2004 Lincoln Town Car problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Vehicle Speed Control (16) · Steering (14) · Structure:body (6)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Lincoln Town Car model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
65 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (0)
No recalls on record for this model year (campaigns announced since 2010).
Service bulletins (52)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure 2020-07-13 · TSB 20-2233 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this article supersedes tsb 19-2026 to update the vehicle model years affected. some 2000 and newer ford/lincoln/mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. panel replacement is
Structure 2019-02-07 · TSB 19-2026 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2000 and newer ford, lincoln and mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. panel replacement is recommended. follow the service procedure steps to correct the condition
Structure 2019-02-07 · TSB 19-2026 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2000 and newer ford, lincoln and mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. panel replacement is recommended. follow the service procedure steps to correct the condition
Engine And Engine Cooling:exhaust System:manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe 2016-09-21 · SSM 46085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the powertrain control/emissions diagnosis (pc/ed) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (etbs). the etc_act and etc_dsd pids should not used to diagnose possible etb concerns. the ids has a limited refresh rate when reading these pids and cannot display quickly enough to
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine 2007-10-01 · 07212 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 1997-2008 vehicles equipped with a 4.6l 2v, 5.4l 2v, or 6.8l 2v engine--spark plug thread repair procedure--not covered under new vehicle limited warranty. *nj this includes f-53 motorhome chassis. updated 2/23/10. *pe
Unknown Or Other 2007-07-25 · 062513 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
parking aid system is inoperative - dtc c1983. *kb
Showing the 6 most recent of 52 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-10-20 · Exterior Lighting“my car has the same lcm control module issues as cars from the same years ad models, but when i enter my vin it is not showing. +4 po#3 1998-2000 lincoln town car lighting control module yw1t ... yes, a recall exists for a 2003-2005 model year ford/lincoln town car lighting control module (lcm) failure that can cause a loss of headlights. the …”
2025-10-10 · Steering“ bought a 2004 linc tow as a gift to my grandson. drove it a couple of times and had no issues. after it had sat for about 2-3 weeks, i drove it to town to let it run after sitting. on my way home i was turning on to the road for home and the steering suddenly caught, i was in the middle of a turn and pulled steering wheel to straighten the car wh…”
2021-11-10 · Steering“the steering is binding really bad. noticed it yesterday while taking hubby to docs. much worse today. unable to pull into parking spaces, did not dare to try to pull up to pumps. cornering was a challenge in either direction. we do not have any ford garages in this area. think this is a major issue that may go with lincolns. had 2 other ones with …”
2020-05-25 · Structure:body · 166,890 mi“vehicle was parked outside during rain showers and water accumulated inside the rear passenger foot area 1st and overflowed into the front passenger's foot area.…”
2020-03-30 · Steering · 65,500 mi“my steering is hard to turn. very stiff. bought it used and i see they repaired the upper and lower power steering shaft., all other models were being recalled for this problem. why not this year? it only has 65,500 miles…”
2020-01-22 · Steering · 20,118 mi“i have only 20,118 original miles on my 2004 lincoln town car ultimate. the steering column under the hood is terribly rusted. the corrosion looks scary. i wanted to take it to the dealer to have them tell me if i needed to replace it! now, i wasn't looking for ford to pay for anything but get this - they want me to pay them a $100 diagnostic fee j…”
2019-02-05 · Electrical System · 64,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2004 lincoln town car. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and the battery drained intermittently. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the light control module failed. the vehicle was not repaired. the dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. the failure mileage…”
2018-10-03 · Vehicle Speed Control · 173,000 mi“operator experienced stuck speed control button and accelerated couldn�t stop the speed acceleration with steering wheel so operator hit breaks. loud bang sound followed by drastic reduced speeds. could cause loss of control. resulted in speeding ticket during failure speeds almost up to 100mph during emergency event mode.…”
2018-07-18 · Vehicle Speed Control · 173,000 mi“operator experienced stuck speed control button and accelerated couldn't stop the speed acceleration with steering wheel so operator hit breaks. loud bang sound followed by drastic reduced speeds. could cause loss of control.…”
2017-07-10 · Exterior Lighting · 204,000 mi“when lighting is switched on from the dashboard switch or from auto lamp feature, all lights come on except the headlights.. no hi or lo beam. the high beams will work from the "flash to pass" feature with the turn signal stalk. this failure occurred suddenly. fortunately just before i entered the highway this seems precisely the lighting contr…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.