IllustrationTHE RUDDER OF MY VEHICLE GETS VERY HARD, AND WHEN I DRIVE IT SEEMS THAT THE WHEELS OF STEERING DO NOT HAVE STABILITY, IT SEEMS A PROBLEM OF THE POWER STEERING.
2011 Lincoln Mks
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2011 Lincoln Mks do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 43.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Mks years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
70–25K
625–50K
650–75K
275–100K
6100–150K
2150K+
29 reports with mileage · 14 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
3 crash reports1 fire reports2 injury reports
What owners actually said
43 reportsI HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY 2011 LINCOLN MKS. I SMELL EXHAUST OR GAS FUMES IN THE CABIN WHEN DRIVING. THE SMELL IS GIVING ME HEADACHES. WHEN I CHECK UNDER THE HOOD I DON'T GET THE SMELL. PLUS THE SMELL IS STRONGER WHEN I PUT THE AIR FLOW ON RECIRCULATION. I'M NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR. HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY OTHER COMPLAINS ABOUT F…
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I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY 2011 LINCOLN MKS. I SMELL EXHAUST OR GAS FUMES IN THE CABIN WHEN DRIVING. THE SMELL IS GIVING ME HEADACHES. WHEN I CHECK UNDER THE HOOD I DON'T GET THE SMELL. PLUS THE SMELL IS STRONGER WHEN I PUT THE AIR FLOW ON RECIRCULATION. I'M NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR. HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY OTHER COMPLAINS ABOUT FUMES IN THIS VEHICLES? THANKS FOR YOUR HELP WITH THIS ISSUE.
WHEN PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT GOING UNDER 5 MPH AND COMING TO A STOP, THE CAR SURGED FORWARD JUMPING THE SIDEWALK AND CRASHING INTO A CEMENT PATIO TABLE AND BENCH. SMOKE APPEARED AND RADIATOR FLUID WAS LEAKING.
STEERING IS HARD TO CONTROL. TOOK IT TO AUTO REPAIR, GAVE ME CODES THAT MATCH RECALL CODES. TECHNITION SAID THE WHOLE POWER STEERING SYSTEM MUST BE REPLACED
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AT 70MPH AND THE POWER STEERING WENT COMPLETELY OUT. A MESSAGE POPPED UP ON THE DASH STATING "SERVICE POWER STEERING NOW". I WAS UNABLE TO MOVE THE VEHICLE OFF OF THE INTERSTATE. I SAW A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE FOR THE YEAR MAKE AND MODEL OF THIS VEHICLE BUT AM ENRAGED THAT WHEN I CHECK THE VIN I…
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I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AT 70MPH AND THE POWER STEERING WENT COMPLETELY OUT. A MESSAGE POPPED UP ON THE DASH STATING "SERVICE POWER STEERING NOW". I WAS UNABLE TO MOVE THE VEHICLE OFF OF THE INTERSTATE. I SAW A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE FOR THE YEAR MAKE AND MODEL OF THIS VEHICLE BUT AM ENRAGED THAT WHEN I CHECK THE VIN IT COMES UP WITH NO RECALL. OBVIOUSLY THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE PRODUCT AND WILL NOT BE COVERED ON THE CURRENT RECALL. THIS REPAIR ROUGHLY WILL COST 2200.00 DOLLARS PER THE LOCAL DEALER.
VEHICLE PARKED AT RESTAURANT, WHEN CAME BACK OUT THE DOORS WERE UNLOCKED, THE WINDOWS WERE DOWN AND THE SUNROOF WAS OPEN. THIS HAS HAPPENED THREE DIFFERENT TIMES.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LINCOLN MKS. WHILE PULLING OUT OF A PARKING LOT AT 20 MPH, THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE DOOR OPENED INDEPENDENTLY AND THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR OPEN WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 68,000.
