Transmission was shuddering when it shifted gears. It would lose power and jerk between each gear. We paid for diagnostic at the dealership and they diagnosed as torque converter shudder under 2 separate TSB's. Dealership offered to fix at a cost of $6400. Told not to drive the vehicle or at least as little as possible. They refused to cover this under the TSBs. Contacted Lincoln Client Care. The shudder became worse even driving through town and it would jerk and the RPMS were jumping all over. Also took it to AAMCO after dealership stated they would not cover it under a TSB. AAMCO provided free diagnostic and came to the same conclusion of the torque converter and estimated cost of $3300, which was 3100 less than dealership. Asked Lincoln for goodwill fix and they spent a month talking to the dealership trying to get the dealership to a lower price, to whichthe dealership raised the price to $6800 and they offered 4k in goodwill, but said that it would take 4 to 6 weeks to get the parts. By this time AAMCO already had the parts after waiting3 weeks on backorder and AAMCO made te fix at an out of pocket cost of $3300. Total out of pocket costs were the 300 for the diagnostic and the 3300 for the torque converter fix.
Lincoln Nautilus jerking problems
34 of the 243 owner complaints about the Lincoln Nautilus describe jerking or lurching, most of them for the 2019 model year.
- owner complaints
- 34
- worst model year
- 2019
- typical repair cost reported
- $10,188
- typical mileage
- 85,000
By model year
Often reported together
Shudder 6Hesitation 4Harsh shifting 3Slipping 2Misfire 2Loss of power 2Check engine light 2Transmission failure 1
What owners say
Transmission jerking/ stuttering in lower gears under 35 mph.
Hennessey Lincoln in Atlanta repaired my car in June 2026. My Torque converter needed to be replaced. My car was there over 20 days. Two weeks after getting it back from shop it started jerking and smoking. It needed another torque converter replacement. Two weeks after getting this car back it did the same thing again. I contacted Ford Warranty they did not help. Lincoln iin Michigan did not attempt to help. I couldn't even get the car in the shop for repair because of lack of employees that work on transmissions and no loaner cars.
The car has started a jerking motion when it is at a stop sign, stop light, or and nu prolonged stoppage of the vehicle. It is worse when I have the auto-stop-start feature turned on. This started roughly 3 months ago.
I bought my 2020 Lincoln nautilus in February 2025 soon after I noticed a jerking from my lower gears,it has 80000 miles.i took it to the dealer I bought it from and they said the transmission is falling and will cost $10,188 to replace. They told me there was no recall and it wasn't covered under any warranty.
I bought my 2020 Lincoln nautilus in February 2025 soon after I noticed a jerking from my lower gears,it has 80000 miles.i took it to the dealer I bought it from and they said the transmission is falling and will cost $10,188 to replace. They told me there was no recall and it wasn't covered under any warranty.
My 2020 Lincoln Nautilus has an intermittent jerk during light acceleration with no diagnostic codes. This was confirmed when I had a professional mechanic drive it.
The transmission occasionally jerks/studders between second and third at acceleration and deceleration.
While driving low speed between 1-55 mph my car feels like it’s stuttering, jerking or about to shut down.
Recently took a trip from [XXX] to [XXX] and during the course of this trip the lane departure, lane keeping and automatic braking would constantly fail during the course of the drive as the facial recognition sensor kept failing to detect my face and would start going into the Resume Control mode which pulses the brakes and turns on the four way flashers. There was also two different warnings displayed on the dash from the camera failure "Driver Facing Camera Blocked" and also "Driver Facing Camera Cannot Detect Face" several times during the past couple months. Additionally, the system would go straight to the Resume Control mode, when it is supposed to begin with the "Watch the Road" preliminary warning which is supposed to be able to be cleared with either the button on the steering wheel or by shaking the wheel, and that too does not operate properly. These instances happened even more frequently when the "Blue Cruise" hands free driving system was in operation. Additionally when the Blue Cruise Hands Free Driving system was making a lane change, over half the time the Blue Cruise would suddenly disengage before the lane change was completed, so the lane assist would try to take over and jerk the wheel back into the lane, making it seem like there was a loss of control over the vehicle. Furthermore the lane centering system is highly biased to the right side lane marker as it would not center the vehicle in the lane but stay right on the right side line even when passing another vehicle it stayed close to the lane line when the system is showing that it was moving the vehicle away from the vehicle being overtaken. And when I tried to move the vehicle away manually the system was fighting the manual correction and trying to keep the vehicle along the line. Very unsafe operation, not to mention that constantly fighting against these systems made this one of the most tiring drives I have done, and I have made this trip many times since 1983. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOI
Related recalls
Power train: driveline: driveshaft
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Edge, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus and Ford Escape and 2021 Lincoln Corsair and Ford Bronco Sport vehicles. An inadequate amount of lubricant in the rear drive unit may cause seizure of the rear drive axle.
- Risk
- If the rear drive unit seizes, there may be a loss of drive and/or a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the rear drive unit lubricant level. Axles found to have lubricant at the minimum level will be filled to the full level. Axles found to be below the minimum lubricant fill level will be replaced, free of charge. This recall began March 12, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S02.
Recall number 21V011000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Edge, Transit Connect and Lincoln MKX and 2020 Escape and Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing or loose bolts.
- Risk
- Missing or loose bolts on the start stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission fluid leak and may progress to a loss of transmission function. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the start/stop accumulator, free of charge. The recall began September 23, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S49.
Recall number 20V550000 · Recall details
Questions about the Lincoln Nautilus jerking
Which Lincoln Nautilus years have jerking or lurching problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2019 (16 complaints), 2020 (9 complaints) and 2021 (5 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix jerking or lurching on the Lincoln Nautilus?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $10,188 (median of 6 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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