Lincoln Navigator Reliability by Year
Best & Worst Years, Problems & Recalls — NHTSA Data
Comparing used Lincoln Navigator options? We analyzed 10 model years (2017–2026) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
Model-year trends show patterns. Run a VIN check for the exact Lincoln Navigator you plan to buy.
Based on NHTSA complaint data, the Lincoln Navigator has 243 owner complaints and 79 safety recalls across model years 2017–2026. The most reported issue area is POWER TRAIN. 2019 drew the most complaints; 2026 drew the fewest.
- Make
- Lincoln
- Model
- Navigator
- Model years analyzed
- 2017–2026 (10 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 243
- Safety recall campaigns
- 79
- Crash-related complaints
- 13
- Fire-related complaints
- 7
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2019 (64 complaints)
- Best model year (fewest complaints)
- 2026 (0 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- POWER TRAIN
- Reliability signal
- Poor
Lincoln Navigator: Which Years to Avoid & Which to Buy
Based on total NHTSA owner complaints per model year. Higher complaint counts indicate a riskier year to buy used — lower counts suggest a cleaner reliability record.
These years have the most owner complaints. Inspect carefully and always run a VIN check.
These years have the fewest owner complaints on record — lower risk starting points.
⭐ NHTSA NCAP Crash Test Ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
What the Complaint Data Suggests
PoorThe LINCOLN NAVIGATOR has 243 NHTSA complaints and 79 recalls on record. 13 complaints involve crash-related incidents. This data reflects owner-reported issues submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 243 total complaints filed with NHTSA
- 79 federal recall campaigns
- 13 crash-related complaints on record
- Review NHTSA complaint history for the most-reported components
- Check recall completion status at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Verify service records for frequently complained components
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with elevated complaint rates.
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with fewer reported issues.
- Run a VIN check on the specific vehicle you are considering
- Verify all open recalls are completed at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Request service records for the most-reported complaint components
- Have a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase
🔔 NHTSA Safety Recalls
79 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
Safety Recall
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Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2017–2026. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
🔧 Most-Reported Problem Areas
Based on component keywords extracted from all 243 NHTSA complaints.
📋 NHTSA Complaint Reports
243 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
The contact owns a 2025 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the sunroof independently fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the vehicle was repaired. In addition, the contact stated that when retrieving the vehicle, the contact stated that the paint was scratched down to the frame of the sunroof. The vehicle was at the dealer for more than a month. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
On Tuesday, May 5 2026 upon entering the vehicle, my wife closed the drivers door at which time the rear windshield exploded. The vehicle is scheduled for an appointment on Monday, May 11, 2026 at Porterville Ford for inspection. Approximately 50% of the glass came out, both inside and outside the vehicle. If my children were there, they would have been covered in broken tiny pieces of glass. This vehicle has just over 6,000 miles since new and has never had any damage to the glass. I have researched online and there are many other instances where this has happened, often siting incorrect or too tight of installations where the pressure from closing a door shatters the tempered glass.
The contact owns a 2025 Lincoln Navigator L. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. No warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle jerked violently while accelerating and while reversing on a hill. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The failure mileage was approximately 500.
Driving vehicle at 73mph on I-75 in GA Northbound. Front panel of moon/sun-roof exploded/shattered with no indication of impact causing the failure. Loud bang followed by safety glass falling into cabin. Vehicle had lincoln-approved/dealer roof-rails.
The lane keeping assistance is not working at all. The blue cruise also stopped working and the car is was with dealer for 2 weeks and they cannot fix it.
See attached document for complaint.
This vehicle has been returned to service 5 times. It is currently in service for the same 4 issues that it was taken to service for the very first time on 12/10/2025. This includes inappropriate braking on the interstate, driver window malfunction, the key intermittently stops working, and the connectivity does not regularly work. In addition to these 4 issues, the main screen in the car stopped working and the rear Vox screen has stopped working. Based on state law, Lincoln should have bought the car back, as I have had it for just over 2 months. As of February 2nd, 2026 the car has been returned to service 5 times and has been back to the dealership for service for 37 days and still counting since the original pick up date of 11/21/2025. The dealership has not honored their commitments with black label service. I was upsold on the vehicle for this service. On multiple occasions I have not been provided the delivery that is included. I was told by the assistant manager that this service would include a Lincoln Navigator brought to my location. The GM informed myself and my husband that they do not have to honor that. They offered a car that did not legally fit my 4 children in the backseat. Eventually, after many phone calls, they offered a much smaller Aviator. The service manager stated they they attempted 3 different eyeballs. When questioned on dates that they provided to Lincoln, he became very defensive and hung up on me. My husband and I attempted to meet with him in person at the dealership. After being told that he would meet with us and then waiting 3 hours, we had to leave. The GM did not provide assistance with this, as he stated he was in a meeting. The GM and assistant manager have both stated that we have no legal recourse, as I signed an arbitration agreement.
