Problems owners report
Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 2008 Lincoln Town Car, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.
- Vehicle speed control5
- Steering3
- Electrical system3
- Service brakes3
- Service brakes, hydraulic2
- Power train2
- Structure2
- Wheels1
- Suspension1
- Engine1
NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 2 injuries and 0 deaths reported
Compared with other years
NHTSA ODI complaints by model year
Fatal crashes in the US
From 2020 to 2023, 10 2008 Town Car vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 9 people died inside them. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)
New York safety inspections
At its first New York inspection the 2008 Lincoln Town Car failed the safety check 2.96% of the time — 19% more often than the average 2008 passenger car (2.48%). Median odometer at inspection: 129,168 miles.
NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count
In the United Kingdom
1 cars built in 2008 were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, and 1 more were declared off the road (SORN).
Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124, year of manufacture) · Open Government Licence v3.0
Fuel consumption
Official Canadian test results for 3 variants: combined 13.3–17.8 L/100 km (about 13–18 mpg US), CO₂ 285–306 g/km.
| Variant | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town Car · Full-size · Regular gasoline | 15.4 | 10.6 | 13.3 |
| Town Car FFV · Full-size · Regular gasoline | 15.7 | 10.4 | 13.3 |
| Town Car FFV · Full-size · E85 ethanol | 20.3 | 14.6 | 17.8 |
Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls in Canada
2 Transport Canada recalls for the 2008 Lincoln Town Car.
| 2014502 5 Nov 2014 | Steering Certain vehicles serviced as part of recall 2013-287 (13S08) or special service campaign 13R01 may require re-inspection and repair. The service procedure may h… |
| 2013287 27 Aug 2013 | Steering On certain vehicles originally sold or currently registered in areas of heavy road salt usage during winter months (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,… |
Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 Ford Crown Victoria, 2005-2011 Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles manufactured March 23, 2004, to August 30, 2011, and 2005-2011 Lincoln Town Car vehicles manufactured March 8, 2004, to August 30, 2011, and on which the upper intermediate shaft was serviced during the course of safety recall 13V-385. The prior repairs may not have been correctly performed.
Ford is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 Ford Crown Victoria (including Crown Victoria Police Interceptors), Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car vehicles. The affected vehicles are currently registered or were originally sold in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Severe corrosion can seize the lower intermediate shaft which may cause the upper intermediate shaft to collapse and the steering column lower bearing to separate.
EXECUTIVE COACH IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2011 LINCOLN TOWN CAR LIMOUSINES. THE FUEL RAIL SHIELD WAS LEFT OFF DURING MANUFACTURING. IN A FRONTAL IMPACT THE ENGINE COULD POTENTIALLY BEND OR RUPTURE FUEL LINES IF THE REPLACEMENT SHIELD IS NOT IN PLACE, CAUSING THOSE LINES TO LEAK FUEL.
Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words
Service bulletins
What Lincoln told its dealers about the 2008 Lincoln Town Car: known faults, fixes and updates.
| Bulletin | Summary |
|---|---|
| 10205037 | Inpected or repaired under 13R01 - Requests for recall service action under 13S08 |
| 10204997 | 4R75E Transmission - Grinding/Whine/Vibration/Gear Slippage - Serrvice Kit available |
| 10183773 | For 2005-2012 Crown Victoria, 2005-2011 Grand Marquis and Town Car vehicles, Regional Program 13R01 applies to vehicles not registered in corrosion states and not included in Safety Recall 13S08, where operation in high corrosion areas for an extended period may lead to corrosion in the lower intermediate steering shaft swing link. This may result in a compressed upper intermediate steering shaft and separation from the steering column, which can result in a loss of steering control. Vehicles covered under 13R01 that were inspected or repaired without replacement of the lower intermediate shaf |
| 10166447 | This SKU is a Radiator Fan. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect the electrical connections. An electrical connection issue may lead to the fan not working potentially throwing a check engine light for overheating. |
