2020 Lincoln Aviator Driver assistance Problems

I am filing a safety complaint regarding a 2020 Lincoln Aviator Reserve VIN [XXX] involving recurring safety-related electrical and visibility concerns. The vehicle has experienced repeated service-related issues involving suspension systems, electrical inspections, camera/display concerns, and manufacturer customer satisfaction programs. Most significantly, the vehicle is subject to an active manufacturer safety recall involving the SYNC/rearview camera display system. The recall states that the rearview camera image and display may become inverted or flipped, impairing rear visibility and increasing crash risk. This defect directly impacts driver visibility and safe vehicle operation while reversing. The vehicle has undergone repeated dealership servicing and diagnostic evaluations, yet the broader operational and safety concerns remain unresolved. The vehicle was also sold as a Lincoln Certified Pre-Owned vehicle, creating reasonable reliance that the vehicle met enhanced inspection and safety standards. I believe the recurring nature of these defects, combined with the active recall and repeated repair activity, demonstrates a broader safety-related defect pattern warranting regulatory review and investigation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11736924

Incident

May 17, 2022

To Whom It May Concern, Please see attached formal notice regarding recurring defects, safety-related recall issues, Certified Pre-Owned representations, and financing concerns associated with my 2020 Lincoln Aviator Reserve VIN [XXX] . This matter involves: • recurring suspension and electrical concerns; • safety-related rearview camera/SYNC recall issues; • repeated dealership repair activity; • diminished reliability and value; • Certified Pre-Owned reliance; • and unresolved manufacturer-level concerns despite extensive servicing history. Please escalate this matter immediately to executive customer relations and manufacturer review. I am requesting: • a formal manufacturer investigation, • preservation of all records associated with this VIN, • and review for buyback, goodwill compensation, warranty relief, or other global resolution options. Please confirm receipt and provide a case number immediately. Sincerely, [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11736923

Incident

May 17, 2023

while moving in reverse, the vehicle automatic breaking system engages on and off giving a jerking movement of the car and makes you feel like you hit something. Once the vehicle is placed into Drive mode the same thing happens with the breaking system. because of this the check vehicle lights come on and gives a "Hill start assist warning" also "Pre-collision Assist Not Available". Also all wheel drive mode is not available and the drive mode selection no longer works. Took the car to the Lincoln dealership and they said it is a known problem and that there is a TSB out on this issue. The vehicle has only 66,000 miles on it and it is out of warranty. How can there not be a recall on this issue? They said they need to replace two shafts in the front end costing $5,000.

NHTSA ID

11729043

Incident

Mar 25, 2026

Backup camera is not working properly and the lane departure system doesn’t work

NHTSA ID

11721228

Incident

Feb 3, 2026

Upon starting the vehicle around 7p on Friday, 10/31/25, the following errors flooded the screen: Hill start assist not available Service advancetrac 4WD Malfunction service required Pre-collision assist not available Rear sense breaking not available Additionally, cruise control could not be turned on and utilized. There was no incident to trigger these. The car had been sitting parked and off for ~2 hours prior to being turned on. No issues or errors prior to this date and time of turning on the vehicle. The warnings detailed describe how our safety was put at risk. All of these safety and basic features no longer functioned and our children’s safety was put at risk due to this electronic issue causing major functionality breaks/discontinuation of functions. Reproduced and confirmed by Capital Mazda of Cary (NC). Quoted to repair at our expense and “remove and throw out the electronic and replace with a manual.” Furthermore we’ve been informed verbally by our service associate that Ford (parent company) is aware of this safety issue. A TSB was located with a summer 2023 date. Lincoln customer service has stated this would’ve been covered under warranted “if it had come up while under warranty.” This dealership is the only place that has reviewed the vehicle and conditions and provided the explanation and information.

NHTSA ID

11697895

Incident

Oct 31, 2025

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11685955

Incident

Jul 23, 2025

I don't know the component or system that failed but sometimes when I am parked and put my car into reverse, the brakes lock up but my car will roll backwards. I have to either jam both feet on the brake pedal or quickly shift the car back into park and turn the car off and restart it. This usually will correct the problem. It feels like the brakes are locked and they are really hard to press. I drop kids off at school and this has happened in the parking lot several times with children walking behind me as I am getting ready to leave. I no longer am able to pull in forward to spots and have to back in to avoid reversing with people/cars behind me. I would rather hit a curb then potentially roll into a person or another car. I've taken it to the Lincoln dealership and they were not able to reproduce it or diagnose anything with it. Nothing shows up on their system as an error. It happens infrequently but I've owned the car since Nov 2024 and it's happened at least 10 times. My husband thinks its an electronic issue because it corrects itself when the car is restarted. It also randomly allows me to turn the wheel but the wheel does not turn back to 12. It stays at 3 but drives straight. This also is corrected by turning off the car and restarting. It has also been looked at by the dealership without any fixes.

