Both front headlight and rear headlight seals are faulty resulting in a water leak, causing headlight and taillights to become inoperable at 60k miles.
Lincoln Navigator headlights problems
18 of the 1,361 owner complaints about the Lincoln Navigator describe headlights failing or too dim, most of them for the 2004 model year.
- owner complaints
- 18
- worst model year
- 2004
- typical mileage
- 112,000
Is there a fix? There are 6 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20231
- 20201
- 20191
- 20171
- 20141
- 20102
- 20071
- 20043
- 20032
- 20012
- 19992
- 19981
Often reported together
Won't start 1Fire or smoke 1Check engine light 1Ball joint 1
What owners say
I had been driving for about 15 minutes and then I noticed a burning plastic smell. It was dark so my headlights were on. I felt heat coming from under the dash by the pedals. I started to watch my dash to see if the truck was over heating or the check engine light would come on but neither of those happened. The next light I stopped at I could see smoke coming from the driver side air vents. I pulled over and opened the hood and nothing. Well after some extensive searching I located the issue. The headlight switch to control my headlights was completely melted. Had I not pulled over and popped the hood, Im sure the truck would have continued to catch fire. I replaced the fuses and switch and have not had any problems there but I do now have problems with my odometer lights. I cannot seem to keep that fuse from popping. Everyone I replace just pops again. So I have an electrical issue somewhere I guess I'll just have to start chasing wires!
The headlights will suddenly shut off. I have to turn the dial to make them come back on. We have replaced every bulb in the headlight assembly with OEM recommended bulbs which are $75 a piece for the main headlight and this still happens. There is no cause we can find and I have read about other cases in my area. With the same year as my navigator. I almost recieved a ticket until I showed the officer my lights work that they just keep doing this. The electrical issues on this year is ridiculous and I guess someone needs to die for Ford to fix it.
I had my windshield replaced with an OEM Lincoln glass at the dealership. Upon receiving the vehicle i noticed that when driving at night all lights are duplicated. The duplicated light eventutally merges with the actual light as you approach in distance. Multiple headlights on a highway are very disorienting and distracting making it hard to focus on driving. I have had the glass replaced a total of 4 times. All with the same problem. I was told there was defective glass that had been made however I have yet to get a piece of glass that is optically reasonable to drive at night. Wanted to report as I'm sure others have a similar problem.
When the car starts the head lights run through a series of motion checks, they go left, right down and then back up. We run into an issue every few weeks where the headlights stay in the down position. This happened with our car and a loaner we received from the dealership. I do have video of the issue. That shows the lights stuck down, when you restart the car the lights run the motion checks and come back up as they should. When the lights stay in the down position they only illuminate about 30' in front of the car.
This vehicle was mis-built without its towing suspension system installed. The VIN and other manufacturer (mfg) -produced documents state that this vehicle has a self-levelling system which inflates suspension air bags upon connecting a trailer. However, this particular vehicle (per the dealership) is missing any type of self-levelling suspension system. This mis-build means that - when a trailer is connected - the headlights point upwards instead of front and/or slightly down to show the road conditions, which makes that alone a safety hazard. Upward lights may also impact oncoming traffic by blinding other drivers. My husband informs me there are other safety concerns that go along with this, but I do not understand all the physics of how towed vehicles operate so I cannot explain further how my safety, and possibly others, are risked when towing a load with this vehicle or others mis-built like it. The dealership purchased my vehicle back from me and it remains on their lot today instead of being sold at auction as stated. I found that another vehicle (2 years newer, but same mfg) was mis-built without its towing suspension system. I reported both issues to the dealerships. In the case of the potential replacement vehicle, I simply did not buy it. I reported both instances directly to the mfg and was told that was an issue for which the dealerships were responsible. I am concerned that this mfg has a known issue with a particular build of vehicle and is ignoring potential safety issues. I am concerned that their dealerships are also ignoring the problem instead of fixing it. I would like someone with more knowledge than me to investigate this matter and, if necessary, get the problems resolved to include further remuneration to me as applicable. I have documents, but am not sure what's relevant to upload. Thank you.
F the turn signal control arm is moved partially in any direction, and immediately moved into the fully opposite direction, the turn signals will be disabled. If the operator adjusts the high beams, or simply makes a mistake when trying to signal, (by selecting the wrong direction first) the turn signal will not operate even though the control arm is in the fully locked position. Lincoln service states that when they connect the vehice to the computer, it shows that the blinkers are active, even though they are visually not blinking. They further stated that the issue exisits on all vehicles.
