2013 Lincoln MKZ reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 109 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Lincoln MKZ over 14 years — 8 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 9 MKZ years on this site. NHTSA has 13 recalls on file, including Hoses and fittings, Latch, and Headlights.

2012 Lincoln MKZ — Photo by IFCAR, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons Public domain

Complaints

109

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (17 of 109), then Steering (16) and Powertrain (15). Those filings include 4 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 MKZ has 146 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2014 has 97 complaints, 5 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than 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 MKZ. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (13)

Recall hydraulic brakes, foundation components, hoses and fittings 2023-03-10 · NHTSA campaign 23V162000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. The front brake hoses may rupture and leak brake fluid.

Remedy Dealers will replace the front brake hoses, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 27, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S12.

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2020-06-08 · NHTSA campaign 20V331000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, 2015 Mustang, 2013-2015 Escape and C-Max, 2012-2015 Focus, 2014-2016 Transit Connect, 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 MKC vehicles. These vehicles were previously recalled and repaired under recalls 15V-246, 16V-643 or 17V-210, however the repair may not have been completed properly. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the latch date codes to confirm if the repair was done correctly, and replace the side door latches if necessary, free of charge. Owners will also have the option to inspect their own vehicle's door latches and enter the date codes into a website to determine if the latches are correct. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 27, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S30.

Recall exterior lighting, headlights 2020-04-24 · NHTSA campaign 20E025000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain Replacement Headlamps, part number DP5Z-13008-T and DP5Z-13008-V, sold for use with 2013-2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. The headlamps may have an improper beam pattern and incorrect horizontal adjustment, the side markers may not illuminate and DOT markings may be missing. As such, these headlamps fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Remedy Ford will notify vehicle manufacturers, and dealers will inspect the headlamps, and replace the headlamps, as necessary, free of charge. Additionally, Ford will instruct dealers to return all improper headlamps and not to install them on any vehicles. The recall began June 3, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20C10.

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 latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2017-03-27 · NHTSA campaign 17V210000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Fiesta, 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace all four door latches, free of charge. The recall began May 1, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S16.

Recall seat belts, front 2016-12-05 · NHTSA campaign 16V875000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured November 2, 2012, to July 31, 2014, and 2013-2015 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured November 14, 2012, to July 31, 2014. In the event of a crash, heat from the deployment of a seat belt pretensioner may cause a front seat belt anchor cable to fail.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will apply a protective coating to the seat belt cable, free of charge. The recall began May 16, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S42.

Recall Electric power steering 2015-04-28 · NHTSA campaign 15V250000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured February 3, 2012, to March 20, 2015, and 2015 Ford Edge vehicles manufactured February 26, 2015, to February 28, 2015, and originally sold, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. In the affected vehicles, snow or water containing road salt or other contaminants may corrode the electric power steering gear motor attachment bolts.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will apply sealer and replace the steering gear motor bolts as required. If one or more 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 on June 24, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S14.

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2015-04-24 · NHTSA campaign 15V246000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) notified the agency on April 23, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured July 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013, and 2012-2014 Fiesta vehicles manufactured February 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013. On April 30, 2015, Ford expanded the recall to cover an additional 119,567 vehicles, including certain model year 2011 Ford Fiestas manufactured from November 11, 2009, to May 31, 2013 and certain model year 2013 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured from February 1, 2012, to June 30, 2012. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace all four door latches with an improved part, free of charge. Interim notifications were mailed to owners on June 5, 2015. The recall began on December 18, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S16.

Recall Air bags 2014-09-26 · NHTSA campaign 14V597000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured January 19, 2012, to November 21, 2013; Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured February 3, 2012, to August 24, 2013; Ford Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, to November 1, 2013; and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured April 25, 2012, to September 30, 2013. The coating on portions of the Restraint Control Module (RCM) may crack, and when exposed to humidity, circuits on the printed circuit board may short.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RCM, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. The recall began on May 26,2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14S21.

