2007 Lincoln Town CAR Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe unintended acceleration: the car surging or lurching forward while the brake pedal is pressed, sometimes at low speed in parking lots and sometimes on the highway. Complaints about steering — stiffness, wandering, and in a few cases loss of assist or a broken shaft — also appear, usually on higher-mileage cars, and several owners tie them to steering recalls and service bulletins. A smaller group reports brake pedal feel and vibration problems and air bag or seat belt warnings where bags did not deploy in a crash.

1. 1
   Vehicle speed control

   Unintended acceleration when braking

   • 30 complaints (36%)
   • median 42,000 mi at 3.7 yrs old (23 state mileage)
   • 12 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2007–2025

   Owners describe the car surging or lurching forward while they are pressing the brake, often at low speed when pulling into a parking space or a driveway, and occasionally at highway speed. Many say they had to stand on the pedal with both feet, shift to neutral, or turn the key off to stop it, and some reports involve a crash. According to the complaints, dealers typically could not duplicate the issue, replaced transmission parts or ignition coils in a few cases, or told owners the accelerator must have been pressed by mistake. Reported across a wide mileage range, from a few thousand miles up to over 200,000, with many reports under 40,000 miles and incidents often at low speed or while braking.

   What to check: Drive the car at low speed in a lot and on an open road and note any surge or pedal that pushes back; ask the seller whether the throttle body, pedal assembly or transmission has ever been inspected for this. Have a mechanic check for stored codes before buying.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Pulling into parking space left turn applied brakes and engine began accelerating hit snow bank. Second time I was going to pull into my community again left hand turn pulled into center lane applied brakes engine started racing got off brakes applied again and was ok. Someone has to fix this before injury occurs.”

   NHTSA complaint #10683509, filed 2015-02, 61,000 miles

   “I was stopped and entering a turn. There was no ice on the pavement. As I turned left the car accelerated and the brakes became unresponsive. The car spun and hit a fire hydrant. This car at other times as suddenly accelerated, but I was always able to apply the brakes and it calmed down in a few seconds.”

   NHTSA complaint #10499578, filed 2013-02, 29,000 miles
2. 2
   Steering

   Steering stiffness, wander or loss of assist

   • 13 complaints (15%)
   • median 147,224 mi at 10.0 yrs old (9 state mileage, few)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2013–2023

   Complaints describe the steering wheel becoming very stiff and hard to turn, the car wandering so it could not be held in a lane, a rattling or snapping noise from the column, and in a few cases the wheel coming loose or the shaft separating. Several owners say the car was repaired under a steering recall and the problem returned later, or that their vehicle was not covered. Dealers often could not find a cause, and some owners were told the repair was not available in their state. Mostly reported on higher-mileage cars, from roughly 40,000 miles up to beyond 200,000, and often tied to older vehicles in corrosion-prone areas.

   Recall 14V704000Recall 13V3850004 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask for the VIN and confirm with a dealer whether recalls 13V385 and 14V704 were completed, and whether the car spent time in a corrosion-state region. Turn the wheel lock to lock while parked and listen for noise or binding.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I lost complete control of steering of my Lincoln while driving ( no steering whatsoever) and fortunately the direction of the car was heading toward the shoulder of the turnpike. And I got off the road onto shoulder. Scary!! This car was recalled twice for the steering shaft and was to have been repaired. Or was it!?? This could have been a major accident, with loss of steering!! Ford needs to stand behind this incident and cover the cost of repairs!! …”

   NHTSA complaint #11365726, filed 2020-10, 100,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2007 Lincoln Town Car. While driving at approximately 40 MPH, the steering wheel became very stiff and made it difficult to steer the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The steering shaft was replaced, but the failure recurred. It was unknown who performed the repairs on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 286,000.”

   NHTSA complaint #10785982, filed 2015-10, 286,000 miles
3. 3
   Air bags

   Air bag and seat belt warnings, no deployment

   • 12 complaints (14%)
   • median 70,000 mi at 6.8 yrs old (9 state mileage, few)
   • 8 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2007–2022

   Complaints describe the air bag light staying on, seat belt warning lights coming on with no passenger present, and seat belts that would not lock or retract. Some owners report that after a front-end collision the bags did not deploy. In one case a dealer linked the air bag light to a failed seat belt retractor. Reported from about 48,000 to 100,000 miles, often after a collision or when a warning light appeared in normal use.

   What to check: Turn the key on and confirm the air bag light cycles and then goes out; pull on each belt to check it locks and retracts. Ask whether the car has been in a collision and whether the seat belt pretensioners were replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was recently in a car accident in baltimore, md. And when I got hit my air bags didn't deploy even though my car took a huge hit to the front drivers side. I would like to find out why this didn't happen.”

   NHTSA complaint #10463115, filed 2012-06, 100,000 miles

   “Had an accident and as a result the airbag notification light stays on. Light suppose to indicate that the airbag inflated. It did not inflate during accident. Accident was on a city street and it was in motion.”

   NHTSA complaint #11020495, filed 2017-08, 70,000 miles
4. 4
   Brakes

   Brake pedal feel, vibration and long stopping

   • 10 complaints (12%)
   • median 18,528 mi at 1.9 yrs old (8 state mileage, few)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2008–2024

   Owners describe the brake pedal travelling down too far and meeting the accelerator pedal, the car shaking violently under braking, and stopping distance that felt much longer than expected. Some say the brake pedal pushed back under their foot as the engine revved. Complaints describe dealers keeping the car for extended periods and reporting they could not duplicate the concern. Reported from very low mileage, in some cases under 2,000 miles, up to about 60,000 miles.

   What to check: Test the brakes from speed on an empty road and feel for pulsation or a long pedal; check pedal spacing and whether the floor mat can slide under the pedals. Ask when pads, rotors and fluid were last serviced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I purchased the 2007 towncar on 6/24/08, with 14,500 miles. The problem occurs when my shoe is half on the brake and the pedal will go down to where the gas pedal is. This has happened 6 or 7 time already, the harder you press the brake the faster you go. Why does the brake pedal go down this far? My wife gets all shook up when this happens. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10240252, filed 2008-08, 1,520 miles

   “Over the year and half we have owned the car, the brakes have failed and bringing the car to a stop is very difficult. After a lengthy battle we the dealership and also ford, they stand by the fact that nothing is wrong. They had the car almost 3 months and they could not duplicate the problem, so there is no problem, according to them.”

   NHTSA complaint #10238017, filed 2008-08, 12,056 miles

Buying note. These cars are old, so condition and service history matter more than the model's reputation: confirm the steering recalls were completed for the VIN and have a mechanic inspect the steering shaft, brakes and throttle response on a test drive. Check the carpets for water intrusion and verify that the air bag and seat belt warning lights behave normally.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.