2026 Lincoln Nautilus Owner Complaints

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

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

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

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

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

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

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