1989 LINCOLN TOWN CAR — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 88 complaints · 5 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (42 complaints · 47.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 7
  • Fires 38
  • Injuries 15
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1988 →
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 42 of 88 owner complaints (47.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 42 complaints, 47.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 42 · 47.7% · 1 crash reports 29 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 11 complaints, 12.5% of reports SEAT BELTS 11 · 12.5% · 2 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 11 complaints, 12.5% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 · 12.5% · 2 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 6.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 6.8% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 5 complaints, 5.7% of reports ENGINE 5 · 5.7% · 4 fire reports STEERING: 5 complaints, 5.7% of reports STEERING 5 · 5.7% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports SUSPENSION: 3 complaints, 3.4% of reports SUSPENSION 3 · 3.4% · 1 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 1.1% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 1.1% FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 1.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 1.1% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 67 complaints, 76.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 67 · 76.1% · 4 crash reports 32 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 42 47.7% 1 crashes · 29 fires
SEAT BELTS 11 12.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 12.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 6.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 5 5.7% 0 crashes · 4 fires
STEERING 5 5.7% 1 crashes · 2 fires
SUSPENSION 3 3.4% 0 crashes · 1 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 1.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 1.1% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 67 76.1% 4 crashes · 32 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 Mar 1990. 1995-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1996-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 1996-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1996-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Mar 1990 Jul 2011 Recall campaign 90V050000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V050000 Recall campaign 90V093000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V093000 Recall campaign 90V133000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V133000 Recall campaign 90V134000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V134000 Recall campaign 96V071000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V071000
  • Campaign 96V071000 was reported 472 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 2
1995-Q2 Owner reports 2
1995-Q3 Owner reports 5
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q1 Owner reports 9
1996-Q2 Owner reports 10
1996-Q3 Owner reports 8
1996-Q4 Owner reports 5
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1997-Q2 Owner reports 3
1997-Q3 Owner reports 3
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1998-Q1 Owner reports 4
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 3
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 2
2000-Q1 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q4 Owner reports 2
2001-Q1 Owner reports 3
2001-Q3 Owner reports 4
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 3
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 90V050000
Recall campaign 1 90V093000
Recall campaign 1 90V133000
Recall campaign 1 90V134000
Recall campaign 1 96V071000
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 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 →

  2. 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 →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V133000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    LIMOUSINES WOULD NOT COMPLY WITH FMVSS 110 AND CONSUMERMIGHT UNKNOWINGLY OVERLOAD THE VEHICLE BECAUSE OF PLACARD MISINFORMATION.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL REVISED TIRE PLACARDS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V134000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    VEHICLES WOULD NOT COMPLY WITH 49 CFR PART 567.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL REVISED CERTIFICATION LABELS.
    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 88 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