3.0

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
46,457 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Lincoln LS electrical problems

electrical problem

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2003 Lincoln LS Owner Comments

problem #7

Nov 032017

LS

  • 75,100 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car goes into fail safe each and every time it is driven. It did so 19 times today. I connected a code reader which identified the problems as being related to the throttle control and the throttle body. I purchased the car 1 1/2 months ago. Prior owner had the throttle body replaced with a new mopar unit 4 months ago/ 2000.miles ago. Don't want to replace it again since this is likely not the problem.

- Salisbury, MD, USA

problem #6

May 312016

LS

  • 80,000 miles
Took transmission for repair. Transmission shop could not load new Lincoln software on new computer module. It has been two weeks at rowlett transmission shop and now the "engine side" of the new computer installed will not clear. Says there in an engine issue now. There was no engine issue before I took it to get the transmission fixed.

- Rowlett, TX, USA

problem #5

Jan 012003

LS

  • 1 miles
Car hesitates on acceleration since it was new. Took the car to the selling dealer and they could not find a problem. The condition got worse. When traveling down the highway the car starts bucking and misfiring. Took the car back to the selling Lincoln dealership (sesi Lincoln Mercury). They dealership said the drivers door needed adjustment. This made no sense to me and did not fix the problem. The car went out of warranty shortly after that. Now check engine light comes on intermittently and car hesitates, bucks, stalls and runs rough, misfires at highway speeds, and mil starts flashing. The cowl plastic piece has a poor seal on it that lets water onto the engine electrical system. Ford issued a technical service bulletin that addresses this issue and Ford admits that seals need to be replaced. This may not be the only problem with this cars electrical system, but it is a big problem. This is a design defect, nothing a customer can do to prevent this. Ford should have recalled these cars and fixed them at no cost. The fact that their dealerships were hiding the real reason for this misfire and not repairing the vehicles under warranty is breech of contract. Ford should be fined and punished and forced to recall and repair all of these cars. I am an ase master mechanic. I teach automotive service technology at the college level. This should not be happening. The car was garage kept and very well maintained, it looks new. I found that # 6 cylinder had a P0306 coil misfire dtc. I had to remove the intake manifold just to see the coil on plug set up on the passenger side bank of engine. Turns out there is poor sealing of the windshield cowl area and water runs directly onto the engine and engine electrical system. The water shorts out the coils, spark plugs, computer and electrical system. The car is not safe to drive. This can happen at any time especially when wet.

- Ypsilanti, MI, USA

problem #4

Apr 092009

LS

  • 78,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car starts and runs rough, then surges forward. Have to hold the brake hard. Car then stalls and gives "etc engine failure". upon restart car will run fine for a while. Dealer cannot identify the problem, as it does not consistently throw a code, replaced the coils

- Medford, NJ, USA

problem #3

May 152010

LS 8-cyl

  • 100 miles
2003 Lincoln Ls V8 etc engine failsafe mode.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

problem #2

Jul 192008

LS

  • 53,000 miles
Myself, and just about all Lincoln Ls owners are having problems with the car computer system. Etc - message cause the car to go into a fail-safe mode. Been to the shop several times but the same problem still exist. On the web it appears all Lincoln Ls are having the same problem. I own a 2003 Lincoln Ls.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #1

Dec 192007

LS 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 39,000 miles
Car has consistently just shut off while driving (roughly 30 times in the last year). Been into the dealer no less than 10 times. Had thousands of dollars of valve covers, coils, plugs gaskets, windshield wiper components replaced. No change. Car will still die whenever it feels like it. Lincoln/Ford could care less, and the dealer and field engineers seem tired of seeing my car. Constant movement of brake pedal in rhythm with windshield wipers. Dealer has tried to fix numerous times and the problem is worse now then when they started. Front brake pads rattle. Dealer says it is a known issue and I should just deal with it. Front seat backs fall down. Dealer and Ford blame my kids being in car seats. Never had a problem before they took seats apart to replace faulty seat heater. The transmission is awful. Been reprogrammed 3 times and new servos installed. Still does not shift smoothly, and very erratic. Shifts when it shouldn't and does not shift when it should. Car stalled and activated the alarm horn honking, lights blinking in the middle of an intersection. Car restarted. Next day car had dead battery and would not start. Could not even jump it as there was no power to open trunk and lock cylinder was frozen due to lack of use. Batery in trunk!! wheels had to be balanced 3 times then force balanced to remove excessive vibration. All at my expense had leaky reverse light replaced by dealer now have some piece of a fastener floating around inside the deck lid rattling. Clips for E brake are always broken and apparently 180 bucks to fix.

- Bettendorf, IA, USA

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