1998 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 70 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL (12 complaints · 17.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 4
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1997 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL appears in 12 of 70 owner complaints (17.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 12 complaints, 17.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 · 17.1% · 4 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 11 complaints, 15.7% of reports ENGINE 11 · 15.7% · 1 fire reports VISIBILITY: 7 complaints, 10.0% of reports VISIBILITY 7 · 10.0% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 8.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 8.6% POWER TRAIN: 5 complaints, 7.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 5 · 7.1% AIR BAGS: 4 complaints, 5.7% of reports AIR BAGS 4 · 5.7% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 4 complaints, 5.7% of reports STRUCTURE 4 · 5.7% SEAT BELTS: 3 complaints, 4.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 3 · 4.3% STEERING: 3 complaints, 4.3% of reports STEERING 3 · 4.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 47 complaints, 67.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 47 · 67.1% · 4 crash reports 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 17.1% 4 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 11 15.7% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VISIBILITY 7 10.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 8.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 5 7.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 4 5.7% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 4 5.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 3 4.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 3 4.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 47 67.1% 4 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1998; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 1998. 1998-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2000-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Feb 1998 Apr 2016 Recall campaign 98V028000 ◆ Recall campaign 98V028000 Recall campaign 16E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 16E026000
  • Campaign 16E026000 was reported 6,031 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q2 Owner reports 4
1998-Q3 Owner reports 4
1998-Q4 Owner reports 5
1999-Q1 Owner reports 3
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 7
2000-Q1 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2000-Q4 Owner reports 3
2001-Q1 Owner reports 2
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 2
2003-Q3 Owner reports 3
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 3
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 3
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 98V028000
Recall campaign 1 16E026000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16E026000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    A damaged or broken brake disc may reduce a vehicle's braking power, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Bosch will instruct the owners how to have the affected brake pads replaced, free of charge. The recall began on May 26, 2016. Owners may contact Bosch customer service at 1-888-715-3616.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V028000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    IF THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLIES ARE REPLACED, CUSTOMERS MAY BE CONFUSED BY THE AIMING INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED IN THE OWNER GUIDES CAUSING THE HEADLAMPS TO BE IMPROPERLY AIMED.
    Remedy:
    OWNER GUIDES CONTAINING REVISED AIMING INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE MAILED TO OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 70 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources