AutoUtility currently tracks 30 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Lincoln MKX. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 9 complaints (30% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 2 filings cite a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 30 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Brakes & Traction Control (9 reports • 30% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Engine & Cooling (5), Electrical System (4)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 2 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Lincoln MKX
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Brakes & Traction Control
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #25V544000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
- Campaign #20V469000 SERVICE BRAKES
Engine & Cooling
Electrical System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #18V548000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Exterior Lighting
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Lincoln MKX
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"I have experienced this issue and it's been 9 months since the first issuance from Ford on this recall. I paid $523 to repair and this is insane since mechanic told me its an OME part so still going to possibly have same issue till recall is handled."
"The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V544000(SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC) However, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair...."
"Faulty catalytic converters. Ford has a CSP for the 2018 Lincoln mkx 3.7L engine and only included police driven Mkx's which is totally unfair when they're well aware that Faulty/failing emissions catalytic converters were installed on all of them and they fail and produce p0430 codes regardless of..."
"My vehicle has had emissions vehicle since before I owned it up to now. The catalytic converter has been replaced 4 times which is unheard of. Its presently giving the same codes/issues. The last catalytic converter replacement was November of 2024. It has to be a computer programming issue as my..."
"The 2018 Lincoln MKX Third Brake Light lens cracked off in 3 pieces while going through the automatic car wash dryer on the evening of Friday March 20, 2026. This appears to be an Engineering design issue."
Complaint History for Lincoln MKX
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2018)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Lincoln MKX | 19 | 1 | 0 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Lincoln MKX | 152 | 6 | 7 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Lincoln MKX | 52 | 0 | 5 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Lincoln MKX Current Page | 30 | 2 | 5 | Current |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Lincoln MKX
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 20 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.