NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Lincoln Aviator. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
The panoramic sunroof exploded without warning while traveling at 70 MPH on interstate 55 in Southaven Mississippi. Glass entered the vehicle resulting in cuts on front passenger arms. My husband was able to maintain control of the vehicle and exit safely on the next exit ramp. We notified Southaven police and inspection of the vehicle by ourselves and the officer resulted in no foreign objects causing the explosion. The sound of the pressurized boom and following spray of glass shards was very dangerous and could have easily resulted in a vehicle crash or more serious injury from glass debris.
Complete brake failure, Highway conditions, 50 mph coming to an intersection, car slowing ahead, engaged brakes nothing, pumped multiple times all the way to floor , nothing, went through intersection on right between car ahead and stop sign of intersecting road laying on horn. Stopped car with parking brake in a parking lot. At same time the center gps screen went black. After incident brakes worked again so no idea what failed. This car has intermittent and infrequent strange electronic glitches but never of safety nature before.
My warning light stating a AWD malfunction has occurred has gone off 4 times, along with warnings for malfunctions in precollision assist and hill climb assist and the light has come on 4 times for each of these. When driving these lights come on and when the AWD malfunction light comes on the car drives very loose and I do not seem to have firm control over the steering and i feel like the car wants to swerve and I do not feel safe driving .
The contact owns a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V022000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the vehicle shifted from drive to neutral. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle failed to shift to park. The battery was drained, and the vehicle had to be jumpstarted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V534000 (Visibility, Electrical System). The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.
AWD, Adaptive Cruise Control, infoTrac, and Collisiom assistance lights continue going off while on freeways. Have brought in several times in less than a year and I can’t imagine that the ABS module is the issue as they reinstalled and it didn’t work along with replacement of numerous sensors. Please look into this
AWD sensors repeatedly are going off then disappearing after car is turned on and off. Happens in City mostly but has triggered while driving on the highway. Caused all ability to use cruise control to deactivate. It also shows the down hill assist fault error.
The sunroof exploded outward. We were on expressway @70 MPH and did not notice any road debris nor under any bridges at time. Dealer could not find any other damage to windshield or car body. Had 6 people in car at time. Collected all glass that fell in, but only about 1/3 of total glass area, so feel most went up and out. Dealer admits to 3 other cars in their shop with sunroof issues. Was like an explosion and we were already in right hand lane so safe to pull over and see what had happened. Other passengers felt calmness of driver prevented accident.
My Aviator doesn't start the first time I push the start engine button anytime after I fill up the tank. It takes it about 5 times of me hitting the start engine button before it finally turns over. Before then, it just sounds like wants to start, but doesn't. I am once again taking it back to the dealership to have the back up camera looked at. Before it would work sporadically, now when I put the car in reverse, it just shows a solid blue screen. And I always get an error message about rear assist not working. I've tried troubleshooting it, but still nothing works. Additionally, the presets for XM radio do not stay when set. This infotainment center does not function efficiently and has delays and no memory.
The map light on the front passenger side would intermittently turn on while driving. This was concerning at night as it was quite distracting. It required driver intervention when operating the vehicle alone and limited visibility in the cabin at night while driving.
This was the most recent issue I experienced with my Aviator, the first being electrical after 2 months of owning it. I was driving and the car completely shut off (engine, power steering, breaking) the electrical components went crazy, but I thankfully was not on a highway as I had to guide the truck until it stopped from moving 25mph+. I went into oncoming traffic but no one was there. Then I had to turn the truck back on. The dealership towed it as it is a safety issue and with the amount of times it has been in the shop, the problems increasing are worrisome.
The vehicle main screen locks up and does not auto dim. It has been in the shop 6 times for this problem. No repairs are fixing the problem. Extremely distracting when driving.
