2018 Lincoln Mkz Powertrain (other) Problems

Scanned codes P0741, P1450, P1744, & P2196. Check the transmission fluid level and condition. No fluid drained from hole, added a little fluid, and retrieved a sample of the fluid. The fluid is very dark. Identifix states, if the fluid smells or has the appearance of being black due to internal clutch slippage, the transmission should be replaced or overhauled. If the transmission fluid is in good condition and found to be at the proper level, monitor the Torque Converter Clutch actual slip (TC_SLIPACT) and TCC desired slip (TC_SLIPDSD) PIDs through the scan tool as the vehicle is driven noting these reading should stay relatively closed together expecting the reading to show to be within 10 RPM of each other. Seeing the values spread apart supports the setting of the P0741 and P1744 codes. Note that excessive TCC slip can be caused by multiple internal factors including mechanical failure of the TCC solenoid, an issue of a valve body component that does not hydraulically react to the activation of the solenoid, a leaking valve body gasket, a leaking input shaft seal, or failure of the torque converter seal. There are no external testing measures that can be taken to verify any of these as the specific cause of the concern. Per the test drive, the difference between actual and desired TCC slip was 100-125 rpm.

NHTSA ID

11747716

Incident

Apr 21, 2026

The car had an internal transmission failure and caused most of the transmission fluid to leak out between inspections. Upon removing the cv axle on driver’s side, the seal was fine and replaced along with cv axle. The fluid drained and was only about half a liter (needs about 4.5L normally). After servicing the transmission fluid, the dealership did their assessment and came to the following conclusion. “ Good Afternoon Sir We found the transmission system requires replacement due to an internal fault, including damage to the transfer shaft and bearings, with potential additional internal damage. Replacing the transmission can help restore smooth gear shifting and overall drivetrain functionality. To replace the transmission, you are looking at $9000.00 out the door. My apology on taking much longer to diagnose this properly. If you have any other questions please let me know. ” The drastic transmission failure which makes noises and engages and disengages while on cruise control shows the failure internally. Many metal pieces were found among the fluid when drained. This could and still can easily leave someone on the middle of the road with no time to drive to the shoulder. Car still has less than 100k miles with the severe transmission failure and the fluid leak which occurred prior to the transmission making noise. Essentially, the internal components caused the leak which the caused even more damage. I’m quoted $9,000 for the repair which occurred really early in the car’s life. I do a lot of longer trips away from home and can easily be left stranded in the middle of nowhere or even cause huge accidents when in heavy fast moving traffic if I lose drivability or if metal components fly off. The cv axle moves in and out of the transaxle side meaning the shaft can pop off as well.

NHTSA ID

11710990

Incident

Dec 27, 2025

Car only has 97K miles and the transmission fluid has been leaking for some time causing loud noises from the transmission which took time to locate. The transmission leaked fluid and only had about half a liter of fluid when it should be around 4.5 liters. The fluid leaked from the transmission on the driver cv axle seal. The car shows no lights on dash of any kind. I discovered the leak after the noises were really bad while driving one day. I put the car on my ramps and got under and discovered the driver cv axle damaged and looked like electrical tape was jammed in the cv axle near the transfer case/transmission. Upon closer inspection the leak of transmission fluid was even more obvious. There is no dip stick for the transmission so I decided to drain and see and there is evidence of only about half a liter of fluid. The fluid is black and full of metal particles. This is concerning because the depth of damage is unknown until the car is repaired; this repair would include a new seal, cv axle and fluid replacement. There is no way to know what internal damage was done and this was such a short period of time. Periodic inspections are conducted on the vehicle when oil changed are completed. This can easily lead to transmission failure and the risk is exponential due to it happening regardless of where you are on the road with the unknown weather and road conditions. Miles reflected is when the leak was discovered after the noises. 97,839 miles.

