2008 Lincoln Mkx Driver assistance Problems

I am reporting a serious mechanical defect in my 2008 Lincoln MKX involving the internal water pump. This vehicle uses the Ford 3.5L V6 Cyclone engine, where the water pump is mounted inside the engine and driven by the timing chain. My water pump failed unexpectedly, causing coolant to leak into the engine oil. This design flaw poses a serious safety risk due to potential engine failure while driving. This could lead to the engine seizing without warning, loss of power steering and braking, and increased risk of a crash. Ford and Lincoln are aware of this issue, and many owners have reported similar failures, but no recall has been issued. Repairs cost thousands of dollars and often require full engine replacement. This is a known design defect that puts drivers and passengers in danger. I urge NHTSA to investigate and mandate a recall before someone is seriously injured or worse. This failure is unpredictable, dangerous, and affects many vehicles using this engine platform

NHTSA ID

11658099

Incident

May 1, 2025

MKX has 75000 miles on it and the tss and oss sensors have gone out. Car goes into limp mode and will barely move, it shifts very hard, speed odometer quits and all the warning lights come on. If you stop let it sit and restart car it resets issue but you never know when it will happen again. It can happen at cruising speed or at start of car. VERY unsafe

NHTSA ID

11470718

Incident

Jun 20, 2022

DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND TRANSMISSION SHIFT TO LOW BY ITSELF. IT ALMOST CAUSED ME TO GET IT. THE PTU IS LEAKING TRANSMISSION FLUID. YOUNEVERKNOW WHEN IT IS LOW. THIS CAR HAD THIS PROBLEM SINCE IT WAS MANUFACTURED AND THEY NEVER FIXED THE PROBLEM. IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED AND NEEDS A HEAT SHIELD BETWEEN THE PTU AND THE ENGINE TO KEEP IT FROM LEAKING AND CAUSING DANGEROUS SITUATIONS ON THE ROAD. THE CAR SMOKES SO BAD THAT IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS ON FIRE. SCARED TO DRIVE BECAUSE I NEVER KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THE FLUID IS LOW. YOU CAN SEE THE LEAK FROM THE PTU UNDER THE CAR. NOT MANY PEOPLE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS WEBSITE. THIS IS REALLY DANGEROUS IF IT DOESN'T GET RECALLED SOON. WHEN THE CAR WAS MANUFACTURED IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY. SO THEY FIXED IT THEN BUT WHEN THE WARRANTY WAS UP. IT WAS UP TO THE CUSTOMER TO DISHUP 2500.00 TO FIX IT. YOU CAN CALL AMCCO IN ZANESVILLE OHIO THEY WILL TELL YOU HOW MANY GOT FIXED UNDER WARRANTY. THE PROBLEM IS THE PTU IS SO CLOSE TO THE ENGINE IT BURNS THE FLUID IN IT. EVENTUALLY IT WEARS OUT OTHER SEALS IN THE TRANSMISSION, WHICH MAKES THINGS WORST. MY CAR SITS MOST OF THE TIME. TOO SCARED TO DRIVE IT. PLEASE HELP ME GET A RECALL ON THIS. IF YOU LOOK UP PROBLEMS WITH 2008 LINCOLN MKX YOU WILL SEE THAT IS ONE OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS

NHTSA ID

11378213

Incident

Nov 20, 2020

Mileage

220,725 mi

TL* THE CONTACT CALLED ON BEHALF OF THE OWNER OF A 2008 LINCOLN MKX. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. ALSO, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SLOW DOWN WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND THE POWER STEERING BECAME INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY POSITION SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. A LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,575.

NHTSA ID

11271626

Incident

Jun 28, 2019

Mileage

115,575 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LINCOLN MKX. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, ON AN INCLINE OR DECLINE, THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE JERKED AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE FORWARD IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. FURTHERMORE, THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED BRIEFLY AND THE RPMS RAPIDLY INCREASED. ROB SIGHT FORD IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR THE FAILURE. IN ADDITION, THE DEALER OFFERED TO PROVIDE DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED THE CONTACT WITH CASE NUMBER: CAS-14516361. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 142,000.

