2017 Lincoln Continental problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Structure:body (12) · Latches/Locks/Linkages (10) · Back Over Prevention (7)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Lincoln Continental model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
39 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2022-08-26 · campaign 22V644000 · 277,040 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2020 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and 2017-2020 Lincoln Continental vehicles equipped with the 360-degree camera system. Degradation of the camera's anit-reflective lens coating can lead to a foggy or cloudy rearview camera image.
Risk: Lack of a clear rearview camera image can reduce the driver's visibility of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 14, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S51.
Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch 2019-02-11 · campaign 19V077000 · 27,609 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Lincoln Continental vehicles. The door latch pawl motors may not function properly, possibly resulting in a door latch not fully engaging.
Risk: A door latch that is not fully engaged may result in a door opening while driving, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the latch assemblies on all four doors, free of charge. The recall began October 14, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S03.
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.
Exterior Lighting:headlights 2016-10-12 · campaign 16V731000 · 1,827 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Lincoln Continental vehicles manufactured June 14, 2016, to September 23, 2016 and equipped with high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. The headlights may have been built with incorrect lenses, adversely affecting the turn signal visibility as well as not being properly marked. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, an
Risk: Reduced turn signal visibility to other drivers and pedestrians can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the headlights, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 16, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C15.
Service bulletins (195)
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.
Power Train 2026-06-30 · 25E08-S1 · Other
powertrain control module (pcm) reprogramming
Power Train 2026-04-14 · 25E08 S1 · Emissions
new vehicle delivery hold - emissions recall 25e08 – supplement #1 certain 2016 – 2019 model year lincoln mkt, 2016 model year mks, and 2017 - 2020 model year continental vehicles with 3.7l engines powertrain control module (pcm) reprogramming
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
Power Train 2025-12-13 · 25E08 · Emissions
certain 2017 - 2020 model year lincoln continental vehicles with 3.7l engines powertrain control module (pcm) reprogramming
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
Showing the 6 most recent of 195 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-02 · Unknown Or Other“recall number 19s03 repaired prior to my purchase. driver door latch has disassembled …”
2026-06-09 · Structure:body“date of incident: xxx location: [xxx] vehicle speed: 0 description: the right front and right rear doors on my 2017 lincoln continental (vin: [xxx]) became completely inoperable from the outside — the exact same safety defect addressed under recall 19s03. the recall repair was previously performed by an authorized ford/lincoln dealer, however th…”
2026-05-29 · Power Train:transfer Case (4-Wheel Drive) · 110,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 lincoln continental. the contact stated while at various speeds, the contact noticed that there was an abnormal burning oil odor coming from the vehicle. additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds on several occasions, the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound, unexpectedly bounced and stalled. the me…”
2026-04-14 · Service Brakes“vehicle: 2017 lincoln continental black label vin: [xxx] i am reporting a seriously catastrophic brake system safety failure. the brake pedal intermittently travels to the floor with little to no resistance, resulting in a sudden loss of hydraulic braking pressure and significantly increased stopping distance. the braking response is spongy, inc…”
2026-04-09 · Unknown Or Other“i have a 2017 lincoln continental that the passenger side front door will not open from the inside. …”
2026-03-30 · Structure:body“doors open while driving , happened 4 times in the last month . back right door and drivers door 2 occasions on both doors . on line it says all lincoln continentals from 2017 2018 and 2019 were recalled and there telling me mine is not on the recall . this is a very dangerous situation this is my wives car and she does not like driving it anymore …”
2026-03-22 · Structure:body“the rear doors on my 2017 lincoln continental do not open from the outside when the exterior handle button is pressed. the doors do open from the inside. this failure is very similar to the symptoms described in ford’s existing recall for defective door latches on 2017 continental vehicles, but my vin is not included in the recall. this is a safe…”
2026-03-17 · Unknown Or Other“my car has had 1 or all 4 of the outside door latches fail for 3-4 times now over its lifetime. only under warranty for 10 years or 100k miles. very expensive repair, at $1500 for 1 latch, or $5500 for all 4. this is almost the value of the whole car now. this happens to all lincoln continentals and is very infamous & common for them & should be a …”
2026-03-11 · Structure:body“upon startup 2 error messages appear. driver side door defaults adaptive cruise control default…”
2026-02-10 · Latches/Locks/Linkages · 95,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 lincoln continental. the contact was unable to open the rear doors after several attempts. the contact associated the failure with nhtsa campaign number: 19v077000 (latches/locks/linkages); however, the vin was not included in the recall. the dealer was not notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufactu…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.