10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,195 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.

2012 Lincoln MKZ brakes problems

brakes problem

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2012 Lincoln MKZ Owner Comments

problem #13

Apr 282021

MKZ

  • 104,000 miles

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

The ABS system malfunction. All sensors light up and brakes did not work. You could push the brakes to the floor. Very dangerous situatiuon. This is the same ABS malfunction that has been the subject of a Ford recalled of 600, 000 vehicles in the Fusion, and mk's in the years thru 2010 but not 2011 and 2012 which yse the same braking system. This is a unacceptable and dangerous.

- Los Gatos, CA, USA

problem #12

Mar 162021

MKZ

  • 128,200 miles
My wife and son left the house in our Mkz and 1/2 mile down the road the Mkz suddenly lost braking capability. My wife had to steer uphill in order to come to a complete stop. Multiple lights are now displayed on the dashboard including "service advancetrac", "brake", "ABS", and "check brake system". this incident happened without any advance warning of an issue. Research shows that this is a common occurrence for 2011-2012 Mkz/Fusion. There is an active recall for 2009 Mkz/Fusion for this issue that mirrors this scenario exactly. This recall should be expanded to cover 2011 and 2012 models.

- Fort Mill, SC, USA

problem #11

Jan 072021

MKZ

  • 60,200 miles
In January 2021, my vehicle had reached about 60,000 miles. As I was backing out of my driveway, I noticed multiple warning lights on the instrument panel and as I tried to stop the car discovered that the brakes were not working. I pulled the emergency brake handle and stopped the car. Had the car not stopped, I probably would not have avoided going into the street. I turned off and restarted the car but the brakes did not work (after you start the car, the ABS light goes on and then the brake warning light goes on; the brakes only work a little near the floor). The vehicle was taken to the dealer and both the ABS module and hydraulic control unit had to be replaced at a cost of about $3200. I noticed a recall for basically the same thing but the recall only went up to 2010.

- Northridge, CA, USA

problem #10

Oct 022020

MKZ

  • 110,980 miles

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

While driving, alarms dinged and lights popped up in my instrument panel. The warning lights illuminated were: Brake system & parking brake system (or brake system warning?), check brake system, ABS, advancetrac, advancetrac off, throttle control/powertrain, check engine, and press reset to turn off rear parking assist. Pressing my brakes revealed that the warning lights were not all bark and no bite; there was in fact something going on. The pedal was soft, too easy to depress at first. Then it was very difficult to depress and ineffective. Not stopping at all until all the way down. This previously happened on 9/6/2020, but resolved after 2 days. This current incident happened on 10/2/2020 and remains active 5 days later. The service station found no cause previously. The first incident happened right after leaving my home. I was driving about 20mph on a rainy day. The alarms sounded and lights came on, when I attempted to brake for a stop sign is when I discovered the brakes not working properly. The second incident that is continuing began a bit differently. The lights popped up and alarm sounded while driving approximately 45 mph on a sunny, dry day. The check engine light and powertrain light both came on about 2 days later. They came on while sitting at a red light.

- Port St Lucie, FL, USA

problem #9

May 142020

MKZ 4-cyl

  • 33,000 miles
The warning lights for traction control malfunction, ABS malfunction and brake malfunction simultaneously illuminated on the dash, along with warning chimes, and the brakes stopped functioning as designed. The vehicle would not stop with brake pedal application (pedal was soft, far too easy to depress, but ineffective). Car was steered into a residential lawn and emergency hand brake applied to avoid a collision.

- Yuma, AZ, USA

problem #8

Jan 102020

MKZ

  • 105,000 miles
The brake service light comes on periodically as well as the service advance trac message across the dashboard and the brakes don't function properly at this time preventing the vehicle from stopping while driving.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

problem #7

Dec 202019

MKZ

  • 40,450 miles

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

Driving on a local major road the brakes did not work, brakes went low and car would not stop. Pumping did not help. Went through 2 lights. No accident. Took car to service station, they could not find the problem. Car works fine now but I'm worried about it happening again.

- Massapequa, NY, USA

problem #6

Nov 202019

MKZ

  • 53,500 miles
The ABS module in my car failed on 11/20/19. The car had approximately 53,500 miles at the time of failure. The car had been serviced at the dealer five days prior on 11/15/19 including a multi point system inspection and replacement of the recalled air bags. No "warning" or indicator of a problem with the ABS system was identified. When the ABS malfunction indicator lights came on I had just turned the vehicle on and was pulling out of my driveway and so proceeded very slowly down my street (which has a downgrade) only to realize I had lost braking power and had to use my emergency brake to firmly / completely stop. I was towed to the dealer who indicated that there would be no warning in an ABS module failure and so could not have been identified five days prior. The dealer service advisor indicated he was able to stop the car in the service bay when pulling it forward at a low speed on a flat service. Had I been traveling at high speed or in traffic I am concerned this could have resulted in an accident with potential for serious injury or fatality.

- Aliso Viejo, CA, USA

problem #5

Aug 152019

MKZ

  • 58,000 miles
Brake light led assembly has 2 of 3 rows not functioning; Ford extended warranty on 2010 & '11 model year, but not 2012 for this failure. Seems a defect failure Ford has admitted on earlier model years, but does not want to admit it also happens on this model year. Guess they are using left over parts'. lots of pictures of this problem on the web / internet. Passenger / right side brake lights.

- Davie, FL, USA

problem #4

Oct 122019

MKZ

  • 116,200 miles
Two weeks ago I got in my car and drove down to the intersection at the end of my street. When I hit the brake pedal, nothing happened other than the sudden appearance of three dashboard warning lights about brake failure. The car would not stop and continued into the intersection. Before calamity struck, I managed to pull up the parking brake and turn the car into the curb, stopping it.

- Arlington, VA, USA

problem #3

Oct 252018

MKZ

  • 40,000 miles

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

While driving on city streets, brake pedal sinks to the floor when attempting to stop for lights, traffic, stop signs. Stopping distance is longer than expected until brakes finally engage. On highway (50+ mph), pedal sinks for normal stops, and for emergency stops, if you stomp the brakes the pedal sinks and it seems that the ABS does not engage, because there is no noise or vibration.

- Stanfordville, NY, USA

problem #2

Nov 262016

MKZ 6-cyl

  • 42,000 miles
Traveling N on 95 just beyond richmond va on 11/26/16 traffic came to a stop and I was attentive and recognized the need to brake quickly. The car initially slowed but did not respond further to applying brakes. I rear ended a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Major damage to my car - minimal to the Jeep. Airbags did not deploy. I am still confused by what happened - I had time to stop the vehicle but it did not respond. I am 60 years old and a long time city commuter along with having traveled this route regularly since 1979. I cannot help but conclude there was some type of brake malfunction with my 2012 Lincoln Mkz.

- Crofton, MD, USA

problem #1

Nov 042016

MKZ

  • 21,000 miles
I was on a city street making a left turn when I was hit by a barreling car after he hit me once then he backed up and hit me again to push me out of the way he took off then my car accelerated going up curbs the steering an brakes did not work it took two of us to avoid a brick wall after pulling the emergency brake twice it finally stopped with a bang

- Redford, MI, USA

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