2016 Lincoln Mkx problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (30) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic (21) · Engine (18)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Lincoln Mkx model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
87 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (7)
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings 2025-08-22 · campaign 25V544000 · 499,129 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The rear brake jounce hose may rupture and leak brake fluid.
Risk: A brake fluid leak can extend the distance required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the brake jounce hoses and adjust brake jounce hoses with no damage present, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 17, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S87.
Service Brakes 2020-08-10 · campaign 20V469000 · 488,594 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Ford Edge and 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX vehicles. The front brake hoses may rupture prematurely.
Risk: A ruptured front brake hose will cause a brake fluid leak, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front brake hoses with the new hoses that have a revised braid material, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 13, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S42.
Seats:front Assembly:power Adjust 2020-07-17 · campaign 20V414000 · 19,299 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company, Inc. (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX and 2019-2020 Nautilus vehicles equipped with 16-way electric tilt seats. The seat cushion frame edge may contact the wire harness when the seat occupant uses the tilt function of the seat, potentially damaging one or more wires within the harness, which can result in either inadvertent deployment of the air bag or nondeployment of the air bag in the event of a crash.
Risk: An air bag that deploys inadvertently increases the risk of a crash. An air bag that does not deploy in the event of a crash increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install protective flocking tape onto the exposed edge of the 16-way seat cushion frames, and inspect the wire harness for damage, and repair or replace it as needed, free of charge. This recall began August 12, 2020. Owners may contact Ford/Lincoln customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S37.
Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery:cables 2019-11-12 · campaign 19V809000 · 54,411 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Lincoln MKX vehicles equipped with 3.7L engines. The battery positive cable harness may contact the transmission shifter cable bracket resulting in a short circuit.
Risk: An electrical short increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the battery harness clips and elbow guide, and install a wire channel shield and protective sleeve to the battery cable harness, free of charge. Interim notices informing owners of the safety risk were mailed on December 2, 2019. Owners will receive a second notice when the remedy becomes available, currently expected to be the end of April 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S41.
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2019-08-29 · campaign 19V632000 · 116,160 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 Ford Edge, and 2016 Lincoln MKX vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Road salt or other contaminants may corrode the electric power steering
Risk: If the bolts corrode, the steering gear motor may detach from the gear housing resulting in a loss of power steering assist, requiring a greater steering effort, especially at lower speeds, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear motor bolts and apply a wax sealer. If any of the steering gear motor attachment bolts are broken or missing, a new steering gear will be installed in the vehicle. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 18, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S26.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2017-02-27 · campaign 17V123000 · 27,531 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles and 2017 Lincoln Continental vehicles. In the event of a crash, the driver's frontal air bag may not fully inflate or the air bag cushion may detach from the air bag module. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: During deployment, if the air bag does not fully inflate or the cushion detaches, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began June 16, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C02.
Child Seat:tether: Connector/Clip 2016-05-24 · campaign 16V343000 · 5 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Lincoln MKX vehicles manufactured September 24, 2015. An incorrect seat back trim cover was installed on the affected vehicles, blocking the child seat tether anchors in the second row center seating position. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child restraint anchorage systems."
Risk: An improperly anchored child seat can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat back trim cover and tether cover bezel on the second row, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C09.
Service bulletins (220)
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.
Service Brakes 2026-09-11 · 25N13 · Other
customer satisfaction program 25n13 certain 2015-2018 model year edge and 2016-2018 model year mkx vehicles rear brake flexible hose replacement
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-25 · 25N17 · Other
advance notice – customer satisfaction program 25n17 certain 2015-2025 model year multiple vehicle lines rear view camera replacement if required after dealer evaluation
Fuel/Propulsion System 2026-01-16 · SSM 54504 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2016-2017 edge/mkx, 2017 continental/fusion/mkz vehicles equipped with a 2.7l or 3.0l ecoboost engine and built on 1-apr-2016 and through 1-jan-2017 may exhibit white or blue smoke from the exhaust, rough idle in neutral or park at normal operating temperature or after a hot restart. the vehicl
Electrical System 2025-11-26 · TSB 25-2570 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this article supersedes tsb 24-2165 to update the tsb service procedure. some vehicles listed in the model statement above may exhibit various sync performance related concerns including but not limited to: display operation concerns navigation inoperative voice recognition concerns phone co
Power Train 2025-11-25 · 25E02 · Emissions
the affected vehicles have an emissions control system that does not account for certain in-use conditions and might not control tailpipe emissions effectively over time.
Power Train 2025-11-12 · SSM 54366 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2015-2021 ford and lincoln vehicles may exhibit an illuminated mil with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0011, p0012, p0014, p0015, p0016, p0017, p0018, p0019, p0021, p0022, p0024 and/or p0025. pinpoint test hk in the powertrain control and emissions diagnosis (pc/ed) or in section 303-14 of th
Showing the 6 most recent of 220 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-28 · Unknown Or Other“"awd temporarily disabled" warning notification came on while driving 55 mph in the middle lane of an expressway during late afternoon/early evening hours. the roadway was clear of debris and the weather was sunny. there was no further instruction of what to do from the dashboard. however, after the warning came on, the vehicle started to smell ba…”
2026-09-08 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 85,446 mi“the contact owns a 2016 lincoln mkx. the contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the brake pedal became inoperable, and the brake warning light was illuminated. the contact pulled away from oncoming traffic to ensure that the vehicle stopped and avoided a crash. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a failu…”
2026-09-02 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 79,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 lincoln mkx. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v544000 (service brakes, hydraulic). the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. the contact stated that there w…”
2026-08-28 · Service Brakes“unknown there were no incidents but the recall is almost 1 year old i received the notice september 2025 regarding a possible brake hose defect waiting almost 1 year for a fix is rediclous there had been no updates from ford/lincoln motor company brake issue should be taken more seriously …”
2026-08-24 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 52,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 lincoln mkx. the contact stated that while operating the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to immediately stop with the message “low brake fluid” displayed. brake fluid was later added to the brake reservoir, and the vehicle was driven to the local mechanic, who diagnosed that the brake hoses were fa…”
2026-08-14 · Service Brakes“it has been almost a year since this recall came out and there is not a remedy available. the manufacturer has failed to provide a remedy for it since it came out on august 25, 2026…”
2026-08-10 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic“the contact owns a 2016 lincoln mkx. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v544000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the dealer was made aware of the issue and c…”
2026-08-05 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic“the contact owns a 2016 lincoln mkx. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v544000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle slowly responded, requiring hard braking, causing…”
2026-08-04 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 109,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 lincoln mkx. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. the abs warning light was illuminated. the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard, and the vehicle slowly stopped. the vehicle almost rear-ended another vehicle. the…”
2026-08-03 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 64,200 mi“the contact owns a 2016 lincoln mkx. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v544000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that while coming to a complete stop and depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal went to the floorboard, requiring hard brakin…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.