1998 LINCOLN TOWN CAR — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 153 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (29 complaints · 19.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 7
  • Fires 7
  • Injuries 3
  • 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 ENGINE appears in 29 of 153 owner complaints (19.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 29 complaints, 19.0% of reports ENGINE 29 · 19.0% · 3 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 17 complaints, 11.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 17 · 11.1% · 3 crash reports SUSPENSION: 16 complaints, 10.5% of reports SUSPENSION 16 · 10.5% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 14 complaints, 9.2% of reports VISIBILITY 14 · 9.2% STEERING: 12 complaints, 7.8% of reports STEERING 12 · 7.8% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 11 complaints, 7.2% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 11 · 7.2% STRUCTURE: 11 complaints, 7.2% of reports STRUCTURE 11 · 7.2% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 9 complaints, 5.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 · 5.9% · 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 7 complaints, 4.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 7 · 4.6% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 115 complaints, 75.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 115 · 75.2% · 6 crash reports 3 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)
ENGINE 29 19.0% 0 crashes · 3 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 17 11.1% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 16 10.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 14 9.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 12 7.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 11 7.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 11 7.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 5.9% 0 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 7 4.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 115 75.2% 6 crashes · 3 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 1998. 1998-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 1999-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 1999-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1998 Jul 2023 Investigation PE98052 ● Investigation PE98052 Investigation EA99010 ● Investigation EA99010 Investigation SQ01014 ● Investigation SQ01014 Investigation DP02007 ● Investigation DP02007 Investigation DP05005 ● Investigation DP05005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q1 Owner reports 6
1998-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 8
1998-Q4 Owner reports 4
1999-Q1 Owner reports 12
1999-Q2 Owner reports 4
1999-Q3 Owner reports 10
1999-Q4 Owner reports 2
2000-Q1 Owner reports 4
2000-Q2 Owner reports 3
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 5
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 3
2002-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 4
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 6
2004-Q1 Owner reports 4
2004-Q2 Owner reports 2
2004-Q3 Owner reports 5
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 6
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 3
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 3
2008-Q2 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 3
2009-Q2 Owner reports 4
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE98052
Defect investigation 1 EA99010
Defect investigation 1 SQ01014
Defect investigation 1 DP02007
Defect investigation 1 DP05005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 153 complaints · page 1 of 7

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 Aug 21, 2026
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