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Engine & cooling

2018 Lincoln MKX Engine problems

Owners have filed 5 complaints about the 2018 Lincoln MKX's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 16% of all its complaints, most recently on April 14, 2026. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Complaints
5
Recalls
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0

Engine complaints

Engine & cooling

Faulty catalytic converters. Ford has a CSP for the 2018 Lincoln mkx 3.7L engine and only included police driven Mkx's which is totally unfair when they're well aware that Faulty/failing emissions catalytic converters were installed on all of them and they fail and produce p0430 codes regardless of driving habits, I've never driven any of my vehicles harshly and maintain my vehicles, yet since I've owned this 2018 mkx since September of 2024, the rear catalytic converter had to be replaced and now the front...

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catalytic converter is giving the same p0430 permanent code. Its bias of Ford to only extend police vehicles coverage and not regular consumers knowing that this emissions part is faulty because catalytic converters don't normally fail prematurely unless the parts are faulty. The original owner maintained this vehicle before me and I've maintained it since I've owned it, yet the catalytic converter has been replaced 3 times (carfax) which proves its Faulty. My 2005 Lincoln aviator had 303,000 miles before the engine blew, yet the catalytic converter had never been changed and I owned it for 15 years. I'd like an explanation from Ford as to why my 2018 Lincoln mkx 3.7L engine vehicle wasn't included in the CSP19M01. Ive owned a ford Explorer, Lincoln navigator and aviator that were built ford tough but this Lincoln mkx seems to be worse than a BMW. Thanking you in advance for your timely response. [[redacted]] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11730994
Engine & cooling

My vehicle has had emissions vehicle since before I owned it up to now. The catalytic converter has been replaced 4 times which is unheard of. Its presently giving the same codes/issues. The last catalytic converter replacement was November of 2024. It has to be a computer programming issue as my mechanic express. Im asking that this be looked into by Ford. I've owned 1973 Ford Pinto as a teenager, a 1998 Ford Explorer, 2000 Lincoln navigator, 2005 Lincoln aviator and now this 2018 Lincoln mkx has been the only...

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vehicle with this type of issue. Maintenance records can prove this vehicle has properly been maintained before and during my ownership. I only use Shell, sunoco and other top tier 87 octane gasoline in this vehicle and have records of that too. P0430 code has come back on even after replacing the purge valve twice, 2025 and last month 2026, then code p0430 came back stating catalytic converter smh.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11729226
Engine & cooling

The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where the vehicle was scanned, and a fault code for the catalytic converter was retrieved. The local dealer was contacted and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to an unknown NHTSA Campaign; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 11657452
Engine & cooling

Catalytic converter internally failed on April 12th 2023 based on an initial check engine light Part# F2GZ-5E213-F converter assembly under ESP warranty @ 74,408. Returned back for check engine light 22, 888 miles later on 1/31/24 for check engine light . I was advised that although it was determined a part failure of catalytic converter , that it was my responsibility to pay for 2 catalytic converters, water pump and radiator for cost of $11k. Contacted Lincoln Conceirge they were unable to provide assistance .

Filed Incident Unknown or other · Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 11570180
Electrical systemDriver assistanceEngine & cooling

We had our first incident on aug 2 when my wife was driving. Car stalled at a traffic light and she restarted it . Transmission was in drive and she started to accelete to go ahead. The car itself went into reverse and almost hit the car behind her. She was extremely shaken and refused to drive it again. She called a towtruck to take it to our dealer. The dealer could not find the problem so installed an electrical device to record another incident. It then happended when I was driving, only 2 days after we...

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picked it up from the dealer. I was driving on a 50 mph road when the "engine has shutdown" flashed on the instrument panel I got it restarted and tried to continue driving.About 10 different fault codes appeared and we took cell photos of each code. It shut down again a few miles later and this time all systems shut off. No lights no power on engine start. Totally dead I pushed all the shift buttons and after a minute it restarted. At this point we had it towed back to the dealer. Dealer has had it another 10 days and cannot find the problem. For our safety we refuse to take it back without the problem being solved and are now complaining directly to lincoln

Filed Incident Electrical system · Electronic stability control (ESC) · EngineNHTSA 11123198

Lincoln MKX engine complaints by year

MKX engine problems, every year

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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