Reliable Auto DB

2016 Lincoln MKZ reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 64 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Lincoln MKZ over 11 years — 3 per year. The other MKZ years sit at about the same rate: their median is 3 complaints per year. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Latch, Hoses and fittings, and Headlights.

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

64

Per year

3

Recalls

7

Years on the road

11

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Steering (12 of 64), then Electrical system (11) and Service brakes (10). Those filings include 8 that report a crash and 4 that report an injury.

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 MKZ has 82 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2017 has 138 complaints, 4 per year. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer 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 MKZ. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (7)

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2023-11-17 · NHTSA campaign 23V775000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015 Fiesta, 2016 Fusion, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A component inside the door latches may break, which can make it difficult to latch or possibly allow the doors to open while driving.
Remedy Dealers will inspect the door latch date codes and if necessary, replace all four side door latches, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 20, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S15. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 20V-177.
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 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 latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2020-03-23 · NHTSA campaign 20V177000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Fiesta, 2014-2016 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 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 Ford or Lincoln dealers will replace the side door latches, free of charge. The recall began September 21, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S15.
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 steering, steering wheel 2018-03-12 · NHTSA campaign 18V167000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2018 Lincoln MKZ and Ford Fusion vehicles. The steering wheel retaining bolt may loosen allowing the steering wheel to detach while driving.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel bolt with a longer bolt, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S08.
Recall gasoline fuel system, storage 2015-10-01 · NHTSA campaign 15V618000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured September 3, 2015, to September 13, 2015, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured September 3, 2015, to September 12, 2015. The affected vehicles have a fuel tank that may have insufficent wall thickness. As a result, the fuel tanks may crack in the event of a crash and thus the vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 301, "Fuel System Integrity."
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began on October 19, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15C11.

Complaints by component (64 total)

Steering
12
Electrical system
11
Service brakes
10
Air bags
9
Engine
6
Back-over prevention
5
Hydraulic brakes
4
Seat belts
3
Wheels
3
Fuel and propulsion system
2
Latches, locks, and linkages
2
Structure
2
Engine and engine cooling
1
Exterior lighting
1
Powertrain
1
Show 7 more Show less
Crash-flagged

8

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

4

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

320163201732018520192202052021620221220236202412202572026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "Catalytic Converter P0420 issue that cannot be fixed."
    Engine · filed 2026-09-21
  • "The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware that the brake light had remained illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred while the…"
    Service brakes · filed 2026-07-15
  • "The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear passenger's side door independently unlatched and opened. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact…"
    Latches, locks, and linkages · filed 2026-06-25
  • "-The front bumper of the car is nearly coming off. This is attached by a "bra" covering the front bumper and if not on the whole front bumper would fall off. The tires/rims are also nearly run down and need to be…"
    Wheels, Unknown or other · filed 2026-05-11
  • "The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera would display a black screen whenever in reverse. The camera would fail the majority of the time when in reverse. The failure…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-05-06

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2016 Lincoln MKZ 4 DR AWD 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars 4 stars
2016 Lincoln MKZ 4 DR FWD 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars 4 stars
2016 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 17 24 20 MPG $3250
MKZ front-wheel drive 3.7L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 18 27 21 MPG $3100
MKZ front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 22 33 26 MPG $2500
MKZ hybrid front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Front-wheel drive 41 39 40 MPG $1600

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 2015 Lincoln MKZ Next year 2017 Lincoln MKZ See every Lincoln MKZ model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Lincoln MKZ reliable?

Owners have filed 64 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Lincoln MKZ over 11 years — 3 per year. The other MKZ years sit at about the same rate: their median is 3 complaints per year. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Latch, Hoses and fittings, and Headlights.

What are common problems with a 2016 Lincoln MKZ?

The complaints owners file most often name Steering (12 of 64), then Electrical system (11) and Service brakes (10). Those filings include 8 that report a crash and 4 that report an injury.

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

The 2015 MKZ has 82 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2017 has 138 complaints, 4 per year. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 Lincoln MKZ been recalled?

The 2016 Lincoln MKZ 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 MKZ?

Owners have filed 64 complaints about the 2016 Lincoln MKZ with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Lincoln MKZ get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 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.