2016 Lincoln MKX reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2016 Lincoln MKX holds 155 complaints after 11 years, a rate of 17 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 7 MKX years on this site. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Hoses and fittings, Service brakes, and Power adjuster.

2012 Lincoln MKX — Photo by Navigator84, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

Complaints

155

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Service brakes (39 of 155), then Engine (32) and Electrical system (27). Those filings include 6 that report a crash, 3 that report a fire, and 3 that report an injury.

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 MKX has 19 complaints, 2 per year, and the 2017 has 52 complaints, 3 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2017.

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 2016 Lincoln MKX. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (7)

Recall hydraulic brakes, foundation components, hoses and fittings 2025-08-22 · NHTSA campaign 25V544000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The rear brake jounce hose may rupture and leak brake fluid.

Remedy Dealers will inspect and replace the brake jounce hoses and adjust brake jounce hoses with no damage present, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 17, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S87.

Recall Service brakes 2020-08-10 · NHTSA campaign 20V469000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Ford Edge and 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX vehicles. The front brake hoses may rupture prematurely.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front brake hoses with the new hoses that have a revised braid material, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 13, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S42.

Recall seats, front assembly, power adjuster 2020-07-17 · NHTSA campaign 20V414000

Summary Ford Motor Company, Inc. (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX and 2019-2020 Nautilus vehicles equipped with 16-way electric tilt seats. The seat cushion frame edge may contact the wire harness when the seat occupant uses the tilt function of the seat, potentially damaging one or more wires within the harness, which can result in either inadvertent deployment of the air bag or nondeployment of the air bag in the event of a crash.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install protective flocking tape onto the exposed edge of the 16-way seat cushion frames, and inspect the wire harness for damage, and repair or replace it as needed, free of charge. This recall began August 12, 2020. Owners may contact Ford/Lincoln customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S37.

Recall electrical system, 12V/24V/48V battery, cables 2019-11-12 · NHTSA campaign 19V809000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Lincoln MKX vehicles equipped with 3.7L engines. The battery positive cable harness may contact the transmission shifter cable bracket resulting in a short circuit.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the battery harness clips and elbow guide, and install a wire channel shield and protective sleeve to the battery cable harness, free of charge. Interim notices informing owners of the safety risk were mailed on December 2, 2019. Owners will receive a second notice when the remedy becomes available, currently expected to be the end of April 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S41.

Recall Electric power steering 2019-08-29 · NHTSA campaign 19V632000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 Ford Edge, and 2016 Lincoln MKX vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Road salt or other contaminants may corrode the electric power steering gear motor attachment bolts.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear motor bolts and apply a wax sealer. If any of the steering gear motor attachment bolts are broken or missing, a new steering gear will be installed in the vehicle. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 18, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S26.

Recall air bags, frontal, driver side, inflator 2017-02-27 · NHTSA campaign 17V123000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles and 2017 Lincoln Continental vehicles. In the event of a crash, the driver's frontal air bag may not fully inflate or the air bag cushion may detach from the air bag module. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began June 16, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C02.

Recall child seat, tether, connector or clip 2016-05-24 · NHTSA campaign 16V343000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Lincoln MKX vehicles manufactured September 24, 2015. An incorrect seat back trim cover was installed on the affected vehicles, blocking the child seat tether anchors in the second row center seating position. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child restraint anchorage systems."

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat back trim cover and tether cover bezel on the second row, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C09.

Complaints by component (155 total)

Service brakes

Engine

Electrical system

Hydraulic brakes

Fuel and propulsion system

Powertrain

Wheels

Exterior lighting

Speed control

Steering

Structure

Suspension

Back-over prevention

Forward collision avoidance

Lane departure

Seats

Visibility

Air bags

Air brakes

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Engine and engine cooling

Latches, locks, and linkages

Seat belts

Tires

Show 16 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the brake pedal became inoperable, and the brake warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled away from oncoming traffic to ensure…"
Hydraulic brakes · filed 2026-09-08
"The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V544000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time…"
Hydraulic brakes · filed 2026-09-02
"Unknown there were no incidents But the recall is almost 1 year old I received the notice September 2025 regarding a possible brake hose defect waiting almost 1 year for a Fix is Rediclous there had been no updates from…"
Service brakes · filed 2026-08-28
"The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to immediately stop with the message “Low Brake Fluid” displayed. Brake fluid…"
Hydraulic brakes, Service brakes, Back-over prevention · filed 2026-08-24
"It has been almost a year since this recall came out and there is not a remedy available. the manufacturer has failed to provide a remedy for it since it came out on August 25, 2026"
Service brakes · filed 2026-08-14

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2016 Lincoln MKX SUV AWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars
2016 Lincoln MKX SUV FWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	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
MKX all-wheel drive	3.7L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	All-wheel drive	16	23	19 MPG	$3400
MKX all-wheel drive	2.7L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	All-wheel drive	17	24	19 MPG	$3400
MKX front-wheel drive	2.7L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	18	26	20 MPG	$3250
MKX front-wheel drive	3.7L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	17	25	20 MPG	$3250

Specs and fitment

Second generation (facelift / late), 2016–2018

Body styles SUV

Oil 5W-30 (2.7L turbo); 5W-20 (3.7L) , 6 qt capacity

Tire size 245/60R18, 245/50R20 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Late second-generation MKX years keep the AWD PTU heat story: Ford SSM 47230 notes that certain 2007–2016 Edge/MKX and related AWD vehicles built on or before 30-Jun-2016 may show a propane/natural-gas odor at idle or low speed from PTU fluid broken down by heat, with an idler-bearing repair kit when the odor traces to the PTU. Confirm that messaging and any open campaigns on the VIN; continue scheduled PTU fluid attention even when the owner’s manual calls the fill lifetime.

Compare

Previous year 2015 Lincoln MKX Next year 2017 Lincoln MKX See every Lincoln MKX model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Lincoln MKX reliable?

What are common problems with a 2016 Lincoln MKX?

Is the 2016 Lincoln MKX more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2015 MKX has 19 complaints, 2 per year, and the 2017 has 52 complaints, 3 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 Lincoln MKX been recalled?

The 2016 Lincoln MKX 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 2016 Lincoln MKX?

Owners have filed 155 complaints about the 2016 Lincoln MKX with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Lincoln MKX get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 Lincoln MKX is 19.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Lincoln MKX take?

2012-2015: 5W-20 for the 3.7L. 2016-2018: 5W-30 for the 2.7L turbo and 5W-20 for the 3.7L. Confirm the filler-cap grade.

What tire sizes does the MKX use?

245/60R18, 245/50R20, and on earlier years 265/40R22 depending on trim.

What PTU odor issue is noted on late second-gen MKX?

Ford SSM 47230 notes that certain 2007–2016 Edge/MKX and related AWD vehicles built on or before 30-Jun-2016 may show a propane/natural-gas odor at idle or low speed from PTU fluid broken down by heat.