| 10137113 | Replacing the original equipment SYNC/Navigation system with either an aftermarket SYNC/Navigation kit or modifying original SYNC/Navigation parts to provide additional features is not recommended nor supported on any Ford, Mercury or Lincoln vehicle. Only approved Genuine Ford accessories or originally installed systems are supported and certified to function correctly with other vehicle systems. If you suspect a system has been modified, the following resources can be used to verify original equipment: Monroney Label (Window Sticker), Professional Technician Society (PTS) OASIS tab select |
| 10109070 | The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to diagnose possible ETB concerns. The IDS has a limited refresh rate when reading these PIDs and cannot display quickly enough to validate a concern. The PCM automatically monitors these inputs more accurately and will set diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) when appropriate. Using these PIDs for diagnostics will lead to inaccurate results and improper ETB replacements. If a concern is intermittent and no DTCs are present, refer |
| 10095184 | REPLACING THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT SYNC/NAVIGATION SYSTEM WITH EITHER AN AFTERMARKET SYNC/NAVIGATION KIT OR MODIFYING ORIGINAL SYNC/NAVIGATION PARTS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FEATURES IS NOT RECOMMENDED NOR SUPPORTED ON ANY FORD, MERCURY OR LINCOLN VEHICLE. ONLY APPROVED GENUINE FORD ACCESSORIES OR ORIGINALLY INSTALLED SYSTEMS ARE SUPPORTED AND CERTIFIED TO FUNCTION CORRECTLY WITH OTHER VEHICLE SYSTEMS. IF YOU SUSPECT A SYSTEM HAS BEEN MODIFIED, THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES CAN BE USED TO VERIFY ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT: MONRONEY LABEL (WINDOW STICKER), PROFESSIONAL TECHNICIAN SOCIETY (PTS) OASIS TAB SELECT |
| 10075262 | 4R75E TRANSMISSION - GRINDING/WHINE/VIBRATION/GEAR SLIPPAGE - SERVICE KIT AVAILABLE ISSUE A service kit has been released to assist with proper repair of the 4R75E transmission in 2008 Mark LT, 2008-2010 F-150, 2008-2010 / 2013-2014 E-Series, 2008-2011 Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis and Town Car vehicles that exhibit a grinding, whine-type noise, vibration and/or gear slippage while driving, or a loss of reverse resulting from a planetary gear assembly failure. |
| 10056701 | FORD/LINCOLN/MERCURY: FAILURE OF PLANETARY GEAR ASSEMBLY IS DUE TO TRANSMISSION, ON CERTAIN VEHICLES, EXHIBITING GRINDING, GEAR SLIPPAGE, WHINE TYPE NOISE, VIBRATION, WHILE DRIVING OR LOSS OF REVERSE. *PE |
| 10056191 | FORD/LINCOLN/MERCURY: THE INDICATOR MAY ILLUMINATE OVERDRIVE OFF AND/OR SLIPPING IN 3RD OR NO 4TH GEAR, DUE TO DIRECT CLUTCH FAILURE AND DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE (DTC) P0733 AND/OR P0734. MODEL 2008-2013 MARK LT, F-150, CROWN VICTORIA, GRAND MARQUIS, TOWN CAR, E SERIES. *PE |
| 10054924 | FORD: THE LOWER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, HAS CORROSION OF SWING LINK JOINTS, COMBINED WITH COLLAPSED UPPER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, RESULTING IN STEERING COLUMN SEPARATION AND LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL. MODEL 2005-2011 CROWN VICTORIA, GRAND MARQUIS, TOWN CAR. *PE UPDATED 04/23/14 *LJ UPDATED 07/10/15 *TA UPDATED 7/15/15 *TA |
| 10054006 | FORD: SWING LINK JOINTS ON LOWER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, HAS CORROSION, AND COMBINED WITH COLLAPSED UPPER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, ON SOME VEHICLES, CAUSES STEERING COLUMN TO SEPARATE, LEADING TO STEERING CONTROL LOSS. MODEL 2005-2011 CROWN VICTORIA, GRAND MARQUIS, TOWN CAR. *PE |
| 10045340 | FORD/LINCOLN/MERCURY: IF BATTERY WAS DISCONNECTED OR DEAD, VEHICLES/TRUCKS MAY EXPERIENCE HARD STARTS AND ENGINE IDLE RPM FLUCTUATION AND EXHIBIT DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTCS) P0505, P0506, P2111 AND P2112. *PE |
| 10032224 | FORD: ENGINE COOLING FAN CONTROL RELAY PART AVAILABILITY. *PE |
| 10026361 | FORD: CERTAIN 2008 MODEL YEAR TOWN CAR VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH HID HEADLAMPS. MERCURY CONTENT LABEL INSTALLATION. THE MERCURY (HG) CONTENT LABEL WAS NOT AFFIXED TO THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR OPENING. *PE |
| 10024866 | 2008 TOWN CAR - HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID) LOW BEAM HEADLAMP FLICKERING. *NJ |
NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)