There have been two recalls on this vehicle. One was a battery cable issue, the other is a backup camera issue. The battery cable was fixed. The backup camera has been worked on 6 times and has not been fixed. I have notified Lincoln they told me to visit another dealer. After two dealerships and 6 trips, the backup camera still flashes or goes blue. The dealer cannot fix. Also, the entire main screen in the vehicle has issues with 1. Locking Up (inoperable until shutting car down) 2. Screen does not automatically dim at night. Both of these issues are a huge distraction and causes us to look away from the road, or even pull over in bad areas to attempt to reset. This is also why the vehicle has been in 6 times for this issue. I believe the backup camera and screen are inter-related. Lincoln concierge has been notified. They are aware and are not fixing the issue. The vehicle is dangerous. I have videos and photos.
This vehicle has been recalled at least twice for a faulty rear camera system. When vehicle is put in reverse the image on the screen flips so bad you cannot see what is behind you. The previous recalls were for this, we had it in the shop twice before the 2 recalls plus the two recalls (4 times) and cannot get a properly working rear camera. This is a safety issue because we rely on the camera for blind spots during reverse and to see behind this large vehicle. Ford cannot figure out how to fix.
The instrument cluster gives multiple message fault. Navigation and voice activation inoperative. Lincoln cannot resolve the issues. Lincoln has reprogrammed and reset the system and the issue still exist for over 3 months. Lincoln stated the APIM must be rework and they do not know when this will be provide with new date. The phone, radio/sirius sometimes won't change and the screen freezes up at random. I have 17746 miles and still under full warranty and lincoln won't replace system.
The contact owns a 2020 Lincoln Aviator. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked on an inclined driveway, he attempted to start the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the towing employee was able to reverse onto a street with a flat surface and was able to start the ignition. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V735000 (Back Over Prevention) and was informed not to park the vehicle on the inclined driveway. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,514.
Vehicle shifted into neutral while driving. Had to stop the vehicle in the median to put it back in drive.
The rear back-up camera regularly fails during vehicle operation, sometimes as soon as the vehicle is turned on. Turning the vehicle off and then on again will fix it temporarily. According to vehicle recall number 21V223000, the image processing module may become unable to provide video feed to the display, resulting in a loss of backup camera image. Not stated in the recall is that this has also affected (optional) side and forward cameras on the vehicle. These fail less frequently than the rear camera. The loss of video from the rear camera increases the chances of the driver running into something or someone while reversing. The vehicle has been submitted multiple times to the dealership where it was purchased in order to have it repaired. Each time the service department failed to repair it but sent it back as if it was repaired. The problem first arose a few months after the vehicle was purchased, and the instances of camera failure have increased over time.
The lights on the visor mirrors and the garage door opener located on the visor stopped working. 2 days later, all of the switches on the drivers door ( window controls and mirror adjustments) stopped working. Now the dome lights have stopped working. The dealership had the car for a week and performed a master reset and a DDM configuration and window learn procedure. None of these problems were resolved. Dealership states vehicle will have to be scheduled when a repair is made available. While most of these problems are merely an inconvenience, I feel there is a safety issue due to the fact that I have no emergency egress. The Lincoln concierge told me I can "just crawl over the console and go out one of the other windows." I can also not adjust the mirrors after a seat adjustment, which is also a safety concern. The dealership said I will have to make a manual adjustment until a fix is made available. There have been no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure which happened 4 weeks ago. The dealership is Liberty Ford in Canton OH. RO number 797409. Lincoln case number 33186048-P8G5J5.
The rear view camera does not always work. Sometimes it is just a blank green screen with the guide lines. This happen many times but not always. The software to update the image processing module software has been done.
Rear backup camera tuns to blue screen when the vehicle is put into reverse. Also rear brake assist works sometimes. Vehicle was turned into service for previous rear camera recall, but condition has returned.
the radio screen at night will not dim/switch to night mode and it's a bright spotlight in your face while driving. This is blinding and dangerous. I believe this is a software glitch and I don’t believe Lincoln is in a hurry to fix it unless the NHTSA steps in like they did for the back up camera issue. In my photos I’m including you can see it is night with the headlights on yet the screen is in daytime mode almost washing out the camera lens due to it’s brightness. I’m also including a link to reform or discussions are picking up about this issue. As it is not just me noticing this. https://lincolnforums.com/forums/threads/%E2%80%9Cnight%E2%80%9D-display-background-bug.40837/#post-733751 For comparison I included one photo with green highlights to show what night mode is supposed to look like when it works.
