RoadVitals

2016 Lincoln Mkz Steering Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Steering reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
12
Latest Mar 23, 2026
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
19%
of 63 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2016 Lincoln Mkz submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 12 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming steering

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Steering
Filed Mar 23, 2026

The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became loose, and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact stated that the front end made an abnormal humming sound. The vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist functionality. The contact pulled over, and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

NHTSA ID
11726289
Incident
Mar 23, 2026
Mileage
110,000 mi
ElectricalSteering
Filed Jun 29, 2024

My power steering electric system doesn’t work, the steering gear motor may have detached from the gear housing resulting in a loss of power steering assist, requiring a greater steering effort, especially at lower speeds

NHTSA ID
11597690
Incident
May 16, 2024
Steering
Filed Jan 6, 2024

Steering wheel is wobbly and loose

NHTSA ID
11563905
Incident
Nov 24, 2023
Mileage
102,990 mi
ElectricalSteering
Filed Mar 23, 2023

I was driving on the freeway when the steering on my car became very difficult and “wobbly”. It was hard to keep it going straight. I knew something was wrong and when I got home, I told my husband to check my tires. The next morning I was told that my tires were fine but when we got into the car, this time I got 4 errors regarding the drive control and steering assist fault. The steering wheel was locked and the car was unable to be driven.

NHTSA ID
11513426
Incident
Mar 21, 2023
Steering
Filed Jun 27, 2022

UNKNOWN - When I'm driving at a lower speed, I will feel a bounce back in the brake or gas pedal and will receive 4 different alerts on my dashboard (hill start unavailable, service auto trac and a couple others). Once this happens, I loose power steering and it becomes difficult to turn my wheel. At times, this will happen when I am reversing and caused my car to go into neutral on it's own. When I tried to go into reverse or drive, it wouldn't switch. The emergency brakes wouldn't come off when the tow truck man tried to tow it. The dealership stated it was a fuse and fixed that after paying the amount due, but it still continues to happen

NHTSA ID
11471097
Incident
Feb 1, 2022
Steering
Filed Jan 18, 2022

CAR WAS SOLD WITH A UN REPAIRED RECALL FROM CAR MAX HOUSTON LOCATION -CAR MAX BUSINESS SERVICE .I WAS TOLD TO GET INTOUCH WITH YOU ALL TO TAKE CARE OF RECALL. PLEASE email me on what shop i can take my vehicle to.. [XXX] are call me at [XXX] [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID
11447900
Incident
Jan 14, 2022
Steering
Filed Dec 8, 2021

Owner of 2016 MKZ Hybrid 65870 miles Loss of electronic power steering and Advance Trac Soon after replacement of Bolt under recall 19R02 I heard friction/grinding when turning steering wheel. Oct 1, 2021 I contacted Parks Lincoln of Tampa for a diagnostic and they told me the steering rack assembly would need to be replaced. On November 6,2021 I lost physical steering ability. I had my car towed to dealership, needed to replace the steering gear box assembly, 2 tie rods, and an alignment for $4156. I researched the NHTSA website and noted in July 2015 that 393,623 were impacted by recall 15V340, Ford No 15S18. No recalls have existed for same issue for MKZ vehicles built after 2012. This is a safety recall issue for driver and all vehicles in its path.

NHTSA ID
11443082
Incident
Nov 9, 2021
Steering
Filed Sep 15, 2021

Our power steering went out while driving into town. I'm lucky my husband was driving because it was so hard to turn the car to get to a safe location. Honolulu Ford stated we have a faulty steering rack and there is a recall for this issue 19V632000 but our car is not on the recall because the state we purchased is not listed. We purchased the car in Alaska and we currently live in Hawaii. We now have to pay $3600 dollars to have the car fixed. Since there is a recall in the system for the same exact problem that happened why are we paying to fix our car? The dealership is not providing a car of us and now we have to rent a car until ours is repaired.

NHTSA ID
11433094
Incident
Sep 11, 2021
Steering
Filed Jul 23, 2021

The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering failed causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn in either direction. During the failure, the service advanced track and service headlights message was displayed on the instrument panel. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was included in the NHTSA campaign number 19V632000 (Steering). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 53,000.

NHTSA ID
11426080
Incident
Nov 1, 2020
Mileage
53,000 mi
AirbagsSeat beltsSteering
Filed Apr 27, 2019

TAKATA RECALL

NHTSA ID
11204079
Incident
Apr 26, 2019
Mileage
32,400 mi
AirbagsFuel systemSteering
Filed Apr 27, 2019

TAKATA RECALL

NHTSA ID
11204077
Incident
Apr 26, 2019
Mileage
32,400 mi
Steering
Filed Apr 2, 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 LINCOLN MKZ. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V167000 (STEERING); 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 CONTACT CALLED ALLAN VIGIL FORD AT 673-364-3673 (LOCATED AT 6790 MT ZION BLVD, MORROW, GA 30260) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PARTS WERE TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ID
11082522
Incident
Mar 12, 2018

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .