RoadVitals

2026 Lincoln Nautilus

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints 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.
8
+1 complaint in 30 days
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
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InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
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Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
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Overview

Our database contains 8 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2026 Lincoln Nautilus, most frequently naming the driver assistance, brakes and powertrain (other) categories. 36 manufacturer communications are on file.

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

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Driver assistance240.0%
  • Brakes120.0%
  • Powertrain (other)120.0%
  • Visibility120.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Driver assistancePowertrain (other)
Filed Sep 15, 2026

The Lane keeping assistance has failed multiple times when the car enters an intersection and the lines on the road are broken by a gap due to a turn. To situations occurred where the car aggressively entered oncoming traffic lane and I quickly directed the car back to the correct lane. Lane keeping assistance seems to be very touchy. How’s you’re going down the road you can fill the car moving from side to side if the lanes happen to have lines painted in and out the car almost seems to follow them exactly. The car does not allow for minor changes in the painted lines. There’s a shuttering when accelerating at all times I believe this is a torque converter issue. Ford service the vehicle at 10,000 miles and said there was an update that the car .Ford service the vehicle at 10,000 miles and said there was a update that the car needed, but it made no change to any of these problems.

NHTSA ID
11764408
Incident
Jul 24, 2026
Filed Jul 11, 2026

This was the first long trip for the new Nautilus. I was using cruise control, along with adaptive cruise control, and hands free driving. A prompt came up to resume control. The road was not twisty, so it was somewhat unusual for this to happen from my experience. I put my hands on the steering wheel to resume control. The engine began stuttering and the flashers came on. The car then began decreasing speed. Please, something is clearly not right with this car. This was a dangerous situation on a highway at 65 mph. The car was rapidly decreasing speed and the highway was busy with holiday traffic, campers, etc. going to Mt. Hood. Yes, this car is available for inspection upon request. This was a dangerous situation on a busy highway when the vehicle suddenly began decreasing speed requiring me to take immediate action while traveling at 65 mph. No, the problem has not been reproduced. No, the dealer has not looked at it despite repeated phone calls. I do not have another car and cannot afford a rental. They have had me on a LONG wait list for a loaner. No, there were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

NHTSA ID
11749708
Incident
Jul 2, 2026
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 29, 2026

This is the third Lincoln Nautilus that the facial recognition sensor does not operate as it should and creates a significant distraction while driving. The system constantly will go into the "Watch the Road" warning and then proceed to the "Resume Control" which also activates the four way flashers and pulses the brakes despite taking action such as moving the steering wheel or pressing the "OK" on the steering wheel touch pad to acknowledge the warning which does not clear out. If the vehicle is being tailgated which happens frequently this could lead to a collision either from the tailgater that hits you or the tailgater making a sudden move to avoid a collision and cause a different impact or loss of control. I have video of this occurring frequently while driving, however it is too large of a file to upload. The design and placement of the sensor on the top of the steering column is also a contributing factor due to glare that frequently occurs and will increase the instances of this warning as well. I also tested it while wearing sunglasses and that too increases the frequency of the warning indications which makes this a very flawed design overall because of the fact that milions of drivers wear sunglasses daily (especially here in Florida) yet the designers and developers obviously did not take that (sunglasses) into account along with the failure of the system when glare is produced - another frequent item that happens on sunny days. As stated, this is the third new Lincoln Nautilus that I have experienced this on, the first two were 2025 models, this vehicle is a service loaner from the dealer while mine is in the shop for this and other problems.

NHTSA ID
11747124
Incident
Jun 28, 2026
Filed May 23, 2026

When I went to change lanes on the highway, I went to look in the passenger side mirror to check for traffic. What I saw was my shirt. The mirrors have auto open and close. They malfunctioned and did not open,. This was a safety risk. I have an appointment with the service center at the dealership.

NHTSA ID
11739719
Incident
May 22, 2026
Visibility
Filed May 19, 2026

I was driving on M 53 south bound approximately 11:30 am when I heard two consecutive soft “tick” tick” sounds and immediately noticed the stress cracks appearing on my windshield top drivers side. I will be taking it for inspection as there was not any type of object to cause these cracks.

NHTSA ID
11738904
Incident
May 19, 2026
Brakes
Filed May 19, 2026

The brake pedal is designed in such a manner that the shaft/arm gets in the way of the pedal as you start pressing the pedal. As the pedal is pressed away from the driver, the shaft is setup in such a way that the driver's foot then hits the shaft and loses the ability to press the actual pedal. Given the shaft is a small metal bar rather than a flat grippy surface like the pedal, this creates unstable footing. It is very difficult to use and is quite unsafe. It is an issue in all cases when pressing the brake (i.e., it is not only for aggressive braking; it is always persistent). I have found in many cases my foot slipping on the shaft and it causing real danger to myself, my family, and other drivers as the inability to brake effectively has obvious implications. This is not a unique case of me having large feet or anything like that; in fact, I have small feet. It is probably a much bigger issue for the average person with larger feet than me. I reported it to the dealership, and they acknowledged that they have heard the complaint, but their response was "get used to it". No other parties have inspected the component. There are no warning lights. This is not a "failure" of a component, but rather a design flaw that is unsafe. I would recommend inspecting the 2026 Lincoln Nautilus to assess the risk of the brake pedal / shaft design and suggest a recall on the brake pedal whereby Lincoln must replace with a design that does not cause this interference.

