1998 Lincoln Town CAR Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Town CAR years
- More complaints than other years 6th of 17 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 7 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 154 complaints with NHTSA about the 1998 Lincoln Town CAR. That ranks 6th out of 17 Town CAR model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is engine and engine cooling (32 complaints, 21%), typically at around 90,000 miles. Complaints mention 7 crashes, 7 fires, 3 injuries. There are 7 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 5 defect investigations involving it.
- 154owner complaints
- 7safety recalls
- 5NHTSA investigations
- 7complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 1998 Lincoln Town CAR 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 32 | 21% | 90,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 19 | 12% | 30,920 | — | — |
| Suspension | 19 | 12% | 97,000 | — | — |
| Visibility | 16 | 10% | 52,000 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 15 | 10% | 111,267 | — | — |
| Structure | 14 | 9% | 95,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 13 | 8% | 77,500 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 12 | 8% | 90,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 11 | 7% | 44,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 7 | 5% | 77,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 7 | 5% | 71,267 | — | — |
| Equipment | 5 | 3% | 48,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 4 | 3% | 39,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 3 | 2% | 33,555 | — | — |
| Engine | 2 | 1% | 125,734 | — | — |
| Seats | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 1% | 90,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 1 | 1% | 90,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
1998 Lincoln Town CAR recalls (7)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Vehicle speed control
Problem: On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch may, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
Risk: This could result in an underhood fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected as an interim repair. As soon as repair parts are available (expected october 2007), owners will be instructed to return to the dealers for installation of a fused wiring harness. The recall began on august 13, 2007, and mailing completed by september 19, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1-888-222-2751.
Tires
Problem: Vehicle description: certain limousines stretched over 60 inches fail to comply with the requirements of fmvss no. 109, "new pneumatic tires," and no. 110, "tire selection and rims."
Risk: The vehicle weight could exceed the maximum load rating for the tire, increasing the risk of premature tire wear or blowout.
Fix: Dealers will replace all 5 tires (including the spare tire) with michelin tires (225/70r16 107t reinforced white sidewall) with a sufficiently higher load rating. Owner notification began january 10, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-248-0186.
Equipment:mechanical:integrated jack/leveler/stabilizer
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. These vehicles have jacking instructions which, if followed, could cause the vehicle operator to place the jack on a frame weld when attempting to raise a rear wheel. If the vehicle is jacked up with the jack placed on the frame weld and if the vehicle is free to roll (wheels not blocked or chocked), the jack could yield and the vehicle may drop suddenly.
Risk: If this occurs and any portion of the operator's body is under the vehicle, the potential for personal injury exists.
Fix: Owners will be provided with a revised jack instruction and stowage card and jack warning label, as well as a supplement to the owner guide.
Seat belts:front:anchorage
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles using aftermarket driver's seat belt assemblies that were sold by ford parts departments from january 1, through june 13, 2000. These seat belt assemblies fail to comply with the requirements of fmvss no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." the equipment involved is service stock seat belt assemblies, model nos. H 9977, h 9979, t 9063, and t 9217, built by trw vehicle safety systems, inc. (trw) manufactured from june 1, 1998 through may 21, 2000. Some of these seat belt assemblies may have been installed as service replacement equipment on the vehicles involved in the recall.
Risk: In the event of a collision, these seat belts may not restrain an occupant increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect these vehicles and replace the service seat belt assemblies that were installed in these vehicles from january 1 through june 13, 2000.
Seat belts:front:anchorage
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles using aftermarket front passenger side seat belt assemblies that were sold by ford parts departments from january 1, through june 13, 2000. These seat belt assemblies fail to comply with the requirements of fmvss no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." the equipment involved is service stock seat belt assemblies, model nos. H 9977, h 9979, t 9063, and t 9217, built by trw vehicle safety systems, inc. (trw) manufactured from june 1, 1998 through may 21, 2000. Some of these seat belt assemblies may have been installed as service replacement equipment on the vehicles involved in the recall.
Risk: In the event of a collision, these seat belts may not restrain an occupant increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect these vehicles and replace the service seat belt assemblies that were installed in these vehicles from january 1 through june 13, 2000.
Suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint
Problem: Vehicle description: certain 1996-1999 ford crown victoria police, fleet, natural gas, and 1996-1999 lincoln town car limousine vehicles that were produced with a lower control arm ball joint containing a one piece bearing; and 1990-1996 ford crown victoria police, fleet, and ngv vehicles and 1990-1996 lincoln town car limousine vehicles that have been serviced with either a ball joint containing the one-piece bearing or a front lower control arm containing a ball joint with a one-piece bearing. The one-piece bearing within the lower control arm ball joint can weaken slowly during use and eventually crack. This could result in separation of the ball and cap of the joint, allowing the control arm to drop to the ground.
Risk: If this occurs while the vehicle is moving, reduced steering control could occur, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the lower control arm ball joints (2).
Exterior lighting:headlights
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The text and/or graphics for the vehicle headlamp aiming instructions provided in the owner guides are not sufficiently clear. This does not meet the requirements of fmvss no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Risk: If the headlamp assemblies are replaced, customers may be confused by the aiming instructions provided in the owner guides causing the headlamps to be improperly aimed.
Fix: Owner guides containing revised aiming instructions will be mailed to owners of these vehicles.
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
- Spark plug ejection from cylinder head (DP05005) — opened Sep 22, 2005, closed Jan 4, 2006.
- Fuel-fed fires (DP02007) — opened Aug 22, 2002, closed Dec 4, 2002.
- Post rear end collision fires (SQ01014) — opened Nov 27, 2001, closed Oct 3, 2002, led to recall 02I003000.
- Fuel spit back during refueling (EA99010) — opened Apr 9, 1999, closed May 4, 1999.
- Fuel spit back during refueling (PE98052) — opened Sep 25, 1998, closed Apr 9, 1999.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
all body frame has rust.
Makes loud popping noise when the wheel is turned to the extreme right or left whether the car is being driven or standing still. Occasionally, the ignition won't turn on and the steering wheel is locked, closing the entire system.
The cruise control module stopped working on my vehicle and now i'm told it can't be replaced. Subsequently, the radio & a/c stopped working. This cruise control module had to be replaced because of it's ability to spontaneously combust the car in flames as it did on my 1996 lincoln town car. Why…
Vehicle began to over heat.once it got hot, the power of car is,was lost. After happening a few times,i found a very small [pin size] hole in the thermastate recieving unit.this is a part of the manifold it self. All attemps to repair this problem has failed.! Trying to fix this proved…
I have a 1998 lincoln town car with low miles (125,000). The cheap plastic that the intake manifold is made out of has cracked were the heater hose connects in the back causing the vehicle to not be drive-able due to overheating. *tr
Other Lincoln Town CAR years
← 1997 Town CAR · 1999 Town CAR →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 Town CAR | 6 | 3 |
| 2010 Town CAR | 13 | 3 |
| 2009 Town CAR | 5 | 3 |
| 2008 Town CAR | 20 | 3 |
| 2007 Town CAR | 84 | 3 |
| 2006 Town CAR | 143 | 2 |
| 2005 Town CAR | 119 | 3 |
| 2004 Town CAR | 83 | 0 |
| 2003 Town CAR | 201 | 1 |
| 2002 Town CAR | 65 | 0 |
| 2001 Town CAR | 161 | 5 |
| 2000 Town CAR | 108 | 8 |
| 1999 Town CAR | 148 | 5 |
| 1998 | 154 | 7 |
| 1997 Town CAR | 314 | 6 |
| 1996 Town CAR | 259 | 8 |
| 1995 Town CAR | 165 | 6 |
See all Lincoln Town CAR problems by year, every Lincoln model, or the Lincoln VIN decoder.
Similar Lincoln models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 1998 Lincoln Town CAR?
Owners most often report engine and engine cooling, service brakes, hydraulic, suspension problems. The top one, engine and engine cooling, accounts for 32 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 1998 Lincoln Town CAR?
Yes, 7 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 1998 Lincoln Town CAR a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Town CAR model years, the 1998 has more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.