1993 through early 1996 lincoln mark viii's have a serious visibility problem at night due to their inferior headlight design. Because the headlight profile is so slim and the lenses yellow so easily with use, you can't see anything when it is dark. I find myself checking to make sure my headlights are in fact on they are so bad. No precautions can be taken to prevent this low visibility situation, it is a bad design. Ford switched over to hid in 1996 to correct the problem, but us older vehicle owners were left out with a dangerous car and our only choice is to pay one thousand plus dollars for a retrofit kit that we should not have to pay for.
1994 Lincoln Mark Viii: headlights failing or too dim
117 of the 167 complaints about the 1994 Lincoln Mark Viii describe headlights failing or too dim.
- owner complaints
- 117
- of this car's complaints
- 70%
- typical repair cost reported
- $600
- typical mileage
- 80,000
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 2 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Headlights failing or too dim by model year
What owners say
The head lights on the 94 lincoln mark 8 do not put out enough light to safely see while driving down the rd, it appears the reflective material is gone, the headlights have been polished to remove scratches and yellowing, they were also aimed, to make matters worse ford does not offer headlight assemblies for this car anymore nor do they have a solution to fix it available.
1994 lincoln mark 8 headlights design does not permit adequate lighting for driving at night using low beams. Bulbs were replaced with higher power bulbs and the lighting still does not illuminate the roadway.
My vehicle has 2 defects which I have noticed on numerous other cars like mine, even later model years. The headlights become very dull and yellowed after 3-4 years, to the point that you have to drive with highbeams on all the time just to be able to see the road. I have seen this as the #1 complaint about this model car on numerous blogs. The 2nd problem is with the seal around the back windshield. It warps after a few years. Virtually every mark viii that I see has this same problem, and it is very expensive to repair because the whole windshield has to be removed, and the back windshield is much more complicated than the front.
93 through 96 lincoln mark viii headlight assembly the problem is one of many factors: heat, plastic, ultraviolet exposure, bad design, all rolled up into a nice mess. The halogen bulbs used are quite hot. This is a known fact. Add in the short height of the housing, and you have a real problem. Also, inside the low beam housing, there is a diffuser, which is used to cut down the direct light from the bulb, and produce a slightly lower intensity beam. All of these "features" of the assembly contribute to generating so much trapped heat from the bulb, the top side of the reflector material is burned away. This reduces the reflective qualities of the reflector, of course, but it also leaves a black and yellow charred area which actually absorbs some of the light. Not only is there less light being reflected from the top (and this is important in the design of the light itself), there is less light in general due to the darkened spot! The problem is so severe that I believe, given enough time, the assembly itself will actually melt away. There is simply no where for the heat to go, except up. Now couple these problems with the fact that the plastic clear lens tends to not only yellow with age (due to cleaning problems and ultraviolet exposure) but also start to have hundreds of tiny stress cracks in the lens itself. The yellow dims the light again, and the tiny cracks diffuse the remaining light. The result is a dangerous situation of low lighting of the road. All in all, a pretty bad system for something that came on a $35,000-$45,000 car, don't you think?
This car is ok if you drive it in the day light hours I try to get home before the sun goes down the headlights when on does not light the road and the price to fix this problem is outrageous this should be recalled you cant see at night had this car for several years as hame I refuse to drive at night in this car.
The headlights failed prematurely causing multiple night time accidents, even after replacement night time visibility is poor at best.
It has come to my attention since purchasing my 1994 lincoln mark viii that the headlights on this model for the years 1993 to 1995 are of poor design and are an extreme hazard when driving at night. The low beam reflectors fail over a short time causing up to 90% loss of candle power rendering the vehicle unusable at night unless using the high beams all the time, causing hazardous conditions for oncoming drivers. I am requesting the assistance of the federal safety agency in this matter, as it appears to be a defect that the manufacture has known about for some time and is not willing to reconcile.
Headlight housings reflective surface no longer reflective and plastic lenses on front of housings have become foggy. Light output with low beams is hardly more noticeable than driving with just parking lights. This makes for very poor night visibility due to severe degradation of oem headlamp system and 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. This is clearly a defect in workmanship and/or design flaw and ford/lincoln/mercury needs to fix this issue with the 93-95 mark viii's with halogen bulbs systems before accidents are caused, lives lost and class action lawsuits begin.
Headlight housings reflective surface no longer reflective and plastic lenses on front of housings have become foggy. Light output with low beams is hardly more noticeable than driving with just parking lights. This makes for very poor night visibility due to severe degradation of oem headlamp system and 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. This is clearly a defect in workmanship and/or design flaw and ford/lincoln/mercury needs to fix this issue with the 93-95 mark viii's with halogen bulbs systems before accidents are caused, lives lost and class action lawsuits begin.
The headlights on my 1994 lincoln mark 8 are totally unacceptable in quality and performance. These are without a doubt the worst oem lights ever produced. They are dangerous due to their terrible light output and defective construction!! Lincoln will not stand behind their product and does not produce replacement part for this car. This car hes become undriveable at night due to the defective construction of the oem light housings! This is unacceptable! Please take the appropriate action!!
Poor night drive ability due to poor oem design of headlight system. Lights get faded over time and the interior reflector material bakes off. Convert to a newer hid system is a very viable solution .
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Exterior lighting: headlights: switch
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The headlights can flash intermittently as a result of the circuit breaker opening. The vehicle's headlights can go out for brief intervals.
- Risk
- Loss of headlights during vehicle operation can affect a driver's ability to navigate the roadway and reduce the visibility of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a headlight switch that incorporates a cricuit breaker of revised design and installation of a wiring harness connector and wiring, if needed.
Recall number 98V009000 · Recall details
Questions about the 1994 Lincoln Mark Viii headlights
Is headlights failing or too dim a common problem on the 1994 Lincoln Mark Viii?
117 of 167 owner complaints about the 1994 Lincoln Mark Viii (70%) mention headlights failing or too dim. The model year with the most reports is 1993.
How much does it cost to fix headlights failing or too dim on the 1994 Lincoln Mark Viii?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $600 (median of 10 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1994 Lincoln Mark Viii?
There is 1 recall and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1994 Lincoln Mark Viii
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