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1999 Lincoln Town Car: ball joint or control arm failure

18 of the 148 complaints about the 1999 Lincoln Town Car describe ball joint or control arm failure.

owner complaints
18
of this car's complaints
12%
typical mileage
100,000
recalls
1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 9 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below

Ball joint or control arm failure by model year

What owners say

Filed Dec 28, 2022 · Steering, Suspension · 132,000 miles · GA

The contact owns a 1999 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the steering wheel started pulling to the left with extreme force. The contact attempted to correct the over steering and the vehicle started pulling to the right and the left. The contact stated that an unknown warning was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle back to his residence. The contact stated that he drove the vehicle several more times and the steering failure recurred while driving at various speeds. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the ball joints, upper and lower control arms, and the steering gear needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000. The dealer is requesting the consumer get a diagnostic for $168 eventhough the consumer presented them with a safety recall via carfax.

Filed Jun 18, 2020 · Suspension · 54,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. The contact stated that while making a left turn, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the front driver's side wheel. The contact stated that the wheel detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the driver's and passenger's side front upper control arms and ball joints were replaced. The contact called lamarque ford located at 3101 williams blvd suite f, kenner, la 70065, (504) 443-2500, and made the dealer aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 54,000.*dt

Filed Oct 17, 2016 · Suspension · 175,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. While driving 10 MPH, the ball joints on the vehicle became undone. In addition, the a frame detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 175,000.

Filed Nov 10, 2015 · Suspension · 109,228 miles · MT

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. While driving at an unknown speed and making a turn, the rocker arm lowered without warning. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop where the passenger side upper and lower ball joints and the passenger side outer tie rod were replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact mentioned that the clanking noise was still present. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 109,228. Updated 02/26/16*lj

Filed Jan 13, 2015 · Suspension · 100,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. While driving 30 MPH, the ball joints detached from the front passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Jul 4, 2013 · Electrical, Steering · 161,000 miles · MI · crash

2 occasions where ball joint snapped and vehicle was moving and fell to ground .while my child was inside . Major electrical issues such as: odometer flashes constantly and gas gage wacked out ever since vehicle fell to ground every thing was working properly before and on the first incident is when it started and continues to get worse. Suspension and steering : also since car fell to ground has cause steering and suspension to be almost impossible . I have had several mechanics rip me off and have spent thousands on trying to get vehicle back to the way a lincoln should drive . And still the results are not good. I cant drive on express ways because vehicle is extremely hard to control and stay in lanes .as well on side streets/main roads . It also has a very high tendency to loose control when driving over a small , medium or large bump, div-it or crack in road which could or will eventually result in a crash. By all means I love my 1999 lincoln but certainly does not drive or operate properly like one should .I do also understand that its a 13 year old car and things will go wrong but after do my research and being that I am naive and very uneducated with mechanics on a vehicle I simply let this pass for sometime now to realize these re occurring incidents are not normal and here I am now my results are a damaged car with recall supported and thousands of my hard income to replace parts on car to get back to proper working order . Something should be done or if possible be settled in the middle/halfway which would be fair. I hope I can be a true ford lincoln supporter/buyer for ever and don't want to be disappointed.

Filed Sep 25, 2012 · Suspension · 167,000 miles · CT

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car cartier. The contact stated that while traveling 2 MPH, a loud noise emitted as the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop where it was discovered that the passenger side ball joint needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN failed to qualify for repairs under the federal safety agency campaign id number:98v322000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 167,000 and the current mileage was 173,000. Updated 11/23/12 *bf the consumer stated the passenger lower ball joint failed as she was traveling, but no accident occurred, the vehicle was then towed to a local repair shop, where it was repaired. In fact, the repair shop replaced the passenger lower control arm as well as the lower ball joint. Approximately eight months after the driver's side lower ball joint failed, as she traveled again. The vehicle was towed to the same repair shop, where they replaced the lower ball joint. Three months later, the passenger lower ball joint failed.

Filed Aug 7, 2012 · Suspension · 275 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. The contact was traveling 30 MPH when an abnormal squealing was heard from the driver's side as the vehicle started to shake abnormally. The vehicle was taken to dealer who confirmed that the front end and the drivers side ball joints needed to be replaced. In addition, the dealer confirmed that the VIN failed to qualify for repairs under the federal safety agency campaign id number:98v322000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint). The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 275 and the current mileage was 276.

Filed Oct 6, 2010 · Engine, Suspension · 111,500 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact heard a loud crack. He pulled over but did not find the cause of the noise. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was advised that the front ball joints needed to be replaced. The contact called the manufacturer in regards to recall 98v322000 (suspension: front: control arm: lower ball joint) but was told that the vehicle was not included. The contact also stated that there was a crack in the intake manifold and a mechanic told him that it needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 111,500.

Filed Apr 12, 2010 · Suspension · 75,397 miles · WI

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. The contact was driving approximately 3 MPH in a parking lot. The lower ball joints detached without warning. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. A recall repair was performed under the federal safety agency campaign id number 098v322000 (suspension: front: control arm: lower ball joint). The failure mileage was 75,397. The current mileage was 75,412. Updated 6/1/10 *cn updated 06/04/10*lj updated 09/02/10

Filed May 29, 2008 · Suspension · 101,000 miles · MD

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. While attempting to back out of a parking space, the contact turned the wheel and the vehicle jerked and stopped moving. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic shop to have the front driver's side control arm repaired. Through online research, he discovered the federal safety agency campaign id number 98v322000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint), which was similar to the failure he experienced. The dealer stated that his VIN was not included in the recall. The current mileage was 114,000 and failure mileage was 101,000. Updated 6/16/08 *cn updated

Filed Aug 10, 2007 · Suspension · AL

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 lincoln town car. While driving 30 MPH, the contact stated that the lower ball joints failed and the front driver side of the vehicle fell to the ground and bent. The vehicle was repaired. He was informed that his vehicle was not included in recall campaign number 98v322000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint). The purchase date and mileage information were unknown.

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

Suspension: front: control arm: lower ball jointReported December 16, 1998 · 175,000 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Vehicle description: certain 1996-1999 ford crown victoria police, fleet, natural gas, and 1996-1999 lincoln town car limousine vehicles that were produced with a lower control arm ball joint containing a one piece bearing; and 1990-1996 ford crown victoria police, fleet, and ngv vehicles and 1990-1996 lincoln town car limousine vehicles that have been serviced with either a ball joint containing the one-piece bearing or a front lower control arm containing a ball joint with a one-piece bearing. The one-piece bearing within the lower control arm ball joint can weaken slowly during use and eventually crack. This could result in separation of the ball and cap of the joint, allowing the control arm to drop to the ground.
Risk
If this occurs while the vehicle is moving, reduced steering control could occur, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the lower control arm ball joints (2).

Recall number 98V322000 · Recall details

Questions about the 1999 Lincoln Town Car ball joint

Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 1999 Lincoln Town Car?

18 of 148 owner complaints about the 1999 Lincoln Town Car (12%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 1997.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1999 Lincoln Town Car?

There is 1 recall and 9 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 1999 Lincoln Town Car

No deployment 9Airbag light 7Grinding brakes 6Brake failure 5Fire or smoke 5

All model years of the Lincoln Town Car

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