1999 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 42 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: SUSPENSION (11 complaints · 26.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 6
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1998 →
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 SUSPENSION appears in 11 of 42 owner complaints (26.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SUSPENSION: 11 complaints, 26.2% of reports SUSPENSION 11 · 26.2% AIR BAGS: 9 complaints, 21.4% of reports AIR BAGS 9 · 21.4% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 5 complaints, 11.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 5 · 11.9% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 4 complaints, 9.5% of reports ENGINE 4 · 9.5% · 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 4 complaints, 9.5% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 9.5% · 3 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 4.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 4.8% POWER TRAIN: 2 complaints, 4.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 2 · 4.8% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 2 complaints, 4.8% of reports STEERING 2 · 4.8% FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 2.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 2.4% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 29 complaints, 69.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 29 · 69.1% · 2 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)
SUSPENSION 11 26.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 9 21.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 5 11.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 4 9.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 9.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 2 4.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 2.4% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 29 69.1% 2 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 Jan 1999; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 1998. 1999-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1998 Apr 2016 Recall campaign 98V269000 ◆ Recall campaign 98V269000 Recall campaign 03V144000 ◆ Recall campaign 03V144000 Recall campaign 16E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 16E026000 Investigation PE00042 ● Investigation PE00042 Investigation EA01012 ● Investigation EA01012
  • Campaign 03V144000 was reported 1,384 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 16E026000 was reported 5,496 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1999-Q1 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q4 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 4
2001-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 98V269000
Recall campaign 1 03V144000
Recall campaign 1 16E026000
Defect investigation 1 PE00042
Defect investigation 1 EA01012
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 03V144000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    Not available in the source record
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL RECALIBRATE THE AIR BAG SENSORS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MARCH 31, 2003. OWNERS MAY CONTACT LINCOLN AT 1-800-521-4140.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. 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 →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V269000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE CAN RESULT IN FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL RAIL WITH A REVISED FUEL RAIL ASSEMBLY.
    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 42 complaints · page 1 of 2

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