007: 18420071842008: 16620081662009: 662009662010: 962010962011: 662011662012: 682012682013: 4201342014: 3201432015: 7201572016: 9201692017: 4201742018: 120181

n = 674 complaints · Source: NHTSA

Model yearAir Bags complaintsShare of that yearMedian miles
2018 MKZ13%—
2017 MKZ43%31,000
2016 MKZ914%30,006
2015 MKZ78%20,000
2014 MKZ33%63,250
2013 MKZ44%40,000
2012 MKZ6847%42,000
2011 MKZ6646%42,500
2010 MKZ9657%66,500
2009 MKZ6658%53,500
2008 MKZ16659%70,000
2007 MKZ18471%66,285

When owners reported it

Peak: 2017, with 89 complaints
2008: 1200812009: 1200912014: 2201422015: 1201512016: 152016152017: 892017892018: 512018512019: 8201982020: 1202012021: 7202172022: 1202212024: 5202452025: 220252

n = 184 complaints · Source: NHTSA

Related recalls (3)

Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator moduleMar 10, 2021 · NHTSA campaign 21V158000 · 2,602,668 vehicles

Problem: 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.

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

Fix: 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.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleDo not driveJan 10, 2017 · NHTSA campaign 17V024000 · 654,695 vehicles

Problem: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleDo not driveMay 31, 2016 · NHTSA campaign 16V384000 · 1,892,343 vehicles

Problem: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles and 2005-2008 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Any vehicle not included in "Zone A", or "Zone B" is not included in the safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Ford mailed interim letters informing owners that parts are not yet available on July 15, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.

What owners report

Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.

Varsity Ford Lincoln is refusing to fix open recalls. My vehicle has been sitting with them for 90 days. Lincoln is refusing to help. Now the dealership in a letter is stating they are not going to fix the open recalls because I have to pay them money to fix my brakes before they'll do that in a…

Received Mar 6, 2025 · NHTSA complaint 11646784

Dealership and Lincoln refusing to repair.

Received Jan 6, 2025 · NHTSA complaint 11634267

Car is inoperable due to the brake issue and airbag issue. Lincoln refuses to assist with getting it towed or working with the dealership. They will say that they do these things or are trying to help but they do not. This has been going on for 5 years. Dealerships will not fix the vehicle because…

Received Dec 16, 2024 · NHTSA complaint 11630926
Lincoln MKZ
Lincoln MKZ II facelift photographed in Harbin , Heilongjiang province, China.. Representative photo; appearance varies by model year. Photo: Navigator84, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Frequently asked questions

Do all 2007 Lincoln MKZs have air bags problems?

No. NHTSA has 184 owner complaints about air bags for the 2007 Lincoln MKZ (71% of the 259 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.

Was there a recall on the 2007 Lincoln MKZ air bags?

Yes: 3 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.

At what mileage do air bags problems start?

The median reported mileage is 66,285 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.

What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2007 Lincoln MKZ?

The most frequent phrase is “takata air bags”, in 55 of 184 complaints, followed by “confirm become” (17).

See all 2007 Lincoln MKZ problems or air bags problems across all MKZ years.