1998 Lincoln Mark Viii problems

Filed May 16, 2016 · Lights, Steering · 104,527 miles · WI

Update to last complaint: the passenger side hid headlight has failed, no replacement except $1000 conversion kit. Have to drive with only "brights" on from now on. Danger to myself and those I'm passing, plus if the "brights" aren't on, then I have no headlights and could get pulled over. Passenger side ball joint/control arm broke while driving and tire fell off while driving in parking lot at work. After repair, hearing a bad creaking noise. Air suspension has to fill up all the way when I start the vehicle even after 5 minutes of it being shut off. Have paid $1,200 for repairs of suspension and steering in 6 months. (that's with my dealership employee discount). Seriously, I've heard too much about defective ball joints, headlights, no heat, door handles snapping off, and the air suspension going bad. Why is ford not doing anything about these obviously defective parts??? Because the car is rare and they don't make them anymore???

Filed Feb 4, 2016 · Suspension, Visibility · WI

I've had this gem since 2010, bought with 30,000 miles...now has 104,000 miles. It was great until 2014. Where do I start? (1) no heat- broken blender door actuator...manually set it to the warm setting for the winter behind glove box. (2) driver's door handle snapped last year(replaced for $100)...and now this year the passenger side snapped. (3) doors are constantly "ajar", alternating from one side to the other. (4) ball joint is starting to wear badly, (5) driver's seat won't recline, (6) steering wheel won't move forward/backward anymore, (7) suspension is starting to go...front end lowers to ground after shutting down engine. I'm sure there's more that I can't think of.

Filed Sep 14, 2011 · Visibility · 49,789 miles · MN

The heater will not blow hot air, no defroster, can't see out of windshield.

Filed Mar 6, 2011 · Brakes, Electrical · 74,095 miles · TX

The brakes can quit working after the automatic parking brake release solenoid fails to release the rear brakes when the transmission lever is moved out of park. The rear brakes will then overheat after several miles, which causes the brake fluid to eventually boil and be expelled from the master cylinder. The first symptom is that the brake pedal goes almost all the way to the floor and braking becomes erratic. Shortly thereafter, the braking system totally failed to stop the car due to lack of brake fluid in the master cylinder. Pumping the brake pedal rapidly and sheer luck are the only things that have prevented a major crash (so far...)! The rear brake pads and fluid have been replaced, but there seems to be no fix available that would prevent the problem from re-occurring. This safety defect appears to be caused by the parking brake position sensor switch failing to notify the computer software that the parking brake is set,, so the controlling software doesn't bother to release the brake at drive-off. The warning light also fails to indicate a problem to the driver, which makes this a very dangerous combination of hardware and software failure after this problem happened to my wife twice, I began to drive the car to see what was happening. Sure enough, after a couple of days, the problem occurred exactly as described above. The only workaround is to use the emergency mechanical release before driving off. If one forgets to do this, there is no way of knowing that the rear brakes are dragging and impending brake failure is a certainty..

Filed Feb 24, 2011 · Suspension · 127,000 miles · TN

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 lincoln mark viii. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the front driver's side tire separated from the vehicle, causing the vehicle to suddenly drop to the ground. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who stated the ball joint was broken. The mechanic replaced the ball joint with a master pro cp426. The contact experienced the failure a second time, but was able to pull over to the shoulder of the road. The mechanic inspected the vehicle and stated the ball joint was broken and replaced it a second time. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000. Updated 03/24/11*lj updated 03/30/11

Filed Feb 24, 2011 · Suspension · 131,000 miles · TX

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 lincoln mark viii. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH over train tracks, the front passenger side tire came off and the vehicle fell to the ground. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred three times before. The vehicle was towed to a local shop who diagnosed that the ball joint and control arm needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileages were 131,000. Updated 3/25/11 *cn updated 03/30/11

Filed Jul 9, 2010 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 88,000 miles · MD

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 lincoln mark viii. While driving at a low speed the contact stated that the rear ABS failed. The dealer could not repair the vehicle because the rear wheel ABS sensor was no longer available. Report 238373 was filed with the manufacturer. The manufacturer attempted to locate the part, but the part was no longer in production; therefore; they could not offer any assistance. The dealer disconnected the rear ABS sensor to ensure that the rear brakes would function properly; yet, it caused the vehicle to vibrate and the ABS light to illuminate constantly. The failure and the current mileages were 88,000. Updated 8/25/10 *cn updated 08/27/10

Filed Mar 24, 2009 · Lights · 101,000 miles · OK

I own a 1998 lincoln mark viii. I have owned this car since 1999. Recently, one of the headlight lamps burned out. I attempted to buy a replacement bulb at several auto parts stores without success. I contacted the local lincoln dealers and found that the bulb (sylvania 9500) is no longer manufactured. I also found that there is no stock of available bulbs in the united states except for used bulbs on e-bay. (for $199). I researched this issue on the internet and determined that lincoln's remedy for this problem was to sell a conversion kit (from hid lights to halogen) for over $1,000.00. I do not know if they are charging $1,000.00 for a pair of lights or for only one side. At this point I cannot safely drive my vehicle after dark. I cannot find a reasonably priced replacement part. I am left with lincoln's "remedy" of spending at least $1,000 to replace a headlight bulb. I am also concerned that if I do drive the car with one headlight out the other one may go out leaving me with no headlamps.

Filed Feb 23, 2009 · Visibility · 23,000 miles · TN

Weather change. Heater blend door will not open. No defroster or heater in winter weather causing problems with seeing out windshield and hypothermia. I've had fixed twice at a cost of $900 each time. On any forum dealing with the mark viii it is a continuing problem caused by a defective part. It should be a manufacturer's responsibility to replace defective parts which cause traffic hazards, I.e., failure to defrost due to blend door not opening. Part is less than $10, repair is labor intensive.

Filed Jul 2, 2008 · Visibility · 24,775 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 lincoln mark viii. While backing out of the garage, the contact could not see through a small portion of the driver side door mirror. Approximately two weeks later, the contact could not see out of the entire mirror. There were no recalls for this failure. The speed was unknown. The current mileage was 24,875 and failure mileage was 24,775.