2010 Lincoln MKZ: problems, recalls and reliability
9 recalls and 169 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (55% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall Mar 2021
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 169 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the ABS and the Traction Control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the ABS had failed and needed to be replaced. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed and the contact was advised that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.”Owner report · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · Aug 2025
“The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, several unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, on several occasions, while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed, and the brake pedal remained on the floorboard. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ABS system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was determined that the ABS system and the HECU needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.”Owner report · Service Brakes, Air · Jan 2024
“The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to slow as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the brake hoses and brake caliper hoses needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 116,000.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Aug 2023
Show 7 more owner reports
“The brake pedal had a long travel before brakes would apply. I was not able to operate my vehicle without concern for myself and others since brakes did not react quickly. It required a flush of the brake fluid and replacement of the ABS brake module. I believe this type of incident was part of a recall on the 2010 Lincoln MKZ. I never received any notice of a recall from Ford and had to pay to replace these defective parts.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Apr 2023
“The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while the brake pedal was depressed, he had to apply pressure to the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that either the master cylinder or the interlock brake box failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V904000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was transferred to the dealer, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 173,270.”Owner report · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · Jan 2023
“Wrench light came on a few times when I checked it the codes were p2135 and p0122 and p1576 car didnt accelerate It happen again one time and then it was letting me accelerate but it was very limited”Owner report · Engine · Oct 2021
“I traded in this 2010 Lincoln MKZ on November 24, 2018 at Classic Acura in Beaumont, Texas. Since that time I have contacted both Lincoln Motor Company by phone and email plus Kinsel Ford-Lincoln of Beaumont, Texas in person and by phone. These contacts were done multiple times and today I received another recall notice (19S54-ABS HCU Valve Concern (17X29) on the 2010 Lincoln that I no longer own. has not been keeping whoever is the new owner of the 2010 Lincoln MKZ advised of recalls.”Owner report · Electrical System · Aug 2021
“Receved a safety recall notice letter. I need a rental car or loaner car from dearership for my own safety while I await the repair of my defected driver side air bag. My vehicle is not safe to drive at this point.”Owner report · Air Bags · Apr 2021
“Takata recall. The contact owns a 2010 Lincoln MKZ. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V158000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.”Owner report · Air Bags · Mar 2021
“ABS went off and now pedal wants to go to the floor before stopping. You can feel it grab right away and then fade away. This model has a ABS valve recall but my VIN is not pulling it up.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Mar 2021
When filing, owners marked a crash in 14 of these complaints and injuries in 10 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 9 campaigns
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ vehicles that previously received a replacement passenger air bag under recall 16V-384, 17V-024 or 18V-046. In the event of a crash requiring deployment of the passenger air bag, the bracket that secures the air bag inflator to the module housing may deform, allowing the gas that inflates the air bag to leak out.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 21, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S34.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles and 2005-2008 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Any vehicle not included in "Zone A", or "Zone B" is not included in the safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Ford mailed interim letters informing owners that parts are not yet available on July 15, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain all weather driver side accessory floor mats sold for use in model year 2006-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, 2006 Lincoln Zephyr, and 2007-2011 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured November 9, 2007, through October 31, 2010. The affected floor mats may move and possibly interfere with the accelerator pedal.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install new replacement mats, free of charge. The recall began in July 2014. Owners may contact Ford's customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S07. NOTE: Vehicles built after October 31, 2010, while potentially equipped with the same floor mats, are equipped with a Brake Over Accelerator (BOA) feature that prevents simultaneous accelerator and brake application, allowing the vehicle to be safely stopped by pressing firmly and steadily on the brake pedal.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr, Lincoln MKZ, 2006-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, and Lincoln MKX vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side airbag inflator or module with an alternate one, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 9, 2021 for the passenger side, and November 14, 2022 for the driver side. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S12.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles and 2011-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Ford is also recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2010-2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, and 2010-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall 19S01.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge, Fusion, Mustang and Ranger, Lincoln MKX and Zephyr/MKZ, and Mercury Milan vehicles ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Ford is also recalling certain 2009 Ford Edge, Fusion, Mustang and Ranger, Lincoln MKX and Zephyr/MKZ, and Mercury Milan vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain air bag inflator and/or module replacement service parts that may have been used as part of a collision repair. The parts include certain driver-side air bag inflators and/or modules, designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang and Mustang GT500. It also includes certain passenger-side air bag inflators and/or modules designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang, 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion, 2010-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2011 Ford Ranger, and 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX vehicles. Please see Ford's recall report for the specific part numbers. These parts may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify dealers that purchased the affected parts, and dealers will provide replacement parts to purchasers, free of charge. The recall began March 18, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2006-2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles. The valves within the ABS Hydraulic Control Units (HCU) may react with brake fluids containing specific corrosion preventative additives. This reaction may cause the valves to not close properly.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will flush the brake system with DOT 4 fluid and install a new brake fluid reservoir cap. In addition, the HCU will be tested to detect a possible stuck valve condition, replacing the HCU as necessary. All services will be performed free of charge. The recall began April 1, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S54.
Trouble codes owners mention
OBD-II codes that appear in NHTSA complaints about this car.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2010 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact MKZ by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2010 Lincoln MKZ reliable?
NHTSA has 169 owner complaints and 9 recall campaigns on record for the 2010 Lincoln MKZ. The most complained-about area is air bags (55% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2010 Lincoln MKZ problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 72,233 miles or less.
Does the 2010 Lincoln MKZ have open recalls?
9 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.