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Total NHTSA Complaints
135
Owner filings recorded
#1 Reported Problem
Engine & Cooling
72 reports (53.3%)
Crash Incident Reports
6
Filings citing a crash
Fire & Injury Reports
8
4 fire • 4 injury filings
Defect Investigation Analysis

Executive Problem Findings

AutoUtility currently tracks 135 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Lincoln MKZ. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 72 complaints (53.3% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 6 filings cite a crash, 4 cite a fire, 4 report one or more injuries.

Methodology Notice: Consumer complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Filings are not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and do not constitute an audited component failure rate.
Incident & Severity Profile
  • • Total Owner Reports: 135 complaints submitted under federal penalty.
  • • Primary Subsystem: Engine & Cooling accounts for 53.3% of submissions (72 reports).
  • • Secondary Systems: Powertrain & Transmission (24), Brakes & Traction Control (16).
  • • Crash Incidents: 6 filings cite an impact or collision.
  • • Thermal Incidents: 4 filings cite smoke or fire.
  • • Reported Casualties: 4 injury filings • 0 fatality filings.
Category Distribution

Reported Defect Categories for 2017 Lincoln MKZ

Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records

Engine & Cooling
72
53.3%
Powertrain & Transmission
24
17.8%
Brakes & Traction Control
16
11.9%
Electrical System
10
7.4%
Fuel & Propulsion System
9
6.7%
#1 53.3% SHARE

Engine & Cooling

72 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 3 Crash 🔥 1 Fire 🩹 2 Injury
#2 17.8% SHARE

Powertrain & Transmission

24 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 3 Crash 🔥 3 Fire 🩹 1 Injury
⚠️ 2 Associated Recall Campaigns
#3 11.9% SHARE

Brakes & Traction Control

16 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
⚠️ 1 Associated Recall Campaign
#4 7.4% SHARE

Electrical System

10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
Deterministic Text Analysis

Recurring Symptoms Identified in Owner Reports

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

Engine & Cooling 26.7%

Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak

36 complaint narratives describe this symptom.

NHTSA Narrative Match
Powertrain & Transmission 5.9%

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

8 complaint narratives describe this symptom.

NHTSA Narrative Match
Federal Oversight

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (2)

Formal engineering analyses and preliminary evaluations opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

ODI Action #DP22005 CLOSED Defect Petition (DP)
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07
Subject / Subsystem
Pedestrian alert sounds
Affected Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM
Recall Linkage
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
ODI Action #RQ22004 CLOSED Recall Query (RQ)
Opened: 2022-08-08 • Closed: 2023-03-24
Subject / Subsystem
Front Brake Jounce Hose Failures
Affected Component
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
Recall Linkage
On August 8, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation based on 50 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging front brake jounce hose ruptures on model year (MY) 2013-2018 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. A ruptured front brake hose results in a brake fluid leak. As a result, the driver may experience an increase in pedal travel and a reduction in the rate of deceleration, increasing the risk of a crash. It should be noted that the subject vehicles identified fell outside the scope of NHTSA Safety Recall 20V-469, which addressed front brake hoses rupturing on certain MY 2015-2018 Ford Edge and 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX vehicles. The result causes a brake fluid leak, lengthening the distance needing to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.On March 10, 2023, Ford Motor Company (Ford) submitted to NHTSA Safety Recall 23V-162 (Ford Recall 23S12) to address front brake jounce hoses that may rupture. Ford found the rupture occurs from a localized failure of the internal reinforcement braid due to cyclic fatigue through tensile/bending and torsional inputs during suspension and steering articulations. The supplier for the front brake jounce hoses is Hitachi. This recall affects the subject vehicles equipped with non-hybrid engines and the suspect front brake jounce hoses (a total of 1,280,726 vehicles). The recall covers subject vehicles built from February 3, 2012 to July 19, 2017 when the suspect hoses were used in vehicle production. The remedy is for dealerships to replace both front brake jounce hoses with new hoses that have a revised braid material at no cost. The vehicles equipped with hybrid engines are excluded from the recall because the internal hose pressure is much lower due to the regenerative braking provided by the hybrid brake system. No failures of brake hoses on hybrid vehicles have been reported to ODI or Ford.Ford's actions address ODIs concerns at this time. Hybrid vehicles will be monitored for related failures. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by new circumstances.The 103 ODI numbers cited above can be viewed at NHTSA.gov under the following ID numbers:11511014, 11510867, 11510318, 11509030, 11505993, 11504989, 11504400, 11502147, 11502082, 11501820, 11501283, 11498439, 11498296, 11496842, 11496335, 11494931, 11494851, 11494252, 11493001, 11492084, 11492070, 11491444, 11491274, 11488858, 11488027, 11487627, 11487416, 11487233, 11486150, 11484924, 11484526, 11484080, 11483948, 11483926, 11483739, 11483723, 11482773, 11482690, 11481077, 11480788, 11480294, 11480052, 11479338, 11479334, 11479252, 11479247, 11479187, 11479094, 11479048, 11478985, 11478953, 11478729, 11478216, 11476892, 11476282, 11470558, 11468994, 11467109, 11466294, 11462746, 11461217, 11456065, 11455367, 11444848, 11436419, 11436376, 11430685, 11428329, 11425083, 11421026, 11420738, 11420735, 11420298, 11418197, 11403926, 11397549, 11366991, 11366757, 11361016, 11359968, 11354569, 11352165, 11350344, 11348799, 11343929, 11343205, 11331947, 11329020, 11319596, 11310529, 11292271, 11288455, 11254787, 11253479, 11253244, 11234622, 11230669, 11230050, 11228240, 11221111, 11143630, 11129392 and 11120228.
Consumer Filings