Backup camera turns to blue screen when the vehicle is put into reverse.
Built at Chicago Plant October 2019 purchased Sept 30, 2020. Multiple and ongoing instances where back up camera when put into reverse goes to a blue screen and you cannot see what is behind you in the back up camera. it also cant assist in advising you there is oncoming traffic. APMI completely replaced and several software updates. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE Radio and info screen will freeze up passenger doors would not open - switches replaced windows would not roll down - shop reprogrammed
DOOR RELEASE BUTTON TO UNLOCK DOOR FAILURE. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN A ONE YEAR PERIOD THAT A UNLOCK BUTTON SWITCH HAS FAILED TWO DIFFERENT DOORS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THERE IS NO MANUAL OR MECHANICAL BACKUP TO OPEN THE DOOR IN A EMERGENCY, EXCEPT FOR THE DRIVERS DOOR.
Lincoln had a recall on the rear view camera in 2021 which I completed that did not remedy the issue of blue screen in place of the camera. They released another recall and have continuously delayed it as they have no remedy so my vehicle is left without a functioning rear view camera.
WHILE SLOWING DOWN FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT, WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL PRESSED, THE VEHICLE CONTINUE TO MOVE TOWARDS THE INTERSECTION. HAD TO QUICKLY PUT THE VEHICLE INTO PARK AND TURN OFF IGNITION.
DISPLAY SCREEN /REAR CAMERA GOES BLANK AND DISPLAYS ERROR MESSAGE INTERMITTENTLY PART FOR IMAGE PROCESSOR WAS REPLACED AND STILL OCCURS THIS HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING AND ALSO WHEN IN REVERSE
THE BACK UP CAMERA IS ONLY WORKING ABOUT 40% OF THE TIME. MOST TIMES THERE IS JUST A BLACK SCREEN WITH A MESSAGE TO CONTACT THE DEALERSHIP. THIS STARTED THE DAY I PURCHASED THE 2020 LINCOLN AVAITOR WHICH WAS 10/9/2020 DEALER SAID THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A RECALL COMING
PASSENGER FRONT CV JOINT BALL BEARINGS WENT BAD AFTER ONLY 2800 MILES ON THE CAR. THE PROBLEM WAS NOTED WITH NOISE WHILE DRIVING AT AROUND 40 MPH OR HIGHER. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A BIG PROBLEM IF I HAD NOT NOTICED THE ISSUE AND RESEARCHED THE LIKELY CAUSE.
Vehicle was purchase in 12/2019 and garaged most of 2020 due to Covid. Started using vehicle in late 2021 and discovered a number of electrical problems that dealt directly with the safety systems of the vehicle. False vehicle theft alarms, "Pre Collision Assist Not Available" warnings continuously, "Remote Features Disabled" notices, "Hill Assist Warning " detected a failure, rear camera flickering, Adaptive Cruise control not functioning, adaptive headlights not functioning, Lane Keeping Assist warning and corrective non functional. Myself and any passengers were put at risk because of the vehicle inoperative and failing electronics. Pedestrians and Rear Cross traffic were put at rick due to intermittent failures of detectors and rea camera. Vehicle was in the possession of Planet Lincoln, Dallas for 4 different times totaling 30 days. Vehicle was examined by a Ford Engineer that was flown in from Ford Headquarters at Grapevine Lincoln for 5 days. Dealership or Ford Motors would not provide information of the issues found because of a Lemon Lawsuit we had filed. The issues began on or around August 2020. The last repair attempt by the Ford Engineer was performed in late December 2020. This attempt failed to correct all safety issues also.
