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???
Lincoln Mark Viii door locks problems
10 of the 823 owner complaints about the Lincoln Mark Viii describe doors won't lock, open or latch, most of them for the 1998 model year.
- owner complaints
- 10
- worst model year
- 1998
By model year
- 19987
- 19971
- 19961
- 19951
Often reported together
What owners say
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.
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.
My 1998 lincoln markviii outside driver door handle broke I have 59,000 miles on it ,it cost $70.00 for the part,$40.00 to paint the thing,over @200.00 labor,(igot to keep the broken one !),I feel that ford knows of this defect in materials >see also #10052604 plus countless others who have had this problem>
I bought a 1996 lincoln mark viii 2 years ago. Not to long after owning it the drivers side outside door handle broke while trying to open it. (50,000 miles). $122.00 to fix. I traded the 96 for a 98 mark viii . I went to get into my car and the drivers outside door handle broke again.(52,000 miles)$257.00 to fix (defected part).
Outside door handle on driver side has snapped off while opening door. Dealer was contacted. Feel free to provide any further information.
The drivers side, low beam headlight burnt out about 6 months ago. Upon trying to replace the bulb, I learned that the bulb was only available through the dealer. I contacted 2 authorized lincoln dealers & received estimates varying in the ranges of $79-$835. After much research, I discovered that the $835 estimate was correct. In mid production of the 97 lincoln mark viii the ford motor company changed vendors on the headlight & the first system utilized is not compatible w/the second system. Hence, I need to pay to convert my car to the alternate system as they do not stock after market parts for the cars produced during the first half of the year. I do not have a problem w/paying $79 to replace the bulb that needs to be replaced. I feel it is ludicrous to pay $835 to replace an entire system due to incompetenc on behalf of the manufacturer. If you produce a car, you should stock parts for some amount of time. The ford motor company disagrees. At some point, I will need to replace my passenger headlight, then, I will have nearly $2000 invested in headlight replacement. I have made the obeservation on your website that other 97 mark viii owners have experienced the same problem. Is there anything that a consumer can do to encourage ford to accept financial responsibility for this design flaw? Additionally, my door handle boke in half- a solid piece of metal just broke right in half. The dealer says it is normal wear and tear!
The on-board computer indicates that the "drivers door is ajar". The sign does not go out when the door is opened and closed again. When door locks are depressed, they pop up again and the doors will not lock at all. The only operable setting of the heater blower motor is high fan/ the headlight assembly ballast is defective and the lowbeam setting is dim. It cannot be repaired by replacing the lamp.
Vehicle experiencing ongoing problem with electric door lock keeping clicking, and courtesy light would intermittently come on while driving. Vehicle been in dealer shop on several occasions, and unable to resolve the problem. Please feel free to provide any further details.
The door handle (outside) broke, consequently door could not be opened from outside. Not more than irritating until talked to dealer. Parts appartment stated "almost never happened" however a person in body shop told me they did nothing but "paint new door handles." after examining handle it`s pretty obvious this will break easy. If driver is left inside after an accident and unable to open door from inside and somone is using even slight force on outside handle it will break leaving person inside to his own. If fire I doubt they can get him out. The door handle is just a piece of s... And there is no doubt in my mind that lincoln is trying to cover it up since parts department was flatly lying. Check to see how many door handles lincoln has sold/replaced.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Lincoln Mark Viii door locks
Which Lincoln Mark Viii years have doors won't lock, open or latch problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1998 (7 complaints), 1995 (1 complaints) and 1996 (1 complaints).
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