Reliable Auto DB

2019 Lincoln Navigator reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2019 Lincoln Navigator holds 80 complaints after 8 years, a rate of 2 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Navigator years here — over the median of the other years, which is 1. NHTSA has 10 recalls on file, including Automatic transmission, Instrument cluster, and Pretensioner.

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

80

Per year

2

Recalls

10

Years on the road

8

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (22 of 80), then Seat belts (22) and Electrical system (11). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 8 that report an injury.

Next to 2018 and 2020

The 2018 Navigator has 52 complaints, 2 per year, and the 2020 has 32 complaints, 1 per year. The 2019 has fewer complaints per year than the 2018. The 2019 has more complaints per year than the 2020.

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 2019 Lincoln Navigator. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (10)

Recall powertrain, automatic transmission 2026-06-24 · NHTSA campaign 26V402000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Navigator, Expedition, 2020-2021 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2021 F-150 vehicles. The transmission park pawl may engage while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in park system damage.
Remedy Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, and inspect and replace any damaged transmission components as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 10, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in April 2027. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S48. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on June 26, 2026.
Recall electrical system, instrument cluster 2026-06-09 · NHTSA campaign 26V372000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019 Ford Mustang, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 19V076. At vehicle start-up, the Instrument Panel Cluster Assembly (IPC) may not function, showing a blank display. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."
Remedy Dealers will reprogram the Instrument Panel Cluster Assembly (IPC) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 13, 2026. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C27. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6, 2026.
Recall seat belts, pretensioner 2026-05-27 · NHTSA campaign 26V344000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Remedy Dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt retractors as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed June 8, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in August 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S34. This recall replaces and expands previous NHTSA recalls 24V099 and 25V197. Vehicles previously inspected or repaired under the prior recalls will need the new repair completed.
Recall seat belts, pretensioner 2025-05-23 · NHTSA campaign 25V197000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Remedy Dealers will replace the seat belt retractors as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 22, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S31. Some vehicles in this recall that were previously inspected under recall 24V-099 and did not have parts replaced will need to have this new recall remedy completed.
Recall Labels 2024-11-08 · NHTSA campaign 24V852000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, 2020-2024 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2018-2024 F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The air bag warning label may be missing from the dashboard. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirement Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Remedy Ford will mail owners the warning labels, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 19, 2024. Owners may call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24C39.
Recall seat belts, pretensioner 2024-02-09 · NHTSA campaign 24V099000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The seat belt pretensioner in the driver and/or front passenger seat may inadvertently deploy and lock the seat belt, which will not allow the belt to retract or extend.
Remedy Dealers will replace the seat belt retractors, as necessary. Additionally, dealers will install an HVAC drain tube elbow if it is missing. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 8, 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S06.
Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2023-08-25 · NHTSA campaign 23V598000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Lincoln Aviator, 2018-2021 Lincoln Navigator, 2022-2023 Ford Transit, and 2021 Ford Bronco vehicles. The rearview camera, or 360-degree view camera if equipped, may not display a rearview image when the vehicle is placed in reverse.
Remedy Dealers will replace the rearview camera, and update the software and wiring as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 20, 2023 to Lincoln owners. Ford vehicle owners notification letters were mailed March 4, 2024. Ford remedy parts are anticipated 2nd Quarter 2024. Ford's number for this recall is 23S48.
Recall Owner's manual 2023-06-09 · NHTSA campaign 23V420000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with third-row seating; and 2019-2023 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 SuperCab vehicles. The owner's manual does not include instructions for adjusting or removing certain head restraints. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 202, "Head Restraints."
Remedy Ford will mail the Owner's Manual addendums that describe how to adjust and remove the head restraints for the center seating positions, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 21, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23C20.
Recall suspension, rear 2019-10-28 · NHTSA campaign 19V773000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The rear suspension toe link fasteners may not have been properly tightened to the frame, possibly allowing separation from the frame.
Remedy Ford has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and tighten the rear toe link fasteners, check and adjust the rear toe alignment, and inspect the rear tires for abnormal tire wear, replacing them if necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began November 14, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S36.
Recall electrical system, instrument cluster 2019-02-11 · NHTSA campaign 19V076000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019 Ford Mustang, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. At vehicle start-up, the Instrument Panel Cluster Assembly (IPC) may not function, showing a blank display. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."
Remedy Ford has notified owners, and dealers will reprogram the Instrument Panel Cluster Assembly (IPC), free of charge. The recall began March 8, 2019. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19C03.