AVATAR WAS BOUGHT WITH 189 MILES ON IT. 4TH DAY AFTER PURCHASE DRIVING CAR 25MPH AND CAR MADE A CLUNK NOISE AND MULTIPLE WARNINGS APPEARED DRIVE CONTROL MALFUNCTION, PRE COLLISION ASSIST NOT AVAILABLE, SERVICE ADVANCETRAC DEALERSHIP TOWED CAR. CAR CAME BACK AND 2 DAYS LATER I WAS REVERSING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND BREAKS LOCKED UP (MY SURVEILLANCE VIDEO CAUGHT 2 ANGLES. 2 DAYS LATER RECEIVED DOOR FAULT AND WAS NOT ABLE TO OPEN THE DOORS THE DEALERSHIP KEPT MY CAR FOR A FEW DAYS WORKING WITH LINCOLN TECS AND ON DAY 2 OF HAVING IT BACK (22 DAYS OF OWNING IT) AGAIN DRIVING 25MPH I HEARD A CLUNK AND RECEIVED HILL START ASSIST NOT AVAILABLE, SERVICE ADVANCETRAC, DRIVE CONTROL MALFUNCTION AND PRE COLLISION ASSIST NOT AVAILABLE. CAR WAS TOWED BACK TO DEALERSHIP THEY KEPT IT FOR A FEW WEEKS AND I RECEIVED IT BACK IN MY DRIVEWAY AND UPON GETTING IN AND STARTING IT THE DOOR FAULT WARNING HAPPENED AGAIN AND I WAS LOCKED IN.
WHEN PUTTING THE VEHICLE INTO GEAR (WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL PRESSED) IT SOME TIMES BEGINS MOVING AND THE BRAKE PEDAL DOES NOT ENGAGE THE BRAKES. THIS FORCES THE DRIVER TO QUICKLY PUT THE CAR BACK INTO PARK TO STOP THE VEHICLE.
MY VEHICLE HAS 4960 MILES AND THE TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SLOW DOWN AS IF I WAS DRIVING A STICK SHIFT CAR, THEN 2 OR 3 DAYS LATER BEGAN TO KICK AND LOSE POWER WHEN INCREASING SPEED AFTER A STOP SIGN. DEALER DIAGNOSED AN INTERNAL FAILURE ON THE TRANSMISSION AND IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. A COUPLE OF TIMES IN THE MORNING AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, WHEN PUTTING THE REVERSE GEAR I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE BUT THE CAR STILL MOVED AND THE BRAKES WERE VERY STIFF, I HAD TO RELEASE THE BRAKE AND APPLY IT AGAIN IN ORDER TO STOP THE CAR FROM MOVING. THE SENSORS ON THE REAR BRAKE SUPPORT ARE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE. THE CAR DETECTS A SMALL CRACK ON MY DRIVEWAY AND STOPS ABRUPTLY CAUSING MY HEAD TO BUMP TWICE ON THE HEADREST, THE DEALER SAID IT WAS NORMAL, NO DEFECT FOUND. THE WINDSHIELD FLUID I THOUGHT IT WAS NORMAL IN THIS CAR TO THROW A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF LIQUID COMPARED TO MY OTHER LINCOLN MKZ, BUT READING THE COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER CUSTOMERS I REALIZED THAT IT'S NOT NORMAL.
ELECTRONIC DOOR RELEASE ON THE INTERIOR DRIVERS DOOR HAS FAILED AT 2200 MILES. THE BUTTON DOES NOT WORK AT ALL AND IS LOOSE IN THE DOOR. THIS PREVENTS EXIT FROM INSIDE THE CAR WITHOUT USING THE MANUAL OVERRIDE OR ROLLING DOWN THE WINDOW TO ACCESS THE OUTSIDE HANDLE.
ON DELIVERY OF THE VEHICLE (6/5/2020), THERE WAS AN ERROR MESSAGE ON THE CONSOLE INDICATING AN ISSUE WITH A DOOR LOCK SENSOR (ACCORDING TO THE DEALER). THE DEALERSHIP HAD THE CAR FOR 3 DAYS TO MAKE THE REPAIR. ON 6/26/2020, WE REPORTED TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR LOCK WAS NOT WORKING AND THE BUTTON TO OPEN THE DOOR WAS INOPERABLE. TODAY, 6/29/2020, THE AUTO IS COMPLETELY DEAD. APPARENTLY, THE ELECTRICAL ISSUE DRAINED THE BATTERY. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. WHAT ARE WE TO DO IF WE CANNOT GET OUT OF THE CAR. INOPERABLE DOOR OPENING BUTTONS IS DANGEROUS. FURTHER, WHEN THE CAR WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY, IT SUDDENLY AND ON ITS OWN BEGAN FLASHING LIGHTS AND THE MIRRORS RETRACTED SOME 15 MINUTES AFTER WE USED THE REMOTE TO LOCK THE CAR.
