2012 Lincoln MKZ reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2012 Lincoln MKZ has 146 complaints with NHTSA after 15 years, or 1 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most MKZ years here — under the median of the other years, which is 4. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Inflator and Electric power steering.

Complaints

146

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Air bags (68 of 146), then Steering (20) and Service brakes (17). Those filings include 10 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 7 that report an injury.

Next to 2013

The 2013 MKZ has 109 complaints, 8 per year. The 2012 has fewer complaints per year than the 2013.

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 2012 Lincoln MKZ. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (6)

Recall air bags, frontal, driver side, inflator 2021-03-10 · NHTSA campaign 21V158000

Summary 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.

Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2021-02-16 · NHTSA campaign 21E013000

Summary 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.

Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2019-01-07 · NHTSA campaign 19V001000

Summary 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.

Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2018-11-01 · NHTSA campaign 18V775000

Summary 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.

Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2017-01-10 · NHTSA campaign 17V024000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ 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 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan 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." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or 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. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, 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. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. 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.

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.

Complaints by component (146 total)

Air bags

Steering

Service brakes

Structure

Electrical system

Engine

Powertrain

Exterior lighting

Hydraulic brakes

Speed control

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Forward collision avoidance

Seat belts

Wheels

Fire-related

Latches, locks, and linkages

Seats

Visibility

Show 10 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 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to steer in either direction. No warning light was illuminated. The message "Power…"
Steering · filed 2025-11-06
"My car has lost powering steering three times now. I have replaced the rack and pinion module twice and I’m fixing to a third time. This has happened all within the last 3.5 years"
Steering · filed 2025-06-15
"I became the owner of a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to Ford with great difficulty where they…"
Steering, Electrical system, Unknown or other · filed 2024-05-03
"Power steering control module stop working. Ford is aware of this issue and refusing to classify it as a recall. Vehicle inoperable at 83k miles."
Steering · filed 2024-04-05
"While driving I noticed that at times my steering wheel would be difficult to turn. At first, the problem seemed small until I was trying to make a left turn on a very busy 4-lane road, and without warning the steering…"
Steering · filed 2024-01-30

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2012 Lincoln MKZ 4 DR AWD	4 stars	3 stars	4 stars	5 stars
2012 Lincoln MKZ 4 DR FWD	4 stars	3 stars	4 stars	4 stars
2012 Lincoln MKZ Hev 4 DR FWD	4 stars	3 stars	4 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
MKZ all-wheel drive	3.5L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	All-wheel drive	17	24	19 MPG	$3400
MKZ front-wheel drive	3.5L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	18	27	21 MPG	$3100
MKZ hybrid front-wheel drive	2.5L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	41	35	38 MPG	$1700

Specs and fitment

Second generation, 2012–2020

Body styles Sedan

Oil SAE 5W-30 (2.0L turbo ~5.7 qt; 3.0L V6 ~6.0 qt with filter)

Tire size 225/50R17, 225/45R18, 245/45R18, or 245/40R19 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 19V632000 expands coverage for certain 2013-2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles (with Fusion and other Ford models; 116,160 units across the campaign) originally sold or registered in salt-belt states: steering-gear motor bolts can corrode and allow the motor to detach, causing loss of power steering assist. Dealers replace bolts and apply sealer, or replace the gear if bolts are broken. Recall 18V167000 covers certain 2014-2018 MKZ vehicles (with Fusion; 1,301,986 units across the campaign) where the steering-wheel retaining bolt may loosen and allow the wheel to detach while driving; dealers install a longer bolt.

Compare

Next year 2013 Lincoln MKZ See every Lincoln MKZ model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2012 Lincoln MKZ reliable?

What are common problems with a 2012 Lincoln MKZ?

Is the 2012 Lincoln MKZ more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2013 MKZ has 109 complaints, 8 per year. The 2012 has fewer complaints per year than the 2013.

Has the 2012 Lincoln MKZ been recalled?

The 2012 Lincoln MKZ has 6 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 2012 Lincoln MKZ?

Owners have filed 146 complaints about the 2012 Lincoln MKZ with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2012 Lincoln MKZ get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2012 Lincoln MKZ is 26 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2017 Lincoln MKZ?

Second generation (2012-2020) for the US years this site tracks.

What oil does a Lincoln MKZ take?

US notes list 5W-30 for the 2.0L turbo or 3.0L V6 engines covered here.

What tire sizes does a Lincoln MKZ use?

Common US sizes include 225/50R17 on base trims and 245/40R19 on Reserve.