NHTSA ID

11707404

Incident

Dec 27, 2025

My 2018 Lincoln MKZ with the 2.0 Ecoboost Engine incurred premature engine failure at ONLY 40k miles. My safety as well as other drivers' safety at risk due to EcoBoost Engine in certain model year 2013-2019 Ford and Lincoln vehicles have an inherent design defect which makes them predisposed to leak coolant, including allowing the coolant to seep into the engine cylinder, which causes overheating and cylinder head cracking, and can cause the engine to misfire, suddenly stall, or even catch fire while driving. In April the car began to "shake" at start up. The shaking was intermittent. After a few days of this, the check engine light came on. I took it to the mechanic (T&H) to have it looked at. They said the "shaking" is the car misfiring at start up. They were not able to locate any leaks or identify the cause of the misfire. They code on the check engine light was Code P0301-Cylinder #1. During April and May the misfires have continued and got worse. I was going back and forth to T&H trying to diagnose the issue. On May 12th, while taking the kids to school, I went to pull out into traffic and the car would not accelerate. The dashboard lights said the engine was overheating. The car would not go above 10mph. Luckily my mechanic is down the street. They were concerned about excessive use of coolant and not seeing a leak anywhere. They filled the coolant, and I made a follow up appt in one week to do a borescope inspection. On May 19th, T&H did a Borescope inspection and visually confirmed coolant in cylinder #1. They provided me a copy of a TSB 22-2229 that states the engine block needs to be replaced. The cost of the engine block replacement was estimated at $8k. Engine failure at 40k miles is unacceptable. An engine block replacement due to a manufacturing/design flaw should be covered by Lincoln Motor Co as a goodwill repair regardless of warranty status.

NHTSA ID

11663894

Incident

May 19, 2025

I own a 2018 Lincoln MKZ. The vehicle Engine overheating warnings came up, and I took the car to the dealership. They informed that the Lincoln MKZ vehicle had a frequent problem with coolant leaking into the engine due to faulty power train assembly. The dealer has seen and repaired hundreds of vehicles with this problem. Lincoln company denies responsibility for this manufacturing defect. The vehicle is only 7 years 3 months and 30 days old with 67914 miles used by single owner. A reputed company like Lincoln should be held responsible for manufacturing and marketing vehicles where the power train and engine fails on a fairly new vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11640579

Incident

Feb 4, 2025

Initially when buying the vehicle in 2021, it had 30k miles. Car continued to give me a "cylinder 2 misfire code" after numerous trips to different garages and then the car beginning to start up rough and anti freeze missing i came across a "service bulletin" regarding it being a faulty ring in the engine. I took the vehicle to Ford and they replaced the engine. My car just hit 100k miles All of the sudden one day when trying to stop at a red light the car was shaking . There was no codes and only happened while in drive and at a red light or stop sigh:( complete stop) I took the card to Ford, who diagnosed it and open up my tranny and found out there was no fluid ,was burnt and had metal in it. There is still no code on my dash board and i need to pay 7k to replace a transmission. The fluid is housed internally , there was no leaks, and no codes was thrown on the dash. How was i to know transmission fluid was leaking and wher was it going?

NHTSA ID

11634568

Incident

Jan 6, 2025

Torque converter stuck off pcm code 6f35 transmission vin look up doesn't show recall but it has same transmission installed with the same problem as 2017 model

NHTSA ID

11558661

Incident

Dec 5, 2023

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 LINCOLN MKZ. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE CONTACT SWITCHED GEARS AND THE VEHICLE DECELERATED. THE VEHICLE ROLLED AND STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT RESTARTED THE ENGINE AND THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO DRIVE OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO OLATHE FORD LINCOLN (1845 E SANTA FE ST, OLATHE, KS 66062) WHERE THEY DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE, BUT COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,000.

NHTSA ID

11218137

Incident

Feb 7, 2019

Mileage

3,000 mi

UPON DRIVING THE VEHICLE, IT HAS STALLED SEVEN TIMES. TWO OF THOSE INCIDENTS INVOLVED VEHICLE GOING INTO PARK WITHOUT TOUCHING THE PARK BUTTON. AS IT WAS SHIFTING INTO PARK, THERE WAS A LOUD CLICKING SOUND AS THOUGH THE VEHICLE WAS 'FIGHTING' GOING INTO PARK. THEN THE VEHICLE DIED. ON AT LEAST FIVE OTHER OCCASIONS, IT JUST DIED. NOTHING INDICATING ON MY WAY APP, OR AT SERVICE DEPARTMENT FOR LOCAL LINCOLN DEALERSHIP. THIS BEGAN ONE WEEK AGO YESTERDAY AND WITHOUT PATTERN, HAS CONTINUED. UPON RETURN FROM LINCOLN SERVICE DEPARTMENT, ISSUE RESURFACED THIS MORNING WHEN IT WENT INTO PARK WHILE DRIVING.

NHTSA ID

11206840

Incident

May 10, 2019

Mileage

135,000 mi