One headlight goes out for no apparent reason. Cycling the switch immedistely turns it back on
I was driving about 40 MPH on a rode a drove everyday something broke on my 98 lincoln navigator . The guys who flipped it back over said the suspension broke I scraped a guardrail then straight across the road head on with a tree I flipped up on my headlights spun like that then rolled 50 more feet down the road it knocked me out on impact but a friend was in front of me and seen the whole thing I had a severe concussion and broke my back n four places none of the airbags deployed I would not recommend this type of vehicle for anyone there are so many complaints about the suspension and air shocks not working my sons almost lost their mom bc the suspension broke it was a very well maintained vehicle one owner be fore me who took very good care of it I only drove it for 5 months about 20 miles aday to work in back it was not lack of maintenance or anything like that
My roof-mounted dvd player has never worked but still makes noises when car is crunk up or switched off, my battery all of a sudden went dead (car would not crank), headlights have shorts in them...after replacing $100 bulbs, I found out if I turn the lights off and back on, the bulb will come back on, check park assist light and alarms come on every time the vehicle is put in reverse, and my suspension will not let the vehicle up when the weather is cold.
Related recalls
Exterior lighting
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The rear lightbar may have cracks in the outer lens or weld track that allow moisture to accumulate, which can result in inoperative or flickering reverse lights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- Risk
- Inoperative or flickering reverse lights may not alert other drivers that the vehicle is reversing, increasing the risk of injury or crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rear lightbar, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C66. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on on December 3, 2025.
Recall number 25V831000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: lighting control module: software
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2022 Lincoln Navigator vehicles previously repaired under Recall 22V455 (22C14). The headlight control module software may cause the side marker and daytime running lights to fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- Risk
- A loss of exterior lighting can reduce visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the headlight control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 16, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C28.
Recall number 25V403000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: lighting control module: software
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2022 Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The headlight control module software may cause the side marker and daytime running lights to fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- Risk
- A loss of exterior lighting can reduce visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the headlight control module software and recalibrate the headlights, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 13, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22C14.
Recall number 22V455000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: back up lights
- What is wrong
- Ford is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 ford f-150, 2012 expedition and lincoln navigator, and 2012-2013 mustang vehicles, for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard nos. 102, "transmission shift lever sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect" and 108 lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment. these vehicles may have a transmission range sensor (trs) that was calibrated out of specification for reverse gear.
- Risk
- If this condition exists, the transmission may not go into reverse or when the driver pushes the shift lever in the reverse r position and the vehicles transmission does go in reverse, the r may not illuminate on the dashboard of the f-150, expedition, or navigator models and/or the backup lamp on the rear of the f-150, expedition, navigator, or mustang vehicles may not illuminate. These conditions increase the risk of a crash or a pedestrian being struck due to the vehicles not signaling it is in reverse.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the trs as necessary, free of charge. The safety recall began on june 11, 2012. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1‑866‑436‑7332.
Recall number 12V190000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: brake lights: switch
- What is wrong
- Ford is recalling 1,357 my 2009 expedition and navigator vehicles for failing to comply with the federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." the brake stop lamp switch may be improperly adjusted. This may result in a delay in brake stoplamp illumination when the brake pedal is depressed. In situations of very mild brake application, the brake stoplamps may not illuminate.
- Risk
- Delay or loss of brake stoplamp function may increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will adjust the brake stoplamp switch free of charge. The recall began on july 6, 2009. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1‑866‑436‑7332 or www.ownerconnection.com.
Recall number 09V232000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: headlights
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The text and/or graphics for the vehicle headlamp aiming instructions provided in the owner guides are not sufficiently clear. This does not meet the requirements of fmvss no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
- Risk
- If the headlamp assemblies are replaced, customers may be confused by the aiming instructions provided in the owner guides causing the headlamps to be improperly aimed.
- Remedy
- Owner guides containing revised aiming instructions will be mailed to owners of these vehicles.
Recall number 98V028000 · Recall details
Questions about the Lincoln Navigator headlights
Which Lincoln Navigator years have headlights failing or too dim problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2004 (3 complaints), 1999 (2 complaints) and 2001 (2 complaints).
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