Recall seats, front assembly, recliner 2014-04-02 · NHTSA campaign 14V164000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured August 15, 2012, through September 10, 2013, 2013-2014 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured June 5, 2012, through August 12, 2013, and 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured from July 23, 2012, through May 28, 2013. The driver and passenger seatback assemblies may have been produced with sub-standard weld joints used to attach the seat back recliner mechanism to the seat frame. The affected seat backs may have insufficient strength to meet the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems."

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seatback, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14C03.

Recall powertrain, automatic transmission 2013-11-25 · NHTSA campaign 13V594000

Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid vehicles manufactured April 26, 2012, through September 24, 2013. Due to a manufacturing error, the transmission range sensor may not function properly allowing the affected vehicles to be shifted out of the Park position without first applying the brake pedal. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection."

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) with new software, free of charge. The recall began on January 2014. Customers may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 13C09.

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.

Recall Electrical system 2013-05-31 · NHTSA campaign 13V230000

Summary Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured April 25, 2012, through March 15, 2013 and equipped with an engine block heater. During use, the engine block heater cords may be bent and in certain temperatures, the wire insulation may crack, exposing the electrical wires.

Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the block heater cord, free of charge. The recall began on June 28, 2013. Ford's recall number is 13S05. Owners may contact the Ford customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.

Complaints by component (109 total)

Electrical system

Steering

Powertrain

Seat belts

Structure

Engine

Latches, locks, and linkages

Wheels

Fuel and propulsion system

Air bags

Hydraulic brakes

Seats

Service brakes

Back-over prevention

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Fuel system, gasoline

Lane departure

Speed control

Adaptive and mobility equipment

Engine and engine cooling

Equipment

Exterior lighting

Fire-related

Parking brake

Suspension

Tires

Visibility

Show 19 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"Component Failure & Inspection: Restraints Control Module (RCM) / physical airbags failed on a 2013 Lincoln MKZ. The 44-page Bosch CDR report proves a hardware failure: Page 8 logs a "YES" command for Frontal and…"
Air bags · filed 2026-09-15
"Vehicle: Lincoln MKZ 2013 Dealer: Auto Quest Inc. Description of the Safety Issue: I am submitting this report regarding a vehicle safety concern involving a 2013 Lincoln MKZ that I purchased from Auto Quest Inc. in…"
Suspension, Powertrain, Service brakes · filed 2026-03-11
"I was slowing down to take a turn and I see an error message saying “power steering assist failure”. And steering went stiff.."
Steering · filed 2026-02-12
"Video camera in the back is almost unusable at times, get loss of vision completely or it's flipped image and distorted. Don't know if this counts but I had a issue where key batteries where fine and the car did not…"
Electrical system · filed 2025-11-03
"the driver side mirror blind spot stopped working and all most hit a vehicle coming up alongside of me. Yes it is available No in October"
Electrical system, Lane departure · filed 2025-10-22

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2013 Lincoln MKZ 4 DR AWD	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars	4 stars
2013 Lincoln MKZ 4 DR FWD	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars	4 stars
2013 Lincoln MKZ HEV 4 DR FWD	5 stars	5 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	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	All-wheel drive	22	31	25 MPG	$2600
MKZ all-wheel drive	3.7L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	All-wheel drive	18	26	21 MPG	$3100
MKZ front-wheel drive	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	22	32	26 MPG	$2500
MKZ front-wheel drive	3.7L, 6-cyl	Automatic (6-speed)	Front-wheel drive	19	27	22 MPG	$2950
MKZ hybrid front-wheel drive	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	38	37	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

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

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Lincoln MKZ reliable?

What are common problems with a 2013 Lincoln MKZ?

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

The 2012 MKZ has 146 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2014 has 97 complaints, 5 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Lincoln MKZ been recalled?

The 2013 Lincoln MKZ has 13 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 MKZ?

Owners have filed 109 complaints about the 2013 Lincoln MKZ with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Lincoln MKZ get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Lincoln MKZ is 26.4 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.