WITH MY CAR IN PARK, I HAVE SHIFTED TO DRIVE AND REVERSE, AND WHILE MAINTAINING MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AFTER TRANSFERRING TO DRIVE OR REVERSE THE CAR HAS MOVED BY ITSELF BY APPROXIMATELY 3 FEET BEFORE COMING TO A STOP. EACH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED I WAS ON A LEVEL SURFACE. THE DEALERSHIP INSPECTED MY CAR BUT COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING THAT WOULD CAUSE THIS TO HAPPEN.
DRIVER CONTROL MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHT SIGN COMES ON. I'VE TAKING IT TO THE DEALER TWICE BUT THEY COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. WHAT DO I DO
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE WHEN BACKING UP OR PULLING FORWARD THE BACK UP CAMERA, AND THE FORWARD CAMERA ARE NOT CONSTANT, AND JITTER RAPIDLY. THIS CAN LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT WHEN A PERSON IS BACKING UP AND THE CAMERA JITTERS TO THE POINT WHERE THE PERSON CAN NOT SEE CLEARLY USING THE BACK UP CAMERA OR THE FRONT CAMERA DURING DRIVING OPERATIONS.
IN REVERSE (BOTH STATIC AND IN MOTION), REARVIEW CAMERA FLICKERS CONSTANTLY BETWEEN IMAGE AND BLACK SCREEN MAKING IT UNSAFE TO USE CAR IN REVERSE AND DEPEND ON CAMERA FOR VISIBILITY OF OBSTACLES. 4+ ATTEMPTS TO FIX BY LINCOLN, INCLUDING REPLACEMENT OF THE REAR BACKUP CAMERA UNDER WARRANTY, HAVE NOT RESOLVED THIS SAFETY ISSUE.
I PURCHASED THE AUTO ON AUG 24, 2019. I HAVE ENCOUNTERED 5 ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE SO FAR - 3 MECHANICAL AND 2, COSMETIC. I'LL FOCUS ON THE MECHANICAL. BESIDE THE PENDING RECALL, I AM EXPERIENCING THE FOLLOWING: 1) THE PASSENGER SEAT IN FRONT ROW LACKS THE MOTOR FOR THE MASSAGE FUNCTION. LINCOLN HAS NOW TAKEN OVER 2 MONTHS TO REPAIR DUE TO LACK OF PART. 2) THE ELECTRICAL PARKING BRAKE COMES ON WHILE DRIVING OCCASIONALLY. 3) THE VEHICLE CAMERA GETS DISTORTED WHEN SWITCHING CAR ON. HAPPENED TWICE, LAST TIME IT HAPPENED WAS A WEEK AGO 11/12.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WIPER FLUID FAILED TO PRODUCE ENOUGH SOLUTION TO CLEAR THE WINDSHIELD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN SEVERAL TIMES TO ROBBERSON FORD (2100 NE 3RD ST, BEND, OR 97701, (541) 382-4521) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE PUMP, LINE, WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADES, AND A STRONGER RESERVOIR PUMP WERE NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,000.
I WAS DRIVING HOME AND THE ENGINE COOLANT DISPLAY ON THE PANEL ALL OF THE SUDDEN WAS AT THE MAXIMUM. IT THEN WOULD NOT LET ME THROTTLE ANY MORE, SO I HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE AND TURN THE VEHICLE OFF. I DID AND LET IT SIT 20 MINUTES AND THE ISSUE WAS STILL PRESENT. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALER. IT TURNS OUT TO BE AN INSTRUMENT / ELECTRICAL ISSUE AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ACTUALLY OVER HEATING. SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN 2 WEEKS LATER AFTER THE DEALER HAD UPDATED THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND REPLACED THE SENSOR. MY CAR HAD LESS THAN 5000 MILES AND BEEN IN THE SHOP ALMOST 5 TIMES INCLUDING THESE 2 INSTANCES.