The 2018 Lincoln Navigator has 12 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 2,412,605 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 65 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
POWER TRAIN26V4020002026-06-24741,195 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Navigator, Expedition, 2020-2021 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2021 F-150 vehicles. The transmission park pawl may engage while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in park system damage.
Consequence
Park system damage may result in a vehicle rollaway, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, and inspect and replace any damaged transmission components as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, are expected to be mailed August 3, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available,…
SEAT BELTS26V3440002026-05-27419,967 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Consequence
Seat belts that do not retract or extend can fail to restrain an occupant as intended, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt retractors as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed June 8, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in August 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.…
SEAT BELTS25V1970002025-05-23112,951 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Consequence
Seat belts that do not retract or extend can fail to restrain an occupant as intended, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the seat belt retractors as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 22, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S31. Some vehicles in this recall that were previously inspected under recall 24V-099 and…
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC25V2360002025-04-11123,611 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2018 F-150, Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The brake master cylinder may allow brake fluid to leak from the front wheel circuit into the brake booster.
Consequence
A brake fluid leak can cause reduced brake function and extend the distance required to stop, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder. If the master cylinder is leaking, the brake booster will also be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 25, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall…
EQUIPMENT24V8520002024-11-0827,678 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, 2020-2024 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2018-2024 F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The air bag warning label may be missing from the dashboard. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirement Federal Motor…
Consequence
Without a label that shows the proper restraint usage guidelines, the occupants may have an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy
Ford will mail owners the warning labels, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 19, 2024. Owners may call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24C39.
SEAT BELTS24V0990002024-02-0977,574 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently deploy and lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Consequence
Seat belts that do not retract or extend may fail to restrain an occupant as intended, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the seat belt retractors, as necessary. Additionally, dealers will install an HVAC drain tube elbow if it is missing. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 8, 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number…
BACK OVER PREVENTION23V5980002023-08-25177,402 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Lincoln Aviator, 2018-2021 Lincoln Navigator, 2022-2023 Ford Transit, and 2021 Ford Bronco vehicles. The rearview camera, or 360-degree view camera if equipped, may not display a rearview image when the vehicle is placed in reverse.
Consequence
Loss of the rearview camera image can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the rearview camera, and update the software and wiring as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 20, 2023 to Lincoln owners. Ford vehicle owners notification letters were mailed March 4, 2024. Ford remedy parts are anticipated 2nd Quarter 2024. Ford's number…
EQUIPMENT23V4200002023-06-09691,133 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with third-row seating; and 2019-2023 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 SuperCab vehicles. The owner's manual does not include instructions for adjusting or removing certain head restraints. As…
Consequence
Without instructions, the head restraints may be improperly adjusted, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy
Ford will mail the Owner's Manual addendums that describe how to adjust and remove the head restraints for the center seating positions, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 21, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23C20.
SEATS18V8050002018-11-1434,946 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Lincoln Navigator, and Ford Expedition vehicles. The second row center seat track assemblies may be missing one or both of the J-Channel reinforcement brackets, possibly allowing the seat to move in the event of a crash.
Consequence
In the event of a crash, a seat that moves may not properly restrain the seat occupant, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the second row center seat for any missing J-channel reinforcement brackets, replacing the center seat frame assembly as necessary, free of charge. An interim owner notification was sent on December 21, 2018. A second letter will be mailed once the remedy is…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Expedition, F-150, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI V6 engines. These vehicles have high pressure fuel pump assemblies with welds that can fracture, which may cause an oil or fuel leak.
Consequence
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump and associated components, free of charge. The recall began July 17, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S17.
POWER TRAIN18V2130002018-04-04142 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Ford F-150 and 2018 Ford Expedition and Mustang and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions. A roll pin may not have been installed in the transmission, potentially causing a loss of the "Park" function.
Consequence
Despite the transmission shift lever being placed in 'Park' and the instrument panel display indicating 'Park,' the vehicle may roll away after it has been exited if the parking brake has not been applied, increasing the risk of injury or a crash.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the transmission to make sure it has the roll pin, installing one if it is missing, free of charge. The recall began on April 13, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S09.
VISIBILITY18V0580002018-01-16361 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The second row window control modules may intermittently stop the movement of the power window. If something, such as a finger, is pinched by the window glass, the stopped window control module may prevent the window…
Consequence
If the window does not automatically reverse when an obstruction is found, it can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the second row window electronic control modules, and replace them as necessary based on their build date codes, free of charge. The recall began on February 16, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18C01.
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN
18
1fires
ENGINE
11
1fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
7
1fires
STEERING
5
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
5
1fires
BACK OVER PREVENTION
2
SEAT BELTS
2
SEATS
2
1fires
BACK OVER PREVENTION: CAMERA SYSTEM
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE/BCM
1
Total complaints65
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Seat will randomly fold while sitting in them third time this has happened while people have been in them happened approx 3 more times with people not in the seats ( back seats) captain chairs”
“The contact owns a 2018 lincoln navigator. The contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, the transmission seized, and the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated during the failure. Additionally, the brake warning light was…”
“1. Transmission shifts hard and/or seems to shift to neutral and losing forward propulsion 2. Or loud clunk followed by shuddering and no control 3. No control means unsafe driving conditions particularly if closer to other vehicles 4. Dealer quoted some mumbo/jumbo about jumping into park 5.…”
“The vehicle has experienced repeated mechanical failures involving the engine, cooling system, drivetrain, and electronic systems. Documented failures include the navigation/apim module, transmission jerking and drivability issues, transmission valve body concerns, cam phaser failure, driveshaft…”
“The vehicle has experienced repeated mechanical failures involving the engine, cooling system, drivetrain, and electronic systems. Documented failures include the navigation/apim module, transmission jerking and drivability issues, transmission valve body concerns, cam phaser failure, driveshaft…”
“The vehicle has experienced repeated mechanical failures involving the engine, cooling system, drivetrain, and electronic systems. Documented failures include the navigation/apim module, transmission jerking and drivability issues, transmission valve body concerns, cam phaser failure, driveshaft…”
“Vehicle: 2018 lincoln navigator vin: [xxx] component: steering mileage: 103899 complaint narrative: I recently purchased a 2018 lincoln navigator and took delivery on december 10, 2025. Within days of delivery, I observed a metallic contact noise originating from beneath the steering column. The…”
“Transmission is having major issues with flaring and shifting. Vehicle has trouble engaging torque convertor, vehicle almost seems to stall out when accelerating with heavy traffic due to transmission engaging poorly.”
Defect investigations
InvestigationRQ24015 Opened 2024-11-15 · closed 2025-07-23
Seat Belt Retractor Pretensioner Inadvertent Deployment
On November 22, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE) PE23021 to investigate complaints of front seat belt retractor pretensioner inadvertent deployment in model year (MY) 2019 Ford Expedition vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company. Some complaints alleged hearing a…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 Lincoln Navigator as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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