Electrical and airbag issues are among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
The 2022 Lincoln Aviator is a luxury three-row SUV meant to haul the entire family in style. The company claims this SUV is “intelligently designed.” But many customers can’t fathom what’s intelligent about a vehicle that keeps telling them to “stop safely now,” leaving them stranded in dangerous situations.
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A total of 14 complaints were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration between February 2 and September 23, 2022. They apply to 11 components and systems, with the number of electrical system and engine complaints topping the list with 9. What happens is that many complainants mention more than one component or system.
The other 7 components and systems mentioned are airbags, back over prevention, forward collision avoidance, and the fuel/propulsion system getting 2 mentions each. Equipment, service brakes, steering, suspension, and vehicle speed control all get 1 mention each.
By far the most common problem is related to a warning message the driver gets to “stop safely now.” There are indications that this may be related to some sort of battery failure.
Airbags are also a big issue. Despite there being only 2 airbag-related complaints, both involved airbags not deploying and one reports a fire related to the crash. Both are extremely serious and life-threatening.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Engine | |
| Back Over Prevention | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Air Bags | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking | |
| Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Power Train |
As a luxury automobile, the Aviator should have a well-functioning electrical system. But, unfortunately it has major problems. While most of the electrical system complaints mention the “stop safely now” issue, not all of them do.
One NHTSA complaint highlights an issue related to the doors of the SUV. Another appears to relate to high-voltage fuses burning out.
“Door ajar notification continues to illuminate when all doors are secure. First incident happened on 1/25/2022. Was sent in for repair and returned on 2/2/2022. Issue happened again while driving on the interstate on 3/10/2022, and is back in for repair. This notification causes dome lights to continue to illuminate which is a danger at night, and will not allow for doors to lock.”
An owner from New York states that while making a left turn exiting from an expressway, “While the wheel was turned the power steering failed, locking up the steering wheel. These alerts came on the dashboard: Hill Start Assist Warning, Service Steering, Pre-Collision Assist Not Available. The car was towed to Dana Ford and the technician says that a high-voltage fuse burned out. They also stated that they wanted to find the cause for the fuse to burn out before replacing it.”
Some complaints give more details than others. For instance, an owner from Texas puts the scenario in a nutshell. “A warning appears on the dash ‘stop safely now’ and the vehicle rapidly comes to a complete stop and is unable to be moved. This has occurred on three occasions, during 2 of which the car stalled in an active driving lane on a highway, resulting in a life-threatening situation. The app said ‘high voltage battery warning’ triggered by ‘another event’.” The complainant continues to say that the issue is being investigated by Lincoln, although, at that stage, the manufacturer had not been able “to appropriately diagnose and resolve the issue.”
An owner from Pennsylvania got the ‘Stop Safely Now’ message 5 times. But, “When I begin to slow down, the car loses all power and I have to coast to a stop somewhere.” The first time he was able to start back up and carry on driving. The other times the car had to be towed. Ultimately, “Lincoln has replaced the battery and also the Powertrain Control Module and neither of these have corrected the problem.”
The very first NHTSA complaint listed mentions a high-voltage battery reading. . “This is a brand new vehicle with 3,000+ miles on it,” the owner from Kentucky wrote. The first day the vehicle would not go into drive. A warning message appeared that said ‘high-voltage battery warning’, ‘The hybrid powertrain system has detected a fault’. The complaint reads that “It would also flash ‘Full Accessory Power Active’.”
The owner took the vehicle to the local Lincoln dealer. They inspected the car, but didn’t find anything wrong with it. But they did find the codes and stated “they thought the battery was dead. This was impossible due to the fact I drove the car 500 miles from Alabama to KY on 12-21. Today, 2-2-22, my wife was driving home from work and the car shut off on the interstate. When I say shut off, I mean it died at 65 mph. She tried to press the accelerator and the car just continued to de-accelerate. The check engine light popped up and said ‘Stop Safely Now’.”
Luckily, as the complaint states, “my wife was able to pull off the interstate without causing an accident. Once stopped, she turned the vehicle off and tried to restart it. It popped the same message about ‘full accessory power’ and the car wouldn’t start. She tried the push button start to no avail, tried the remote start to no avail. Finally, she used her ‘phone as a key’ and it started. She was able to drive home. I have called Lincoln and made them aware of the issues. They have asked for me to bring the car in immediately. I informed them I would be filing a complaint here as well. This car is a $85,000 death trap. Lincoln needs to take this very seriously and an investigation needs to (be) open(ed) to find out why this vehicle is behaving like this. It is not safe to drive.”
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Airbags are standard in all modern vehicles and we rely on them to help save our lives in the event of a crash. When they fail to deploy, our lives are in danger.
An Aviator owner from Michigan tells the story in a single sentence. “Brakes failed, car crashed, imminent crash warning system did not come on and air bags did not deploy in direct frontal crash.” So, not only did the airbags fail, but there was no warning from the vehicle’s warning system either.
An owner from Alabama had a crash after running off the road and down a ravine. The frame of the car broke in two places when the driver hit a large tree head on.
“I was shocked that none of them (the airbags) deployed after such a hard impact with the front of the car and the right side. The local police and fire department that arrived on the scene were very concerned that the airbags didn’t deploy. The towing company and body shop owner was also very concerned that the airbags didn’t deploy after he examined the car after the accident. I just want everyone to be aware of this safety feature that failed me after I paid $70k for a car with five-star safety ratings.”
If you think you have a lemon, it may be a good idea to find a legal firm that can take up your case. After all, the law makes Lincoln pay legal fees for lemon law cases.
You may not know it, but every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners. Lemberg Law specializes in lemon law cases, and we will assess your case without charge. Call us on our Helpline or fill out our contact form.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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I found 2 holes about 3-5 inch diameter under both front seats. I always wondered why fumes were stronger than usual in the vehicle and it was never a “sanctuary” regarding noise.