NHTSA ID

11680022

Incident

Aug 6, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle independently engaged the automatic braking feature and the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that there were no objects behind the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and there was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was locking all the doors independently with the key fob still inside the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that during one of the failures, her infant child was locked inside the vehicle and she and her other children were forcibly pulling on the door handles on all four doors. The contact stated that the vehicle side view mirrors at one point folded inward and the passenger front door unlocked, the other doors remained locked. The contact also stated that while cold starting the vehicle, the vehicle was making an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the rear-view camera needed to be replaced, that the rattling sound was due to a failure of the catalytic converter and that exhaust fumes were entering the cabin of the vehicle. The contact had not noticed the odor, but her children had complained of a gasoline odor in the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact stated that the vehicle had another electrical and mechanical failure. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

NHTSA ID

11639614

Incident

Oct 30, 2024

Mileage

79,000 mi

The contact owns a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V368000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11635066

Incident

Jul 2, 2024

FIRST THE ENGINE BROKE (CRITICAL DAMAGE) WAS REPLACED SECOND THE TURBOS WERE JAMMED, WEREREPLACED THIRD THE THROTTLE WAS INOPERATIVE STIL UNATTENDED FOURTH THE TRANSMISSION AILED STIL UNATTENDED

NHTSA ID

11632947

Incident

Dec 29, 2024

Most current recall has not been fixed. Vehicles displayed screen goes black with no warning, leaving no access to front or rear parking cameras, also leaving no access to GPS while in use. I have several videos of this incident occurring and have sent to dealer, brought to dealer while occurring and they deny any problems even though their employees, and the owner have seen this occur after they claim the recall was repaired. Lincoln corporate will not get involved. Dealer claims it is my cell phone, even though it occurs with any cell phone connected.

NHTSA ID

11624332

Incident

Nov 9, 2024

Pre collision assist warning, service advance track, 4 wheel drive fault all these codes showed up at the same time. Also the cheap fabric liners in the wheel wells are tearing under normal driving conditions

NHTSA ID

11592869

Incident

May 23, 2024

Driving down the road and all of a sudden multiple warnings come on the dash. They include : Service AvanceTrac, pre collision assist not available, 4WD fault service required, and Hill start assist not available. These warning all clear upon restart but will come back at random times. I joined a forum for this vehicle and a lot of owners are reporting this issue.

NHTSA ID

11591999

Incident

May 26, 2024

Lincoln had a recall on the rear view camera in 2021 which I completed that did not remedy the issue of blue screen in place of the camera. They released another recall and have continuously delayed it as they have no remedy so my vehicle is left without a functioning rear view camera.

NHTSA ID

11552137

Incident

Feb 1, 2021

Rear camera blue screen. Screen intermittently blacks out.

NHTSA ID

11546069

Incident

Sep 21, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention), 22V953000 (Seat Belts) and 23V342000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11540327

Incident

Aug 23, 2023

My warning light stating a AWD malfunction has occurred has gone off 4 times, along with warnings for malfunctions in precollision assist and hill climb assist and the light has come on 4 times for each of these. When driving these lights come on and when the AWD malfunction light comes on the car drives very loose and I do not seem to have firm control over the steering and i feel like the car wants to swerve and I do not feel safe driving .

NHTSA ID

11523476

Incident

Apr 1, 2023

AWD, Adaptive Cruise Control, infoTrac, and Collisiom assistance lights continue going off while on freeways. Have brought in several times in less than a year and I can’t imagine that the ABS module is the issue as they reinstalled and it didn’t work along with replacement of numerous sensors. Please look into this

NHTSA ID

11514979

Incident

Mar 18, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V022000 (Back Over Prevention) 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. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11514627

Incident

Mar 29, 2023

AWD sensors repeatedly are going off then disappearing after car is turned on and off. Happens in City mostly but has triggered while driving on the highway. Caused all ability to use cruise control to deactivate. It also shows the down hill assist fault error.

NHTSA ID

11512103

Incident

Mar 15, 2023

My Aviator doesn't start the first time I push the start engine button anytime after I fill up the tank. It takes it about 5 times of me hitting the start engine button before it finally turns over. Before then, it just sounds like wants to start, but doesn't. I am once again taking it back to the dealership to have the back up camera looked at. Before it would work sporadically, now when I put the car in reverse, it just shows a solid blue screen. And I always get an error message about rear assist not working. I've tried troubleshooting it, but still nothing works. Additionally, the presets for XM radio do not stay when set. This infotainment center does not function efficiently and has delays and no memory.

NHTSA ID

11510578

Incident

Dec 17, 2022

Backup camera turns to blue screen when the vehicle is put into reverse.

NHTSA ID

11466546

Incident

May 28, 2021

This vehicle has been recalled at least twice for a faulty rear camera system. When vehicle is put in reverse the image on the screen flips so bad you cannot see what is behind you. The previous recalls were for this, we had it in the shop twice before the 2 recalls plus the two recalls (4 times) and cannot get a properly working rear camera. This is a safety issue because we rely on the camera for blind spots during reverse and to see behind this large vehicle. Ford cannot figure out how to fix.

NHTSA ID

11446837

Incident

Jan 8, 2022

The rear view camera does not always work. Sometimes it is just a blank green screen with the guide lines. This happen many times but not always. The software to update the image processing module software has been done.

NHTSA ID

11428670

Incident

Aug 11, 2021

Built at Chicago Plant October 2019 purchased Sept 30, 2020. Multiple and ongoing instances where back up camera when put into reverse goes to a blue screen and you cannot see what is behind you in the back up camera. it also cant assist in advising you there is oncoming traffic. APMI completely replaced and several software updates. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE Radio and info screen will freeze up passenger doors would not open - switches replaced windows would not roll down - shop reprogrammed

NHTSA ID

11427279

Incident

May 1, 2021