RECENTLY, THIS CAR STARTED INTERMITTENTLY DISPLAYING THE "POWER STEERING ASSIST FAULT" CODE AND AT THE SAME TIME THE STEERING WOULD SEIZE UP WHEN IN MOTION. THIS HAS NOW HAPPENED TWICE WITHIN THE LAST 2 WEEKS. ON INVESTIGATION, 2011 LINCOLN MKS VEHICLES WITH THE 3.5L GTDI ENGINE (MY VEHICLE) WERE SUPPOSED TO BE COVERED BY RECA…
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RECENTLY, THIS CAR STARTED INTERMITTENTLY DISPLAYING THE "POWER STEERING ASSIST FAULT" CODE AND AT THE SAME TIME THE STEERING WOULD SEIZE UP WHEN IN MOTION. THIS HAS NOW HAPPENED TWICE WITHIN THE LAST 2 WEEKS. ON INVESTIGATION, 2011 LINCOLN MKS VEHICLES WITH THE 3.5L GTDI ENGINE (MY VEHICLE) WERE SUPPOSED TO BE COVERED BY RECALL 15S18 WHICH ADDRESSES THIS EXACT SAFETY SITUATION. WHEN I CALLED BOTH THE FORD DEALER AND THE FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE, THEY INDICATED THIS VIN IS NOT COVERED AND THAT THEY COULD DO A DIAGNOSTIC CHECK AT THE DEALERSHIP BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD IT BE COVERED (TRANSLATION--I GET TO PAY FOR ANY REPAIR). IT IS CLEARLY NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. HOW CAN FORD JUSTIFY NOT COVERING THIS CAR WHEN THE RECALL WAS QUITE LARGE IN SCOPE AND CARS OF THE SAME YEAR, SAME MODEL, SAME ENGINE WERE SPECIFIED IN THE RECALL? THANKS! *TR
TAKATA RECALL: I RECEIVED A NOTICE THAT MY CAR IS INVOLVED IN THE MASSIVE TAKATA RECALL A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, AND HERE IT IS SEPTEMBER, AND I HAVEN'T BEEN CONTACTED TO GET THIS CORRECTED. THE RISK OF METAL FRAGMENTS HITTING A PASSENGER IS UNSETTLING TO SAY THE LEAST. WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG TO GET RECTIFIED? GOD FORBID I…
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TAKATA RECALL: I RECEIVED A NOTICE THAT MY CAR IS INVOLVED IN THE MASSIVE TAKATA RECALL A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, AND HERE IT IS SEPTEMBER, AND I HAVEN'T BEEN CONTACTED TO GET THIS CORRECTED. THE RISK OF METAL FRAGMENTS HITTING A PASSENGER IS UNSETTLING TO SAY THE LEAST. WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG TO GET RECTIFIED? GOD FORBID I AM INVOLVED IN A FRONT END COLLISION WITH A PASSENGER. PLEASE ADVISE AS TO WHEN I CAN EXPECT THIS TO BE RESOLVED. THANKS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LINCOLN MKS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH AND MAKING A RIGHT TURN, THE VEHICLE STALLED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO RESTART AFTER THREE ATTEMPTS. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON ONE OTHER OCCASION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED OR DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT …
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LINCOLN MKS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH AND MAKING A RIGHT TURN, THE VEHICLE STALLED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO RESTART AFTER THREE ATTEMPTS. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON ONE OTHER OCCASION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED OR DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,000.
Official recalls
316V247000 · Air Bags:frontal
Apr 26, 2016
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ford Flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008 Mercury Sable, 2009 and 2011 Lincoln MKS vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the driver's frontal air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on June 13, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C06.
15V340000 · Steering:electric Power Assist System
Jun 2, 2015
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.
15V040000 · Structure:body:door
Jan 28, 2015
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Ford Taurus vehicles manufactured December 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010, and 2011-2013 Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured June 1, 2011, to October 31, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the interior door handle return spring may unseat, resulting in interior door handle that does not return to the fully stowed position after actuation.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the interior door handle return spring is unseated, the door may unlatch in the event of a side impact crash, increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four of the interior door handles and either repair or replace them, free of charge. The recall began March 23, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S02.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.