Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 07/12/2008 | 29000 | 1 | 12/12/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 lincoln town car. the contact has had two alternators installed in her vehicle within the last six months. this does not include the one that came with the vehicle at the time of purchase. while driving 30 and 60 mph, the vehicle will lose power and the engine shuts off. in addition, the power steering and brakes fail. all of the instrument panel indicators flash on and off at the time of the failure. occasionally, the vehicle will take a minute before restarting. the vehicle is currently at the dealer, but they could find no failures. the contact would have to pay $90 per hour for a diagnostic. the failure mileage was 29,000. updated 03/09/09. *lj the alternator was replaced due to it overcharging. the battery was replaced as well. the trunk would not close properly. updated 03/10/09. *jb | |||
| 08/17/2007 | 51863 | 2 | 08/01/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 lincoln town car. while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed a leak behind the rear driver's side tire. the vehicle was driven to firestone and the mechanic stated that the seal failed on the rear driver's side tire. while the mechanic was repairing the vehicle, he noticed that the rear wheel bearing and stub axle were defective, which was the actual cause of the seal failure. as a result, the rear differential fluid had to be refilled. the vehicle was repaired and the dealer and mechanic were not notified. in january of 2009, while driving approximately 60 mph, the contact noticed a chirping noise when the brake pedal was depressed. the vehicle was driven to firestone for a brake inspection and the mechanic stated that the brake pads and rotors needed to be changed. when the mechanic removed the rotors, he noticed that the rear ball joints were rubbing against the axles and needed to be replaced. both of the rear end axles and ball joints were replaced. the dealer and the manufacturer were notified and the contact was informed that the vin was not related to any recalls. he would be responsible for the repair costs. the contact has the parts and supporting documentation in his possession. the current mileage was 81,131 and failure mileage was 51,863. updated 2/5/09 *cn updated 02/10/09. *jb | |||
| 05/23/2004 | 66745 | 3 | 08/15/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 lincoln town car. the contact noticed grease on the wheels and tires. the vehicle was taken to a mechanic, who stated that bearings, axles, and rear brakes were needed. this was the third time in four years that the failure has occurred. the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 04v328000 (suspension:rear). the failure mileage was 66,745. updated 06/09/08 *bf the consumer stated the rear brakes were soaked with oil. updated 06/09/08 | |||
| 02/25/2003 | 1300 | 1 | |
| The brakes failed without warning. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 05/02/2005 | 153600 | 25 | 02/02/2005 |
| When vehicle engine is running and turn signals are actuated, the digital dash, turn signals, and air conditioner cuts off. additionally, steering effort increases substantially, abs cycles off and back on when the power is restored. the duration may be momentary (less than 5 seconds) or last for a minute or longer. frequency is 80+ percent of the time when the turn signals are engaged (left or right). i have had another ford vehicle which gave problems with this multi-function switch also. ford has a poorly designed turn signal-windshield wiper-washer switch compounded by the fact power is shunted through this switch all the time, causing overheating and premature failures. this lincoln is not an incomplete vehicle. the last line of the vehicle detaill form needs a 2nd alternative or webmaster needs to provide for the default choice (--). | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - PADS | |||
| 05/28/2007 | 135223 | 1 | 11/01/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 lincoln town car. while driving 55 mph, the contact heard a grinding noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. the mechanic stated that the rear axles, the wheel bearings, axle seals, and brake pads all need replacing. the mechanic made the repair and no other failures have occurred. the current mileage is 135,300 and failure mileage was 135,223. updated 07/06/07. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - PEDALS AND LINKAGES | |||
| 08/09/2005 | 4 | 07/01/2003 | |
| Dt: the contact complained about sudden acceleration problems. when applying the brakes vehicle did not stop but accelerated 6-10 seconds. this was the fourth incident. *ak the thinks it is a possibility the pedals are too close together. *jb | |||
| 1000 | 2 | 12/14/2002 | |
| When the driver's left foot was quickly moved to the brake pedal from its resting position, it encountered an object above it that gave the impression the foot did not reach the brake pedal, which resulted in using the right foot which caused an accident. the condition worsened with the brake and gas pedal in the full down position then the left knee encountered the steering wheel, which gave the impression the pedal was not reached. dealership was not willing to do anything but advised to have vehicle modified. consumer is 5-9 in height and weights 180 lbs. instead, consumer repositioned the plastic panel 14x14 above the driver's left foot and tied up the small light normally installed in the panel. and moved the movable brake/gas pedal forward and kept the steering wheel fully upward. this made the vehicle safe to drive. *tt *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - POWER ASSIST - HYDRAULIC - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | |||
| 09/27/2006 | 95492 | 4 | 08/22/2003 |
| My 2003 lincoln town car was slowing (foot off gas, coasting) down off-ramp from freeway because the stop light at the bottom of the off-ramp was red. when i began to apply the brakes to come to a complete stop, the car lurched forward violently as the front brakes locked completely, causing the car to slide to a stop. i could not move the car forward or backward in gear, and could not get it to coast in neutral. the car could not be manually pushed from its resting spot and i had to have it winched onto a flatbed tow truck and taken to the lincoln dealership. the repair manager told me after investigation that the lining inside the brake lines leading to the calipers had been slowly flaking off into the brake fluid. when sufficient amounts had collected in the fluid they acted like a check-valve, allowing fluid into the calipers to actuate the brakes but would not allow the fluid to return and the brakes could not release. the repair consisted of replacing both front brake lines and both caliper units, costing over $600. only moments before the brakes locked my car had been at speeds of 55 - 65 mph on the freeway. had i needed to apply the breaks while at those speeds, the results would have been devastating; my car would have been sliding out of control in heavy freeway traffic and likely would have led to severe injury or death of my family members or other drivers/passengers. the lincoln dealership searched for recall and/or safety bulletins from the manufacturer and could find none. i'm infuriated by this ~ it is an apparent design and/or manufacturing defect, admittedly seen several times before over recent years by the mechanics at my local dealership, yet nothing has been done to address it. i suspect that it's not a severe enough situation yet because there have been no deaths reportedly linked to the catastrophic failure i survived. *nm | |||