2012 Lincoln Mkz Electrical Problems

I became the owner of a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to Ford with great difficulty where they reset the sensor or something and the power steering was working again. Now a couple of years later, the problem occurred again. The power steering chime came on, the car read “service advancetrac” in yellow and “power steering assist fault” in read, accompanied by the wheel stiffening. I pulled over turned the car off and back on, and the problem went away. It occurred several more times and turning the car off and back on remedied the problem. It would only occur every couple of months, but more recently it started happening every couple of weeks and now- the last ten days it has happened every time I drive. Each of those times, with the exception of the most recent occurrence, turning the car off and letting it sit for a couple of minutes, followed by turning it back on, solved the problem. The most recent time, I was traveling on the highway going 60 mph when the messages appeared and my wheel stiffened. It terrified me as I was moving fast on a Southern California highway where there are hundreds of cars. I was on my way to take a final exam, that I could not miss, so I kept driving. Steering was near impossible at low speeds. I went in to take my final and three hours later, when I turned the car back on, the power steering still was not working. After hours of research and years of dealing with this problem, I have found that there was a recall regarding the PSCM in the 2012 Lincoln MKZ. I am unsure if this problem extends to the hybrid model, and if so whether it was remedied by a past owner, but a detailed vehicle history report indicates that it was not. I have never received any notice as to this recall. I do know that my car was manufactured in the applicable time period (2011), and that it is experiencing exactly what the recall describes.

NHTSA ID

11586690

Incident

May 2, 2024

THE ABS SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. ALL SENSORS LIGHT UP AND BRAKES DID NOT WORK. YOU COULD PUSH THE BRAKES TO THE FLOOR. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATIUON. THIS IS THE SAME ABS MALFUNCTION THAT HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF A FORD RECALLED OF 600, 000 VEHICLES IN THE FUSION,AND MK'S IN THE YEARS THRU 2010 BUT NOT 2011 AND 2012 WHICH YSE THE SAME BRAKING SYSTEM. THIS IS A UNACCEPTABLE AND DANGEROUS.

NHTSA ID

11415452

Incident

Apr 28, 2021

Mileage

104,000 mi

IN JANUARY 2021, MY VEHICLE HAD REACHED ABOUT 60,000 MILES. AS I WAS BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY, I NOTICED MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND AS I TRIED TO STOP THE CAR DISCOVERED THAT THE BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING. I PULLED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE HANDLE AND STOPPED THE CAR. HAD THE CAR NOT STOPPED, I PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE AVOIDED GOING INTO THE STREET. I TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED THE CAR BUT THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK (AFTER YOU START THE CAR, THE ABS LIGHT GOES ON AND THEN THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT GOES ON; THE BRAKES ONLY WORK A LITTLE NEAR THE FLOOR). THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND BOTH THE ABS MODULE AND HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT HAD TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF ABOUT $3200. I NOTICED A RECALL FOR BASICALLY THE SAME THING BUT THE RECALL ONLY WENT UP TO 2010.

NHTSA ID

11390826

Incident

Jan 7, 2021

Mileage

60,200 mi

PORTION OF LED TAIL-LIGHTS ARE OUT. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN COVERED ON 2010'S AND 2011'S HOWEVER MY 2012 IS NOT COVERED EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE IDENTICAL VEHICLES WITH IDENTICAL PART NUMBERS

NHTSA ID

11277515

Incident

Nov 1, 2019

Mileage

83,500 mi

I WAS AT THE GAS STATION PUTTING GAS TO MY CAR WHEN I NOTICED FLAMES COMING FROM THE ENGINE THEN I TOLD THE PEOPLE AROUND THE STAFF OD THE GAS STATION SHUT OFF ALL THE GAS PUMPS AND HELP ME TO TRYIED TO USE EXTINGUISHERS TOEND THE FIRE UNTIL THE FIRE DEPARTNEN PEOPLE CAME. I DO NOT REALY KNOW WHAT HAPOENED BUT IWAS HAVING SOME ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS AND WAS SMOKING WHEN WE WERE DRIVING THE CAR. WE THOUGHT NEED ANTIFREEZE LIQUID AND PUT IT BUT STILL RUNNING WEIRD.

NHTSA ID

11254457

Incident

Aug 18, 2019

Mileage

200,000 mi

SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN AFFECTING MANY LINCOLN MODELS. COULDN'T OPEN THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR AND HAD TO CRAWL OUT TO THE PASSENGER SIDE. THIS IS DANGEROUS IN THE EVENT OF A CAR CRASH. SO MANY VIDEOS ON THE WEB OF THIS PROBLEM. THIS MODEL YEAR SHOULD ALSO BE INCLUDED IN THE DOOR LOCK RECALL. HUGE INCONVENIENCE CRAWLING IN FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE, BUT AT LEAST I'M SMALL. I SURE WOULD FEEL SORRY FOR A BIGGER PERSON. MY VEHICLE WAS ALSO ASSEMBLED AT THE SAME PLANT DURING THE YEAR THE OTHER CARS WERE AFFECTED.

NHTSA ID

11045717

Incident

Oct 15, 2017

UNABLE TO SECURE VEHICLE. FRONT DRIVER SIDE DOOR WILL NOT LOCK/UNLOCK BY USING ANY ELECTRIC METHOD OR BY USING KEY MECHANICALLY IN EXTERIOR DOOR LOCK.

NHTSA ID

11023382

Incident

Aug 28, 2017

Mileage

50,700 mi

THE METAL PART ON THE CABLE CONNECTING BATTERY TO OTHER PARTS OF VEHICLE CRACKED. HAD STOPPED TO GET BATTERY CHECKED AND SERVICE PERSONNEL FOUND THE CRACK IN THE METAL PART ON CABLE THAT CONTAINS 2 FUSES. CAR HAD BEEN HESITANT ON STARTING TWICE IN THE WEEK. SAFETY PROBLEM IF PART HAD BROKEN COMPLETELY INTO WHILE ON INTERSTATE OR IN AN AREA NOT HEAVILY POPULATED. COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS IF NOT FATAL ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ID

11000279

Incident

Jun 17, 2017

Mileage

33,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 LINCOLN MKZ. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT A COMPLETE STOP, THE VEHICLE SHOOK AND WENT INTO LIMP MODE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT WHILE MAKING A TURN AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED BUT PROVIDED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,000. TYHE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE IDLES ROUGH AT STAND STILL. IT SURGES WHEN ACCELERATING FROM AN ALMOST BRAKING STOP WHILE DRIVING. THE GARAGE DOOR HOME LING FAILS AT TIMES. BRAKE PEDAL MAKES A CLUNKING NOISE WHEN RELEASED. HEADLINES SAGS IN THE FRONT OF REAR WINDOW. UPDATED 06/17/2013 *JS

NHTSA ID

10500661

Incident

Jul 17, 2012

Mileage

1,000 mi