The 2012 Lincoln Mkz has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 4,433,585 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 176 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS21V1580002021-03-102,602,668 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr, Lincoln MKZ, 2006-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, and Lincoln MKX vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute…
Consequence
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side airbag inflator or module with an alternate one, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 9, 2021 for the passenger side, and November 14, 2022 for the driver side. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. …
AIR BAGS19V0010002019-01-07782,384 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or…
Consequence
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this…
AIR BAGS18V7750002018-11-01215 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ vehicles that previously received a replacement passenger air bag under recall 16V-384, 17V-024 or 18V-046. In the event of a crash requiring deployment of the passenger air bag, the bracket that secures the air…
Consequence
If the air bag does not inflate as intended, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 21, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S34.
AIR BAGS17V0240002017-01-10654,695 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands…
Consequence
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. Owners will…
STEERING15V3400002015-06-02393,623 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford…
Consequence
If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated,…
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS
68
4crashes4injuries
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
22
2crashes1fires1injuries
STEERING
20
5crashes4injuries
SERVICE BRAKES
17
2crashes
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
9
1fires
STRUCTURE:BODY
9
1fires
ENGINE
5
1fires1injuries
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
3
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
3
1injuries
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
2
1crashes
Total complaints176
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The contact owns a 2012 lincoln mkz. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to steer in either direction. No warning light was illuminated. The message "power steering assist fault" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had…”
“My car has lost powering steering three times now. I have replaced the rack and pinion module twice and i’m fixing to a third time. This has happened all within the last 3.5 years”
“I became the owner of a 2012 lincoln mkz hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to ford with great difficulty where they reset the sensor or something and the power steering was working again. Now a…”
“I became the owner of a 2012 lincoln mkz hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to ford with great difficulty where they reset the sensor or something and the power steering was working again. Now a…”
“I became the owner of a 2012 lincoln mkz hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to ford with great difficulty where they reset the sensor or something and the power steering was working again. Now a…”
“Power steering control module stop working. Ford is aware of this issue and refusing to classify it as a recall. Vehicle inoperable at 83k miles.”
“My brakes stopped working with no warning while driving. All of the brake related lights came on and the pedal went to the floor and I was unable to stop the car. This is a safety issue for the driver and everyone else because there seems to be no warning that the brakes will stop working. I…”
“My brakes stopped working with no warning while driving. All of the brake related lights came on and the pedal went to the floor and I was unable to stop the car. This is a safety issue for the driver and everyone else because there seems to be no warning that the brakes will stop working. I…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant…
InvestigationEA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant…
InvestigationPE14030 Opened 2014-10-02 · closed 2015-09-10
Electric power steering failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate complaints of the loss of power steering while driving. The subject vehicles are equipped with a rack mounted Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) unit.Some of the complaints alleged that the steering assist failed and…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Lincoln Mkz as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.