1988 LINCOLN TOWN CAR — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 93 complaints · 5 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (36 complaints · 38.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 31
  • Injuries 10
  • Deaths 3
Compare with 1987 →
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 36 of 93 owner complaints (38.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 36 complaints, 38.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 36 · 38.7% · 25 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 14 complaints, 15.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 14 · 15.1% · 4 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 8 complaints, 8.6% of reports ENGINE 8 · 8.6% · 4 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 6.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 6 · 6.5% POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 6.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 6.5% · 1 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 6 complaints, 6.5% of reports SEAT BELTS 6 · 6.5% STRUCTURE: 4 complaints, 4.3% of reports STRUCTURE 4 · 4.3% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 2.2% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 2.2% SERVICE BRAKES: 2 complaints, 2.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 2.2% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 69 complaints, 74.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 69 · 74.2% · 3 crash reports 27 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 36 38.7% 0 crashes · 25 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 14 15.1% 4 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 8 8.6% 0 crashes · 4 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 6 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 6.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 6 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 4 4.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 2 2.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 69 74.2% 3 crashes · 27 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 Aug 1987. 1995-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1995-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 1996-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 1996-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1997-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Aug 1987 Jul 2017 Recall campaign 87V131000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V131000 Recall campaign 87V139000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V139000 Recall campaign 90V050000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V050000 Recall campaign 90V093000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V093000 Recall campaign 96V071000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V071000 Investigation PE89100 ● Investigation PE89100 Investigation DP99004 ● Investigation DP99004
  • Campaign 96V071000 was reported 478 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 5
1995-Q2 Owner reports 3
1995-Q4 Owner reports 2
1996-Q1 Owner reports 3
1996-Q2 Owner reports 21
1996-Q3 Owner reports 11
1996-Q4 Owner reports 6
1997-Q1 Owner reports 5
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
1997-Q4 Owner reports 2
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 4
2000-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 87V131000
Recall campaign 1 87V139000
Recall campaign 1 90V050000
Recall campaign 1 90V093000
Recall campaign 1 96V071000
Defect investigation 1 PE89100
Defect investigation 1 DP99004
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (5)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V131000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    BENT FUEL RAIL COULD CAUSE A FUEL LEAK, WHICH INPRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE FIRE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE FUEL RAIL ASSEMBLIES AS NECESSARY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. 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 →

  3. 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 →

  4. 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 →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V071000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE OVERHEATING, SMOKE, AND POSSIBLY FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMN AREA OF THE VEHICLE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.
    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 93 complaints · page 1 of 4

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