Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2001 Lincoln Town Car submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 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.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
" TAKATA RECALL " WHEN I DRIVE OVER A POT HOLE MY CAR WANTS 2 GO ALL OVER THE ROAD THE STEERING IS LOOSECAN'T HARTLEY HOLE IT STRAIGHT ON THE ROAD I CANNT. AND ALSO MY WINDSHIELD FLUID DOESN'T COME OUT WHEN PUSH.STEERING COULD IS LOOSE.ALL IN MOTION EVEN.ON THE HWY I CANNOT GO ON. I CANNOT TAKE PIC IT IS UNDER THE CAR
I HAVE REPLACED ALL STEERING COMPONENTS. AND THE STEERING STILL WONDERS TO BAD TO DRIVE.
WHEN VEHICLE IS IN MOTION STEERING WONDERS BACK AND FORTH. CENTER STEERING ONLY OBTAIN WITH CONSTANT CORRECTING.
ON WIPERS THE INTERMEDIATE DONT WORK AND WHEN WASHER FLUID SPRAYED CANT SHUT WIPERS OFF 2 NOW ON WHEELS CONSTANTLY LOOSING AIR DUE TO RIMS PEELING AND THE INSIDE RIMS ARE PEELING CAUSING TIRE NOT TO HOLD AIR AND 3 FRONT END WOBBLES AND RADDLES HAD NEW TIERODS AND BALL JOINTS WONDERING IF ANY RECALLS WERE DUE TO BE DONE AND PREVIOUS OWNER NEGLECTED TO GET DONE PLEASE HELP
THE CAR HAS DEVELOPED POOR RETURN TO CENTER WHEN TURNING. IT ALSO SEEMS TO BE STICKY IN NORMAL HIGHWAY DRIVING, THAT IS, A MINOR CORRECTION SEEMS TO STAY UNTIL CORRECTED THE OTHER DIRECTION. THIS MAKES THE CAR WANDER BACK AND FORTH. I HAD ONE MECHANIC IN TOWN DIAGNOSE IT AS LOWER STEERING SHAFT AND I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH MY LOCAL FORD DEALER TO EVALUATE THE PROBLEM. I NOTE THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM FOR 2005 AND LATER MODEL YEARS. THERE HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTS FROM STEERING FAILURE REPORTED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 LINCOLN TOWN CAR. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD METAL DRAGGING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS MANEUVERED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE COMPLETELY COLLAPSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE TIE ROD FRACTURED AND DAMAGED THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE DEFECTIVE TIRE WAS REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 83,000.
IN CURVE ON HIGHWAY LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND WENT INTO ADJACENT LANE BEFORE REGAINING CONTROL. IF THERE HAD BEEN ANOTHER CAR IN THAT LANE WOULD HAVE COLLIDED WITH IT. TOOK TO LINCOLN DEALER. THEY TOLD ME STEERING CORRODED BUT WAS TOLD THAT THE VEHICLE IS NOT PART OF RECALL. ALSO CALLED FORD MOTOR AND THEY TOLD ME SAME THING. THE REPAIRS COST $2000 . LINCOLN DEALERSHIP SAID VEHICLE NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. *TR
VEHICLE: 2001 LINCOLN TOWN CAR CARTIER WITH 45,000 ORIGINAL MILES. DATE PROBLEM REVEALED: 05/08/2008 AT 38,000 MILES. COMPONENT: POWERTRAIN: DRIVELINE; SUSPENSION: (REAR); SUSPENSION: (FRONT); STEERING. DEFECT SUMMARY: CERTAIN POLICE, COMMERCIAL, AND PASSENGER VEHICLES SOLD INPUT HIGHER LOADS INTO THE VEHICLE CHASSIS OVERLOADING THE WHEEL BEARINGS AND AXLES. FOUR WHEEL ALIGNMENT CHECK WAS PERFORMED. REAR WHEELS WAS NOT ALIGNED TO MANUFACTURE SPECIFICATIONS, FOR WHICH, THIS VEHICLE HAS A NON-ADJUSTABLE REAR END. FRONT-END ALIGNMENT WAS NOT IN MANUFACTURE SPECIFICATIONS AND COULD NOT BE CORRECTED DUE TO FAULTY REAR END COMPONENTS. CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY: THIS COULD LEAD TO EARLY BEARING FAILURE AND ULTIMATELY TO AXLE SHAFT FRACTURE. IN THE EVENT OF AXLE SHAFT FRACTURE, THE VEHICLE WOULD LOSE DRIVE FUNCTION AND WOULD COAST TO A STOP. LOSS OF DRIVE FUNCTION COULD LEAD TO A CRASH. SEVERELY UNSTABLE STEERING AT SPEED ABOVE 40 MPH AND WILL LEAD TO A CRASH AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *TR
I WAS PROCEEDING SOUTH ON INTERSTATE 71 HALFWAY BETWEEN CLEVELAND AND COLUMBUS, AT 55 MPH. THE ROAD WAS DRY. ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CAR STARTED DRIFTING TOWARDS THE RIGHT. WHEN I TURNED THE WHEEL TOWARDS THE LEFT, THERE WAS NO IMMEDIATE RESPONSE. WHEN THE CAR RESPONDED, IT STARTED DRIFTING TOWARDS THE LEFT. I HAD NO STEERING CONTROL OF MY CAR FOR ABOUT 10 SECONDS. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO STRAIGHTEN THE WHEELS, AND REGAIN CONTROL. I HAD MY MECHANIC INSPECT MY CAR, AND HE DETERMINED THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP AND ITS ASSOCIATED ELECTRONIC CONTROL SWITCH HAD TO BE REPLACED, AS THEIR MALFUNCTION CAUSED MY LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL. I'VE SINCE HAD THOSE PARTS REPLACED. I NO LONGER HAVE THE OLD PARTS.
PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED AT 70 MPH WITH NO IMPACT TO VEHICLE. LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE TEMPORARILY AND CROSSED TRAFFIC TO OTHER SIDE OF ROAD. REGAINED CONTROL AFTER CROSSING BACK TO ORIGINAL LANE SHOULDER AND BRAKING HARD. VERY FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE CONSIDERING THE NOISE, SURPRISE AND DUST FROM THE AIR BAG DEPLOYING. ONLY GOOD THING WAS THAT NO TRAFFIC WAS COMING IN OTHER LANE. *AK
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .