2019 Lincoln Continental: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2019 Lincoln Continental
On the 2019 Lincoln Continental, the failure owners report most often is door latch or handle failure, with 7 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 25,000 miles. Overall it scores 67 out of 100, high risk for a 2019.
High risk for a 2019 — 232nd riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. 39 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
What owners report breaking
Owners have reported 17 named failure modes on the 2019 Lincoln Continental, and the three most-reported carry 44% of everything filed.
Door latch or handle failure leads with 7 reports and about 0.4 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other body or interior problem follows with 6 reports, median 40,000 miles.
Other driver assistance problem follows with 4 reports, median 10,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into body (14), adas (5) and steering (4).
At what mileage it happens
15 of the reports on the 2019 Lincoln Continental came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 25,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 67% by 50,000 miles, 93% by 100,000 miles and 93% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 20,000 and 30,000 miles, which alone holds 33% of the dated reports.
60% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 17. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Across the named modes, 2 mention a crash. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.49, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: door latch or handle failure at $250–$1,200, other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000, other driver assistance problem at $250–$1,800 and other steering problem at $350–$2,400. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
13% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Door latch or handle failure | body | 7 | 4 | — | 36k | — | 0.4 | $250–$1,200 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 6 | 2 | — | 42k | — | 0.3 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other driver assistance problem | adas | 4 | 2 | — | 9k | — | 0.2 | $250–$1,800 | High |
| Other steering problem | steering | 3 | 1 | — | 25k | — | 0.2 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| No-start or intermittent start failure | engine | 2 | 1 | — | 23k | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Backup camera failure | infotainment | 2 | 1 | — | 25k | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 2 | 1 | — | 65k | — | 0.1 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Engine knock or bearing noise | engine | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $2,500–$9,000 | High |
| Cruise control failure | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,400 | High |
| Loss of power steering | steering | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $600–$2,800 | Critical |
| Tire blowout or tread separation | wheels | 1 | 1 | — | 150k | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,500 | Critical |
| Liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,500 | Moderate |
| Software fault or failed update | software | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $0–$600 | Moderate |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 18k | — | 0.1 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 1 | 1 | — | 80k | — | 0.1 | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.2 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2019 Lincoln Continental draws about 2.3 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 78th percentile of complaint rates among 2019 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 17,315 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2019 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
Recalls on the 2019 model year
NHTSA has issued 3 recall campaigns covering the 2019 Lincoln Continental, affecting an estimated 29,646 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover back over prevention:software, back over prevention: sensing system: camera and latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE
200,237 vehicles 2025-06-27- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Transit Connect, 2019-2020 MKZ, MKX, Edge, Continental, F-150, Nautilus, Fusion, 2019-2023 Ranger, Mustang, 2020-2021 EcoSport, Expedition, Navigator, 2020-2022 Escape, F-250 SD, Corsair, 2020-2023 Aviator, Transit, 2020-2024 Explorer, 2021-2024 Bronco Sport, and 2022-2024 Maverick vehicles. A software error may cause the rearview camera to display a blank image, or the image may remain on the display after the backing event has ended.
- Consequence
- A rearview camera that displays a blank image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle. A rearview image that continues to be displayed after the vehicle is shifted out of reverse may distract the driver. Both of these situations can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the rearview camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 4, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S72.
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
277,040 vehicles 2022-08-26- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2020 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and 2017-2020 Lincoln Continental vehicles equipped with the 360-degree camera system. Degradation of the camera's anit-reflective lens coating can lead to a foggy or cloudy rearview camera image.
- Consequence
- Lack of a clear rearview camera image can reduce the driver's visibility of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 14, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S51.
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
27,609 vehicles 2019-02-11- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Lincoln Continental vehicles. The door latch pawl motors may not function properly, possibly resulting in a door latch not fully engaging.
- Consequence
- A door latch that is not fully engaged may result in a door opening while driving, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the latch assemblies on all four doors, free of charge. The recall began October 14, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S03.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2019 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Better and worse years of the same car
High risk for a 2019 — 232nd riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
Across the 10 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 1996 comes out best at 51 and 2002 worst at 68, with 2019 itself at 67.
If the model year is negotiable, 1996, 2001, 1999, 2000 and 1998 score lower than 2019 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2017–2020 generation specifically, 2018 is the strongest year at 64 and 2019 the weakest at 67.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2017-2020 generation, 2018 Lincoln Continental scores best at 64 and 2019 Lincoln Continental worst at 67.
The limits of complaint data
39 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 39 reports, 15 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 38% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2019 Lincoln Continental?
The most-reported failures are door latch or handle failure (7 reports, median 35,000 miles), other body or interior problem (6 reports, median 40,000 miles) and other driver assistance problem (4 reports, median 10,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2019 Lincoln Continental reliable?
It scores 67 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 232nd riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2019 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Lincoln Continental is best?
Within the 2017–2020 generation, 2018 scores best at 64 out of 100 and 2019 worst at 67. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed