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SteeringPart report

2016 Lincoln MKZ Steering Problems

Complaints
12about this part
Share
19%of 64 total for the year
Median mileage
53,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 12 complaints about the steering of the 2016 Lincoln MKZ, 19% of the 64 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 53,000 miles. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I was driving on the freeway when the steering on my car became very difficult and “wobbly”. It was hard to keep it going straight. I knew something was wrong and when I got home, I told my husband to check my tires. The next morning I was told that my tires were fine but when we got into the car, this time I got 4 errors regarding the drive control and steering assist fault. The steering wheel was locked and the car was unable to be driven.”

NHTSA complaint #11513426, filed 2023-03

“Owner of 2016 MKZ Hybrid 65870 miles Loss of electronic power steering and Advance Trac Soon after replacement of Bolt under recall 19R02 I heard friction/grinding when turning steering wheel. Oct 1, 2021 I contacted Parks Lincoln of Tampa for a diagnostic and they told me the steering rack assembly would need to be replaced. On November 6,2021 I lost physical steering ability. I had my car towed to dealership, needed to replace the steering gear box assembly, 2 tie rods, and an alignment for $4156. …”

NHTSA complaint #11443082, filed 2021-12

“UNKNOWN - When I'm driving at a lower speed, I will feel a bounce back in the brake or gas pedal and will receive 4 different alerts on my dashboard (hill start unavailable, service auto trac and a couple others). Once this happens, I loose power steering and it becomes difficult to turn my wheel. At times, this will happen when I am reversing and caused my car to go into neutral on it's own. When I tried to go into reverse or drive, it wouldn't switch. The emergency brakes wouldn't come off when the tow truck man tried to tow it. …”

NHTSA complaint #11471097, filed 2022-06

“Our power steering went out while driving into town. I'm lucky my husband was driving because it was so hard to turn the car to get to a safe location. Honolulu Ford stated we have a faulty steering rack and there is a recall for this issue 19V632000 but our car is not on the recall because the state we purchased is not listed. We purchased the car in Alaska and we currently live in Hawaii. We now have to pay $3600 dollars to have the car fixed. Since there is a recall in the system for the same exact problem that happened why are we paying to fix our car? …”

NHTSA complaint #11433094, filed 2021-09

“The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became loose, and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact stated that the front end made an abnormal humming sound. The vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist functionality. The contact pulled over, and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. …”

NHTSA complaint #11726289, filed 2026-03, 110,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Steering: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2019314%
201764%
20161219%
2015810%
20142526%
20131615%
20122014%
20111913%
201011%
200933%
200810%

Other parts of the 2016 Lincoln MKZ

Brakes
14 complaints
Electrical system
11 complaints
Air bags
9 complaints
Engine
6 complaints
Other or unknown
6 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
5 complaints
Seat belts
3 complaints
Wheels
3 complaints
Fuel system
2 complaints
Latches, locks and linkages
2 complaints
Body and structure
2 complaints
Engine cooling
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2016 Lincoln MKZ

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology