2012 Lincoln MKZ Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other MKZ years
- More complaints than other years 4th of 15 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 5 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 4 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 146 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Lincoln MKZ. That ranks 4th out of 15 MKZ model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is air bags (68 complaints, 47%), typically at around 42,000 miles. Complaints mention 10 crashes, 2 fires, 9 injuries. There are 5 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 146owner complaints
- 5safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 10complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2012 Lincoln MKZ problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags problems | 68 | 47% | 42,000 | “takata air bags” (32%) | — |
| Unknown or Other | 22 | 15% | 47,898 | — | — |
| Steering | 20 | 14% | 65,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 17 | 12% | 58,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 10 | 7% | 56,000 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 9 | 6% | 60,200 | — | — |
| Engine | 5 | 3% | 14,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 4 | 3% | 42,500 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 3 | 2% | 76,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 2% | 113,449 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 3 | 2% | 14,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 2 | 1% | 129,907 | — | — |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 2 | 1% | 63,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 1% | 43,000 | — | — |
| Firerelated | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 1% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Seats | 1 | 1% | 1,000 | — | — |
| Visibility | 1 | 1% | 1,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2012 Lincoln MKZ recalls (5)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
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 drive
Problem: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of 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, Ford is recalling certain 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles and 2011-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of 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." Ford is also recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2010-2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, and 2010-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and 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: 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. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall 19S01.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: 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.
Risk: If the air bag does not inflate as intended, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleDo not drive
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.
Steering:electric power assist system
Problem: 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.
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.
Fix: 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.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA21002) — opened Sep 17, 2021, still open.
- Electric power steering failure (PE14030) — opened Oct 2, 2014, closed Sep 10, 2015, led to recall 15V340000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to steer in either direction. No warning light was illuminated. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had…
My car has lost powering steering three times now. I have replaced the rack and pinion module twice and Iâm fixing to a third time. This has happened all within the last 3.5 years
I became the owner of a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to Ford with great difficulty where they reset the sensor or something and the power steering was working again. Now a…
Power steering control module stop working. Ford is aware of this issue and refusing to classify it as a recall. Vehicle inoperable at 83k miles.
While driving I noticed that at times my steering wheel would be difficult to turn. At first, the problem seemed small until I was trying to make a left turn on a very busy 4-lane road, and without warning the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. I narrowly avoided being hit and ever since…
Other Lincoln MKZ years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 MKZ | 2 | 1 |
| 2019 MKZ | 21 | 1 |
| 2018 MKZ | 35 | 2 |
| 2017 MKZ | 141 | 4 |
| 2016 MKZ | 64 | 6 |
| 2015 MKZ | 84 | 10 |
| 2014 MKZ | 97 | 13 |
| 2013 MKZ | 109 | 12 |
| 2012 | 146 | 5 |
| 2011 MKZ | 145 | 5 |
| 2010 MKZ | 169 | 7 |
| 2009 MKZ | 114 | 6 |
| 2008 MKZ | 281 | 4 |
| 2007 MKZ | 259 | 4 |
| 2006 MKZ | 0 | 4 |
See all Lincoln MKZ problems by year, every Lincoln model, or the Lincoln VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2012 Lincoln MKZ?
Owners most often report air bags, unknown or other, steering problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 68 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Lincoln MKZ?
Yes, 5 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2012 Lincoln MKZ a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other MKZ model years, the 2012 has more complaints than most years, and NHTSA rates it 4 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.