NHTSA ID

11083284

Incident

Mar 8, 2018

Mileage

142,000 mi

VEHICLE VEHICLE FREQUENTLY HAS TO STARTED TWICE BECAUSE THE FIRST TIME THE VEHICLE IS STARTED IF I GO OVER 40MPH THE ENGINE AND SUSPENSION START PULLING AND JERKING AND THE SPEEDOMETER WILL KEEP INCREASING EVEN THOUGH THE CAR SUSPENSION IS ONLY ALLLOWING 30MPH

NHTSA ID

10985567

Incident

May 2, 2017

YESTERDAY (11/05/2016), I WAS GOING TO GO TO THE STORE. THE CAR STARTED FINE AND RAN FINE AS I BACKED IT OUT OF OUR DRIVEWAY, BUT WHEN I WENT DOWN THE STREET IN FRONT OF OUR NEIGHBORS HOUSE, IT SUDDENLY FELT LIKE IT SHIFTED INTO A LOWER GEAR. I TURNED THE CORNER NEXT TO MY NEIGHBORS HOUSE AND PROCEEDED DOWN A HILL THAT'S THERE, BUT THE CAR STILL WOULD ONLY GO VERY SLOWLY. WHEN I GOT DOWN THE HILL, I STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN AND WHEN I STEPPED ON THE GAS IT SUDDENLY STARTED TO RUN FINE. I DROVE ANOTHER 7 OR 8 BLOCKS UNTIL STOPPING FOR A RED LIGHT, THAT'S WHEN I NOTICED THE WARNING LIGHTS SHOWING A WRENCH AND AN AIRBAG COME ON. THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND WHEN I STEPPED ON THE GAS TO MAKE IT GO, IT AGAIN WOULD ONLY GO AT A VERY SLOW SPEED. BY THE TIME I CROSSED THE STREET, THE LIGHT HAD SWITCHED BACK TO RED. TERRIFIED, I PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT ACROSS THE STREET AND NOTICED THE ODOMETER WAS SHOWING ALL ZEROS. I SHUT THE CAR OFF AND WENT INTO THE STORE, SHAKING AND VERY SCARED. I CAME BACK OUT PRAYING IT WOULD START UP AND RUN FINE. IT MADE A GRINDING NOISE AND SOUNDED LOUDER, BUT THEN IT STARTED RUNNING FINE AND DID SO ALL THE WAY HOME. I HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR TWICE SINCE THEN FOR SHORT DISTANCES BUT HAVEN'T HAD IT HAPPEN AGAIN. WE BOUGHT THIS 2008 LINCOLN MKX USED WITH 92,474 MILES ON IT JUST 3 WEEKS PRIOR TO THIS HAPPENING. WHEN THIS OCCURRED, THERE WAS APPROXIMATELY 92,808 MILES ON IT. THAT'S A WHOPPING 334 MILES PUT ON IT BY US AS WELL AS OTHERS WHO TEST DROVE THE CAR SINCE THIS DEALER LISTED IT FOR SALE. SINCE THE WRENCH WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, MY HUSBAND SUSPECTS THE POWERTRAIN MALFUNCTIONED OR A AWD FAULT OCCURRED, AS IT SHOWS IN THE OWNERS MANUAL, BUT SAID HE WOULDN'T RULE OUT OTHER POSSIBLE CAUSES. SINCE WE BOUGHT THIS FROM A USED CAR DEALER, THOUGH WE DID TAKE OUT AN EXTENDED WARRANTY THROUGH OUR CREDIT UNION, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT RIGHTS EXIST PROTECTING US.

NHTSA ID

10924525

Incident

Nov 5, 2016

Mileage

92,808 mi

THE VEHICLE SURGES AT LOWER RPMS BETWEEN 1,000 AND 2,000. DEALERSHIP TESTED THE PROBLEM AND FOUND A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR. UPON REVIEW A NEW THROTTLE BODY ASSEMBLY ALSO NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALERSHIP THEN RE-PROGRAMMED THE PCM TO CURRENT CALIBRATION AND ROAD TESTED THE VEHICLE. APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS LATER THE SAME PROBLEM HAS REOCCURRED. THE CAR SURGES AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND LOSES POWER. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. WE HAVE BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO DIFFERENT MECHANICS WHO HAVE DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE WITH AGAIN HAVING A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE SENSOR AND THROTTLE BODY. WE HAD THE THROTTLE BODY REPLACED BUT ARE STILL EXPERIENCING THE PROBLEM. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND MAINTENANCE LIGHT COME ON WHEN THE CAR LOSES ACCELERATION POWER, BUT ONCE WE RESTART THE CAR THE LIGHTS GO OFF. AGAIN, THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AS IT HAS OCCURRED AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 45-55 MPH. WE ARE SEEKING TO HAVE THIS VEHICLE RECALLED AS WE HAVE SEEN MANY OTHER CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, OR RECEIVING A DEALERSHIP CREDIT TO HAVE THE WORK DONE AGAIN.

