1997 Lincoln Continental problems
Owners have filed 109 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Lincoln Continental. Wipers, windshield & visibility is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. Next are steering (11%) and brakes (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 109 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Wipers, windshield & visibility 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 59,000 miles 21 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 21 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 59,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Lincoln Continental with enough data (60 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I am on my 5th set of tires in 58000 miles. Dealer refuses to do anything and will not have factory rep. See car even though I have requested same. Ford has not done anything even after several calls and letters. Last tire failure resulted in car leaving road and going into ditch. My pregnant daughter was with me and was very shaken. Reason given by ford for premature tire wear is that I am an aggressive driver. I am a 55yr. Old businessman not a drag racing kid.
While pulling into parking lot air bags deployed. Did not hit anything. Passenger's side window broke in the process. The driver's arm also broke. Could not steer vehicle due to air bag being wrapped around steering wheel. Vehicle hit a concrete barrier due to lack of steering. The seat belts left very bad bruises.
While driving, noticed smoke coming from under the hood. Driver pulled over/ popped hood, and saw wires burning. Driver felt this was unsafe because there was no smoke coming from underhood.
While driving a noise came from the steering wheel when making a right turn. Also, vehicle had to be started several times before power assist pump would operate. Consumer stated that vehicle had been repaired on two separate occasions under TSB 6092661. Dealer refused to repair the vehicle again because the warranty expired.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 lincoln continental. The contact noticed the driver side front tire was flat. The vehicle was towed and the mechanic diagnosed the failure as the front coil springs and struts having failed. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 103,388. The vehicle has been repaired. The contact has the repair invoices.