Pre collision pedestrian/cyclist warning automatic braking not working. Dealership tried 2x did all upgrades, checked another vehicle same results. Ford said both to technician and myself. This is normal. So pre collision does not activate in city traffic when they advertise and charge for this feature. Open to accidents and I jury.
The contact owns a 2025 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that while driving between 20-70MPH, no precaution assist warning message illuminated. The vehicle will slow independently. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however the diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact mentions that the failure has occurred on several different occasions. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and they informed her that they do not know why this was happening to her vehicle or alerting the driver. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.
The contact owns a 2025 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that while driving in the driveway at approximately 2 - 3 MPH, several brake warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle failed to respond immediately while depressing the brake pedal, which required the contact to exert an excessive amount of pressure on the brake pedal. The messages "Auto-Hold Disabled", "Brake Function Failure" were displayed, and unknown warning lights were temporarily illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by the dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and a case was filed. The manufacturer confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.
The contact owns a 2023 Lincoln Navigator. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V165000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the remedy was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
When the car starts the head lights run through a series of motion checks, they go left, right down and then back up. We run into an issue every few weeks where the headlights stay in the down position. This happened with our car and a loaner we received from the dealership. I do have video of the issue. That shows the lights stuck down, when you restart the car the lights run the motion checks and come back up as they should. When the lights stay in the down position they only illuminate about 30' in front of the car.
We buy used 2023 Lincoln Navigator with only 2937 miles and the running boards opens and close by it self and the most dangerous that the car doesn’t start whenever it wants I have 3 times already it just doesn’t start so I don’t know what to do
Upon starting, my 2023 Lincoln Navigator Reserve L has a significant delay when booting the back up camera and infotainment system and renders the vehicle safety systems unusable. Sometimes the back up camera freezes and locks the screen, sometimes it doesn't turn on at all. Often, the infotainment screen doesn't launch at all. I have multiple videos of evidence but this website won't allow me to submit them, only pictures.
The contact rented a 2023 Lincoln Navigator. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the electronic systems became inoperable. The backup camera was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called for Roadside Assistance. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 43,200. The VIN was not available.
2023 Lincoln Navigator power running boards defaulting to off, even when turned to auto will automatically switch to off. The dealership has no idea what the problem is. Risher Lincoln Hot Springs Arkansas We have had the car less than 2 months
No collision warning; completely break failed. Vehicle had some fuel leakage which was fixed on May-21-2026 and break was failed on May-22-2026 which caused due to this repair. It was a major accident and my car got total due to this. I need full refund of my car; same amount when I bought this car.
The rear portion of the moonroof on the vehicle, spontaneous imploded while sitting in the parking area in the middle of the night we have video evidence to prove that nothing happened to the vehicle during the night, and it also appears that the moonroof imploded from the inside as it expanded towards the outside of the body.
Vehicle is subject to multiple open federal safety recalls with no repair remedy currently available from Ford/Lincoln. One recall involves potential fuel pump failure causing loss of fuel pressure, engine stall while driving, and increased crash risk. A second recall involves interruption of driver assistance and visibility systems including rearview camera, forward collision warning, lane keeping, and related safety systems. This vehicle is operated in a commercial passenger rental fleet. Due to federal rental vehicle recall compliance requirements, the vehicle was removed from rental service immediately after issuance of the recalls and cannot legally be rented until repaired. Ford/Lincoln currently has no available repair remedy despite the recalls having been active for an extended period of time. The lack of available remedy has rendered the vehicle commercially unusable for an extended period while continuing to create ongoing safety concerns related to engine stall and interruption of critical driver assistance systems. The vehicle remains unavailable for lawful commercial operation pending manufacturer remedy.
The contact owns a 2022 Lincoln Navigator. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V455000 (Fuel System Gasoline) and 26V165000 (Back Over Prevention, Electrical System); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Showing 20 of 243 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Before You Buy, Check the Exact Lincoln Navigator
These pages show model-year patterns across 10years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
📖 Understanding This Data
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The Lincoln Navigator has 243 complaints on record across 10 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The Lincoln Navigator has 79 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 13 of the Lincoln Navigator's 243 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Poor) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all Lincoln Navigator vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two Lincoln Navigator vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The Lincoln Navigator has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
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