1987 LINCOLN TOWN CAR — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 31 complaints · 6 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (15 complaints · 48.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 14
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1986 →
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 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 15 of 31 owner complaints (48.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 15 complaints, 48.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 48.4% · 1 crash reports 9 fire reports ENGINE: 4 complaints, 12.9% of reports ENGINE 4 · 12.9% · 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 12.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 12.9% · 3 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 6.5% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 6.5% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 6.5% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 6.5% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 3.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 3.2% SERVICE BRAKES: 1 complaints, 3.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 3.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 25 complaints, 80.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 · 80.7% · 1 crash reports 13 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)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 48.4% 1 crashes · 9 fires
ENGINE 4 12.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 12.9% 0 crashes · 3 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 6.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 1 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 80.7% 1 crashes · 13 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 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 1986. 1995-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1986 Jan 2004 Recall campaign 86V142000 ◆ Recall campaign 86V142000 Recall campaign 87V012000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V012000 Recall campaign 87V018000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V018000 Recall campaign 87V139000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V139000 Recall campaign 90V050000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V050000 Recall campaign 90V093000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V093000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 1
1995-Q2 Owner reports 2
1996-Q1 Owner reports 6
1996-Q2 Owner reports 6
1996-Q3 Owner reports 2
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 1
2000-Q1 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q4 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 86V142000
Recall campaign 1 87V012000
Recall campaign 1 87V018000
Recall campaign 1 87V139000
Recall campaign 1 90V050000
Recall campaign 1 90V093000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (6)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 86V142000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    Not available in the source record
    Remedy:
    PROPERLY ROUTE WIRING HARNESSES, AS NECESSARY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V012000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    STEERING CONTROL WOULD BE DIMINISHED, WITH REDUCEDCONTROL OF LEFT WHEEL ONLY AND CONSIDERABLE STEERING WHEEL FREE PLAY.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE STEERING CENTERLINK.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V018000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    DRIVER WOULD EXPERIENCE A CLUNKING NOISE ON TURNS AND ALOOSE FEELING IN THE STEERING WHEEL; STEERING CONTROL WOULD BE MAINTAINED.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE IDLER ARM ASSEMBLY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V139000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    COUPLING COULD DISENGAGE DUE TO FUEL PRESSURE,VIBRATION, AND ENGINE MOVEMENTS; THIS WOULD CAUSE LOSS OF FUEL WHICH, INPRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, CREATES A FIRE RISK.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL RETAINER CLIPS OVER THE COUPLINGS TO PREVENT COUPLING SEPARATION AND FUEL LEAKAGE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V050000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    LACK OF RESTRAINTS COULD CONTRIBUTE TO OTHERWISE PREVENTABLE INJURY AND WOULD NOT COMPLY WITH FMVSS 209 AND 210.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL SAFETY BELTS FOR REAR FACING SEATS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V093000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    VEHICLES DO NOT COMPLY WITH PART 567.
    Remedy:
    ADD COMPLIANCE LABEL.
    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 31 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