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Lincoln MKZ

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling ODI #11758713
Filed: 08/22/2026
Defect Report

"We are submitting this vehicle safety complaint regarding a dealer-confirmed coolant-intrusion failure in our 2017 Lincoln MKZ equipped with the 2.0L EcoBoost engine. The vehicle had approximately 60,063 miles when presented to Parks Lincoln of Longwood. The vehicle developed a check engine light,..."

Engine & Cooling ODI #11758233
Filed: 08/20/2026
Defect Report

"Engine has rough idle and can stall. Ford says engine has coolant intrusion and needs a new engine. The repair will cost between 8500 and 10000 dollars."

Engine & Cooling ODI #11756788
Filed: 08/13/2026
Defect Report

"Coolant intrusion into my 2.0l eco boost engine requiring engine replacement"

Powertrain & Transmission ODI #11754775
Filed: 08/04/2026
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the torque converter, flex plate, and transmission fluid pump were..."

Powertrain & Transmission ODI #11753663
Filed: 07/30/2026
🔥 Fire Cited 🩹 1 Injury

"I am reporting a catastrophic engine failure and engine-compartment fire involving my 2017 Lincoln MKZ Select, equipped with a 2.0L EcoBoost engine, VIN [XXX]. The vehicle had approximately 99,864 miles when the final failure occurred. Shortly after I purchased the vehicle, the original engine..."

Multi-Year Trend

Complaint History for Lincoln MKZ

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2020)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Lincoln MKZ 80 4 11 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Lincoln MKZ 63 8 7 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Lincoln MKZ Current Page 135 6 4 Current
2018 Lincoln MKZ 32 1 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Lincoln MKZ 19 2 1 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Lincoln MKZ 3 0 1 View 2020 Problems →
Exhaustive System Audit

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Lincoln MKZ

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 41 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Injury Entries Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 51 0 0 2 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 12 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 7 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 7 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 6 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 1 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 3 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 1 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 2 1 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 2 1 1 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS 1 1 0 1 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
EQUIPMENT,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
PARKING BRAKE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 0 0
Search Intelligence

Quick Answers: Common Problems & Reliability Questions for the 2017 Lincoln MKZ

Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2017 Lincoln MKZ

What are the most common reported problems with the 2017 Lincoln MKZ?

In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2017 Lincoln MKZ is Engine & Cooling, appearing in 72 records (53.3% of submitted filings).

Secondary reported categories include Powertrain & Transmission (24) and Brakes & Traction Control (16).

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Is the 2017 Lincoln MKZ a reliable vehicle?

AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 135 consumer defect complaints and 4 safety recall campaigns for the 2017 Lincoln MKZ.

Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.

Source: NHTSA ODI & Safety Recalls Databases

Are there crash, fire, or injury reports associated with the 2017 Lincoln MKZ?

Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2017 Lincoln MKZ, 6 filings cite a crash, 4 cite smoke or fire, and 4 report one or more injuries.

Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Consumer Logs

Has NHTSA formally investigated defects on the 2017 Lincoln MKZ?

NHTSA ODI records list 2 formal defect investigations involving the 2017 Lincoln MKZ (all closed).

Federal defect investigations are formal engineering evaluations opened when safety defect trends emerge, and do not by themselves establish a confirmed defect or mandatory recall.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Registry
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.