Lincoln MKZ: which model years to avoid

Complaint and recall totals for every Lincoln MKZ model year we track, ranked by severity.

Model yearComplaintsRecallsCrashesFiresSeverityMost-reported system
2012146610284.9 MediumAIR BAGS
2013108134240.7 MediumELECTRICAL SYSTEM
201497147061.9 MediumSTEERING
201576114021.1 LowSERVICE BRAKES
201663780127.0 HighSERVICE BRAKES
201712946351.2 MediumENGINE
20183121038.7 MediumENGINE
20191712094.1 MediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Across 8 model years, the 2016 Lincoln MKZ carries the highest severity index (127.0, driven by service brakes), while the 2015 is the cleanest at 21.1.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.