Complaints by component (80 total)

Powertrain
22
Seat belts
22
Electrical system
11
Engine
11
Air bags
3
Back-over prevention
3
Seats
3
Speed control
3
Steering
3
Structure
2
Suspension
2
Visibility
2
Visibility and wipers
2
Engine and engine cooling
1
Exterior lighting
1
Forward collision avoidance
1
Latches, locks, and linkages
1
Service brakes
1
Tires
1
Wheels
1
Show 12 more Show less
Crash-flagged

3

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

8

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

2201912020320215202292023132024222025252026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "My vehicle was moving slowly in a pickup line for my child. Randomly, the seat belt retractor went off and pulled me back into the seat. Initially, I thought it was a gunshot. Smoke was all in the car. My neck/shoulder…"
    Seat belts · filed 2026-09-22
  • "On XXX, around 7:00–8:00 PM, I was driving a 2019 Lincoln Navigator normally when the driver's seat-belt pretensioner suddenly deployed without any crash, collision, or impact. The seat belt tightened forcefully against…"
    Seat belts, Seats, Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-21
  • "The dealership said the Cam Phasers were bad, and I saw that there was a NHTSA report on it. The manufacturer paid a percentage of the cost to fix, but not the entire thing. This is a vehicle that an elderly woman…"
    Powertrain · filed 2026-09-04
  • "The contact owns a 2019 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH with his wife inside the vehicle, seated in the front passenger seat, there was an explosion like a gunshot coming from the front…"
    Seats · filed 2026-09-02
  • "The contact owns a 2019 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the front driver’s side seat belt pretensioner inadvertently deployed and released smoke. The vehicle was towed to the…"
    Seat belts · filed 2026-09-02

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2019 Lincoln Navigator EL Extended SUV 4x2 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2019 Lincoln Navigator EL Extended SUV 4x4 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2019 Lincoln Navigator SUV 4x2 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2019 Lincoln Navigator SUV 4x4 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
Navigator two-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (10-speed) Rear-wheel drive 16 23 19 MPG $3400
Navigator four-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (10-speed) Part-time four-wheel drive 16 21 18 MPG $3600
Navigator L two-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (10-speed) Rear-wheel drive 16 22 18 MPG $3600

Specs and fitment

U554 generation, 2018–present
Body styles SUV
Oil 0W-20 full synthetic (3.5L EcoBoost V6) , 4.5 qt capacity
Tire size 285/45R22 (common Black Label)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 22V-250 covers certain 2020-2021 Lincoln Navigator vehicles, along with other Ford trucks and SUVs: the windshield wiper arms may break. Dealers inspect and replace the wiper arms if needed.

Compare

Previous year 2018 Lincoln Navigator Next year 2020 Lincoln Navigator See every Lincoln Navigator model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2019 Lincoln Navigator reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2019 Lincoln Navigator holds 80 complaints after 8 years, a rate of 2 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Navigator years here — over the median of the other years, which is 1. NHTSA has 10 recalls on file, including Automatic transmission, Instrument cluster, and Pretensioner.

What are common problems with a 2019 Lincoln Navigator?

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (22 of 80), then Seat belts (22) and Electrical system (11). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 8 that report an injury.

Is the 2019 Lincoln Navigator more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2018 Navigator has 52 complaints, 2 per year, and the 2020 has 32 complaints, 1 per year. The 2019 has fewer complaints per year than the 2018. The 2019 has more complaints per year than the 2020.

Has the 2019 Lincoln Navigator been recalled?

The 2019 Lincoln Navigator has 10 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 2019 Lincoln Navigator?

Owners have filed 80 complaints about the 2019 Lincoln Navigator with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2019 Lincoln Navigator get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2019 Lincoln Navigator is 18.3 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Lincoln Navigator take?

U554 Navigators with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 use 0W-20 full synthetic; capacity is about 4.5 quarts with filter.

What does recall 22V-250 cover on the Navigator?

Certain 2020-2021 Navigators (with other Ford trucks/SUVs): windshield wiper arms may break. Dealers inspect and replace them if needed.

What tire size is common on Black Label Navigators?

285/45R22 is a common Black Label fitment; confirm the door placard for your trim.