2003 Lincoln LS problems
Owners have filed 113 complaints about the 2003 Lincoln LS with NHTSA. Power train accounts for 18.6% of them — the clear leader, ahead of electrical system at 10.6%.
Complaints113
Crashes3
Fires0
Injuries3
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Power train 18.6% · 21
Electrical system 10.6% · 12
Engine and engine cooling 7.1% · 8
Suspension 7.1% · 8
Vehicle speed control 6.2% · 7
Engine 6.2% · 7
Air bags 5.3% · 6
Steering 5.3% · 6
Severity
Of those complaints, 3 describe a crash and 3 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 6 model years of the Lincoln LS in this data, 2003 draws comparatively few complaints; 2000 is the outlier year.
Filings are rising — 12 in the last three years against 10 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 58,778 miles.
In owners' own words
Spark knock under load (passing or from 0) occurs with low rpm and high rpm under loads currently told to wait until Lincoln finds a fix since they have never heard or dealt with this problem before. Transmission has had repairs done also. Shifting has gotten better since reprogramming of computor. Since this is a unique problem to this vehicle complaints are not taken too seriously by Lincoln of canada. Power train
The contact owns a 2003 Lincoln LS. While driving various speeds, the gear shifter became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to autofarm ford Lincoln (221 mall rd, logansport, in 46947, 574-753-6294) where it was diagnosed that the cycloid patch failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000. Power train · reported at 170,000 miles
Repeated failure of left rear wheel bearing and left differential seal. Dealership has replaced wheel bearing and seal 2x, second time replaced left axle shaft also. First indication of problem is odor of gear oil leaking from differential, particularly after highway driving. Noticed it again today, (3/15/08) will be returning to dealer asap. Power train · reported at 66,400 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…