NHTSA ID
11738703
Incident
May 19, 2026
Filed May 4, 2026

I purchased a new 2026 Lincoln Nautilus only 3 days ago. While driving on a public road, both side mirrors suddenly auto-folded on their own without any driver input. This created a serious safety hazard because I immediately lost side visibility while operating the vehicle. I had to pull over in the middle of traffic and manually restore the mirrors before continuing to drive. This malfunction is extremely dangerous and unacceptable in a brand-new vehicle. Side mirrors are critical safety equipment, and unexpected folding while driving could easily lead to an accident. I request that this issue be investigated as a potential safety defect affecting the Lincoln Nautilus.

NHTSA ID
11735595
Incident
May 2, 2026
Filed Nov 22, 2025

When using Apple Car Play and Sirius radio through Apple Car Play, the radio station controls on the steering wheel do not function properly and actually function differently than when using the native Nautilus radio. When using Apple Car Play, in order to change radio stations, you must use the display screen to change stations. This forces the driver, if driving alone, to take their eyes off the road, locate the proper screen, and then change the station. When using the native radio and listening to Sirius, using the radio controls on the steering wheel function as expected. I reported this to Ford through my local dealer, and the response was that "it is functioning as anticipated". To me this means Ford is aware they require one to take their eyes off the road to change radio stations in the manner outlined above.

NHTSA ID
11700952
Incident
Nov 13, 2025

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

SSM 55162

STRUCTURE:BODY

All 2026 Nautilus vehicles built on or after 07-Apr-2026 will no longer come with a plastic rear license plate bracket as part of the loose items checklist. The rear liftgate has been updated to no longer require the license plate bracket, and the license plate can be attached directly to the liftgate. No additional actions should be taken to install the license plate.

SSM 55140

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Some 2025-2026 Maverick vehicles built on or before 05-Dec-2025 and 2024-2026 Nautilus vehicles built on or before 04-Sep-2025 may exhibit limited power and display "Stop Safely Now" or "Service Vehicle Soon" stored in the message center after start up with diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) P0A5D, P0A60, P0A63, P0A6F, P0A72, P0A75, and/or P0E52 stored in the inverter system controller (SOBDMC). The Ford Diagnostic and Repair System (FDRS) may refer to this module as the "Secondary On-Board Control Module C". If the vehicle exhibits these conditions, replace the inverter system controller. Refer to Workshop Manual, Section 307-01B. For claiming, use causal part 7B012 and labor operations 12651D and 12651D56. NOTE: This article does not remove any RVC, Prior Approval or Warranty and Policy requirements for component replacement.

SSM 55131

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Some 2025-2026 Aviator/Explorer/Expedition/F-150/Mustang Mach-E/Nautilus/Navigator vehicles may exhibit the hands-free BlueCruise feature intermittently/consistently unavailable when BlueCruise is active and when traveling in a "Blue Zone". Speed sign recognition may also be inaccurate. If there are no active relevant diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) present and the issue persists after multiple key cycles and if the BlueCruise System Health Check passes, download and run the "TCU - Reset Telematics Control Unit (TCU) Module" application using the latest software level of the Ford Diagnosis and Repair System (FDRS). If the condition is resolved, inform customers that this may be a temporary fix and engineering is currently working on a solution expected in Q4 2026. Monitor Professional Technician System (PTS) for additional information and schedule service appointments for customers once the repair becomes available. For claiming, use causal 14G229 and labor operations 12651D and 12651D4. If the condition persists after a test drive, refer to Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 419-03B for normal

SSM 55116

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Some of the following vehicles: * 2025-2026 Expedition/Navigator built on or after 02-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 F-Super Duty built on or after 02-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 Explorer/Aviator built on or after 02-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 Nautilus built on or after 17-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 F-150 built on or after 16-Jul-2025 may exhibit all of the following symptoms: - "No Key Detected" message displayed on the instrument panel cluster (IPC) - Key fob does not work in the backup slot. - Remote keyless entry (RKE) (lock and unlock from the key fob) functionality will work to lock/unlock the vehicle. If the vehicle exhibits these symptoms, manually enter the vehicle identification number (VIN) into the VIN entry dialog in the Ford Diagnosis and Repair System (FDRS) and then start a session using the Vehicle Communication Module (VCM) II, VCM 3, Vehicle Communication and Measurement Module (VCMM) or later level device with a universal serial bus (USB) cable disconnected from the laptop. Download the "BCM - Body Control Module (BCM) Hardware Test" app

SSM 55103

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EXTERIOR LIGHTING; STRUCTURE:BODY

Some 2024-2026 Nautilus vehicles may exhibit an inoperative segment or individual light emitting diode (LED) in the rear mounted deck lid lamp assembly (part of the rear lamp assembly). To correct this condition, replacement of the finished assembly (13A565) is not required. To repair, replace the rear mounted deck lid lamp sub-assembly (13434) and transfer components from the original rear liftgate lamp. Refer to Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 417-01 > Removal and Installation > Rear Lamp Assembly and perform Steps 9-11.

PHX-26.2.0.11 Nautilus

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

26S51 Recall remedy: -Accessory Protocol Interface Module update to mitigate the loss of the pedestrian warning sound

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Lincoln Nautilus by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2026Viewing800—
2025216058.5
2024227059.6
2023730—
2022132164.1
2021212159.6
2020335166.9
20191028057.7

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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.