1996 Lincoln Mark Viii problems
Owners have filed 120 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Lincoln Mark Viii. Lighting is the most reported problem area, at 70% of complaints. After that come cruise control (6%) and electrical system (4%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 120 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 70% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 57,000 miles 30 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 12 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 30 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 57,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 53,000 miles (20 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the Lincoln Mark Viii with enough data (41 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.
Consumer was rearended while traveling 25 MPH. The passenger's side rear shoulder belt did not lock upon impact, causing the occupant to be forced into the seatback, resulting in injuries to the occupant. Consumer has contacted the dealer, dealer has replaced parts. Please provide any further details.
Air bag went off and black fibers went into my face, neck and legs. Now I have crystal balls over my body. It was dark, rainy and foggy when the consumer hit a deer.
While driving consumer's vehicle suddenly hit a deer. When the airbags deployed consumer was affected by the substance it released. The fibers damaged her neck, face and legs. Consumer has under gone several surgeries for this incident. When contacting lincoln, they do not want to have any part in any of this. Consumer called the state attorney general's office in washington, which wrote a letter to the us department of transportation ( DOT). Consumer was still waiting for some type of action to be taken ....
Dt*: the contact stated the plastic cover for the headlights are discolored. This does not allow the headlight to project enough light for night driving. The contact has replaced the light bulbs, but this has not improved visibility. The headlight assembly must be replaced. The manufacturer was alerted. Updated 4/6/2006 -
The design of the headlight lenses on the 1996 lincoln mark viii provides poor night visibility due to sever degradation of oem headlamp system. The reflective lens on the inside of the housing has melted away to the point that this makes night driving dangerous if not impossible with out some sort of aftermarket lighting system or oem replacements which will soon fail and cause the issue all over again.