Reliable Auto DB

2013 Lincoln MKT reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 69 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Lincoln MKT over 14 years — 4 per year. That is more complaints per year than most MKT years here — over the median of the other years, which is 1. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Rear, Fuel pump, and Fuel system, gasoline.

2012 Lincoln MKT
Photo by Kevauto, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

69

Per year

4

Recalls

7

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Steering (31 of 69), then Fuel and propulsion system (9) and Electrical system (7). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash and 2 that report a fire.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 MKT has 27 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2014 has 54 complaints, 4 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Lincoln MKT. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (7)

Recall suspension, rear 2020-02-10 · NHTSA campaign 20V072000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Lincoln MKT and Ford Flex and Taurus vehicles with the Police Interceptor or SHO Performance Pack. The rear suspension toe links may fracture due to stress on the rear suspension.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links, free of charge. Remedy parts are not currently available. Owners were notified about the recall on March 3, 2020. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts become available, which is currently expected to be the end of September 2020. The recall began October 28, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or Lincoln customer service at 1-800-521-4140. Ford's number for this recall is 20S04.
Recall Fuel pump 2016-08-25 · NHTSA campaign 16V621000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI Ecoboost engines and 2013-2015 Ford Taurus Police Interceptor vehicles. A component within the fuel pump electric module (PEM) may overheat causing a loss of electrical power to the fuel pump.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fuel PEM part number and replace the fuel PEM, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 1, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S31.
Recall Fuel system, gasoline 2015-12-02 · NHTSA campaign 15V812000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013 Explorer, Explorer Police Utility, Taurus, Taurus Police Interceptor, Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the fuel delivery module may crack, allowing fuel to leak.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel delivery module, free of charge. The recall began on December 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 13S04-S1.
Recall Electric power steering 2015-06-02 · NHTSA campaign 15V340000
Summary 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.
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.
Recall Electrical system 2015-03-24 · NHTSA campaign 15V172000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Lincoln MKT vehicles with a limousine or hearse preparation package, manufactured March 6, 2012, to March 10, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the vacuum pump relay may overheat due to an internal fault or contamination.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the vacuum pump relay with a new electro-mechanical relay, free of charge. The recall began on July 6, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S10.
Recall powertrain, axle assembly, axle shaft 2014-07-02 · NHTSA campaign 14V393000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles manufactured September 2, 2010, to November 30, 2013; 2013-2014 Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured August 25, 2011, to November 30, 2013; and 2013-2014 Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT vehicles manufactured September 12, 2011, to November 30, 2013. In the affected vehicles, the halfshaft retention circlip may not have been properly installed, and as a result, the halfshaft may move outward and disengage from the linkshaft while driving and without prior warning.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles to make sure that the halfshaft is properly retained. If it is not, dealers will replace the linkshaft and also replace the halfshaft if it shows evidence of spline damage, free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S10.
Recall Fuel system, gasoline 2013-05-31 · NHTSA campaign 13V227000
Summary Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 Explorer, Taurus, Flex, Fusion, Police Interceptor Sedan and Police Interceptor Utility vehicles; and certain model year 2013 Lincoln MKS, MKT, and MKZ vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the fuel delivery module may develop a crack, allowing fuel to leak.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel delivery module, free of charge. The recall began on July 20, 2013. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall campaign number is 13S04.

Complaints by component (69 total)

Steering
31
Fuel and propulsion system
9
Electrical system
7
Structure
6
Suspension
6
Exterior lighting
4
Visibility and wipers
4
Fuel system, gasoline
3
Engine
2
Lane departure
2
Powertrain
2
Adaptive and mobility equipment
1
Back-over prevention
1
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
Seat belts
1
Service brakes
1
Visibility
1
Show 9 more Show less
Crash-flagged

1

Fire-flagged

2

Injury reports

0

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

12012120134201452015520166201732018520191220207202182022420234202442025
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "B and C pillar trim panels have come loose requiring replacement when they fall off. One completely detached while I was driving on the interstate and was run over by a vehicle behind me."
    Structure · filed 2025-11-04
  • "Rear camera requires replacement approx. every 3 years Images start getting reversed or upside down, then very grainy and then the camera completely fails altogether. When the camera fails you get a warning stating "…"
    Visibility and wipers, Back-over prevention · filed 2025-11-04
  • "I own a 2013 Lincoln MKT (VIN: [XXX] ). The backup camera intermittently fails when the vehicle is placed in reverse. The screen will either go completely black or show a distorted/blurred image, and it happens…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2025-10-31
  • "Both rear driver and passenger side toe links were replaced at Colonial Ford in Connecticut due to the recall. The driver side is fine, the defective part installed at Colonial Ford is the passenger side. This should be…"
    Suspension · filed 2025-07-29
  • "I purchased a used vehicle and had an open safety recall for the rear tow link replacement do to the fact that it could lose steering control and crash if not replaced so I scheduled an appointment with my local…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2024-11-11

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2013 Lincoln MKT SUV AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 4 stars
2013 Lincoln MKT SUV FWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
MKT all-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) All-wheel drive 16 22 18 MPG $3600
MKT front-wheel drive 3.7L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 17 24 20 MPG $3250
MKT Livery all-wheel drive 3.7L, 6-cyl Automatic 6-speed All-wheel drive 17 23 19 MPG $3400
MKT Livery front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 20 28 23 MPG $2800

Specs and fitment

1st generation, 2012–2019
Body styles SUV
Oil 5W-30 , 5.7 qt capacity
Tire size 235/55R19, 235/60R18, 255/55R18, 255/45R20 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 16V-621 covers certain 2013-2015 Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI EcoBoost engines, and also certain Ford Taurus, Flex, and Lincoln MKS vehicles: dealers inspect the fuel pump electronic module part number and replace the fuel PEM as necessary. Recall 15V-172 covers certain 2013-2015 MKT vehicles with a limousine or hearse preparation package: dealers replace the vacuum pump relay with a new electro-mechanical relay.

Compare

Previous year 2012 Lincoln MKT Next year 2014 Lincoln MKT See every Lincoln MKT model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Lincoln MKT reliable?

Owners have filed 69 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Lincoln MKT over 14 years — 4 per year. That is more complaints per year than most MKT years here — over the median of the other years, which is 1. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Rear, Fuel pump, and Fuel system, gasoline.

What are common problems with a 2013 Lincoln MKT?

The complaints owners file most often name Steering (31 of 69), then Fuel and propulsion system (9) and Electrical system (7). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash and 2 that report a fire.

Is the 2013 Lincoln MKT more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 MKT has 27 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2014 has 54 complaints, 4 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2014.

Has the 2013 Lincoln MKT been recalled?

The 2013 Lincoln MKT has 7 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Lincoln MKT?

Owners have filed 69 complaints about the 2013 Lincoln MKT with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Lincoln MKT get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Lincoln MKT is 20 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Lincoln MKT take?

5W-30; capacity is about 5.7 quarts with filter.

What does recall 16V-621 cover on the MKT?

Certain 2013-2015 MKT vehicles with 3.5L GTDI EcoBoost engines (and certain other Ford/Lincoln models)—see the NHTSA campaign for the defect and remedy.

What tire sizes did the MKT use?

235/55R19, 235/60R18, 255/55R18, or 255/45R20 depending on trim.