NHTSA ID

10762583

Incident

Oct 7, 2013

Mileage

78,280 mi

WITHOUT WARNING OR DRIVER ACTION, VEHICLE SHIFTS INTO HIGH GEAR AND REMAINS THERE FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME WHILE WARNING LIGHTS COME ON INCLUDING, ENGINE, AIRBAGS AND OTHERS, ODOMETER AND SPEEDOMETER GO BLANK OR DISPLAY ERROR. THIS CONDITION HAS LASTED FROM 4 MIN TO 20 MIN AND HAS HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 20 TIMES SINCE FIRST INCIDENT. SOMETIMES SHUTTING OFF VEHICLE AND RESTARTING AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES SEEMS TO HELP BUT UNTIL THE PROBLEM CORRECTS ITSELF, PUTTING IT IN GEAR RESULTS IN A BANG AND JOLTS THE VEHICLE AS IT GOES INTO HIGH GEAR. WHEN IN HIGH GEAR, THE VEHICLE HAS NO POWER UNTIL IT REACHES HIGHER SPEEDS. AT SPEEDS BELOW 55, THE VEHICLE DOES NOT RESPOND WELL TO PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. IT BECOMES DANGEROUS WHEN ENTERING OR CROSSING AN INTERSECTION AND IT GOES INTO HIGH GEAR ON ITS OWN. THE INTERNET HAS MANY POSTS OF THIS PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10704242

Incident

Apr 14, 2014

Mileage

71,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LINCOLN MKX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 2 MPH, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS ENGAGED BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE OVER 2 MPH. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED, IT RESUMED NORMAL FUNCTION. THE PROBLEM OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE SPEED CONTROL AND TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000.

NHTSA ID

10643526

Incident

Oct 8, 2014

Mileage

88,000 mi

ABOUT EVERY FEW WEEKS, UPON DRIVING FROM A STOPPED POSITION, IT SEEMS LIKE THE CAR IS STUCK IN FIRST GEAR OR IN LOW GEAR- IT ACCELERATES UPON STEPPING ON PEDAL, HOWEVER THE CAR IS JUST CRAWLING ALONG AND NOT PICKING UP SPEED AT ALL. CONSEQUENTLY, I HAVE TO STOP THE CAR AND PUT IT IN PARK AND THEN BACK IN DRIVE, ONCE I DO THIS IT WORKS NORMAL AGAIN. ON OTHER OCCASIONS I FEEL A HARD KICK WHEN I PUT THE CAR OUT OF DRIVE AND BACK INTO DRIVE. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS IF I HAPPEN TO BE PULLING INTO A BUSY INTERSECTION AND I WOULD HAVE TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP TO GET THIS CAR GOING AGAIN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10628621

Incident

Jun 1, 2013

Mileage

91,000 mi

VEHICLE (08 LINCOLN MKX) WAS CRUISING AT 35MPH GOING DOWN SLIGHT INCLINE WHEN SUDDENLY VEHICLE STARTED ACCELERATING ON ITS OWN AT ~3,500RPM. AS THE VEHICLE WAS GOING DOWN HILL AT 35MPH IN A 30MPH ZONE WITH NO OTHER VEHICLES IN SIGHT, NEITHER GAS NOR BRAKES WERE APPLIED AS THERE WAS NO NEED. FOOT WAS OFF BOTH PEDALS UNTIL I REALIZED THAT THE CAR WAS ACCELERATING ON ITS OWN AT AN UNCONTROLLABLE RATE AND IT WAS THEN THAT I APPLIED THE BRAKES. CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE AS THE BRAKES WERE BEING APPLIED. ACCELERATION LASTED APPROXIMATELY TEN SECONDS AND THEN VEHICLE REVERTED BACK TO NORMAL. BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN FOR SERVICE THE FOLLOWING DAY (13MAY2014) AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO SERVICE BULLETINS OR KNOWN SAFETY ISSUES WITH THIS MAKE AND MODEL. *TR

NHTSA ID

10587827

Incident

May 11, 2014

Mileage

42,535 mi

KICKED ON CRUISE CONTROL AT SEVENTY. RPM'S SHOT FROM 2 THOUSAND TO EIGHT THOUSAND AND CAR ACCELERATED TO EIGHTY MILES AN HOUR. ALL WE DOING WAS HOLDING THE STEERING WHEEL. WE HAVE TAKEN IT BACK TO THE DEALER TWICE SINCE WE PURCHASED TWO MONTHS AGO AND THEY HAVE INFORMED US BOTH TIMES THAT THEY CAN FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE... *TR

NHTSA ID

10500555

Incident

Feb 24, 2013

Mileage

47,300 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LINCOLN MKS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WRENCH WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE LOST POWER. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED, THERE WAS A HARD THUMP HEARD FROM THE VEHICLE. IN ADDITION, THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD FAIL WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER EACH TIME, BUT THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING AS DESIGNED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 48,000.

NHTSA ID

10475945

Incident

Jul 2, 2011

Mileage

12,000 mi