There was a loud pop after I got gas. My car wouldn't stay running. I couldn't figure out what was going on. My husband looked under the hood and the spark plug still attached to the ignition coil had popped out of the engine. All of the screws holding the ignition coils had backed out.
The worst 2001 Lincoln Town Car problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Airbags54
- Acceleration26
- Visibility16
- Engine15
- Brakes13
- Steering10
- Suspension10
- Electrical9
- Seats7
- Body6
- Tires5
- Transmission5
- Fuel system4
- Lights3
- Seat belts3
- Wheels3
- Locks1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2001 Lincoln Town Car
Sudden acceleration 15Wipers 14Airbag light 10No deployment 5
Recalls 5
Visibility: windshield wiper/washer: motor
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, and light and medium duty pickup trucks. A switch located in the plastic cover of the wiper motor gear case could malfunction and overheat, potentially resulting in loss of intermittent wiper function, loss of wiper park function, complete loss of wiper function, or ignition of the plastic cover material. Switch malfunction is most likely to occur when the intermittent setting of the wipers is being used, or when snow or ice obstructs the blades from returning to the "parked" position at the bottom of the windshield. These vehicles were built at the following assembly plants: atlanta plant from 2/11/00 through 7/31/00; chicago plant from 2/14/00 through 8/4/00; kansas city plant from 2/26/00 to 9/4/00; kentucky truck plant from 2/18/00 to 8/31/00; michigan truck plant from 2/23/00 through 8/3/00; norfolk plant from 2/21/00 through 7/27/00; wayne stamping and assembly plant from 2/25/00 through 8/15/00; and wixom plant from 2/15/00 through 8/8/00.
- Risk
- Loss of visibility while driving increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the date code on the wiper motor. Motors built with the suspect time frame will have the wiper motor gear case cover replaced. Owner notification began august 20, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332.
Recall number 01V258000 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: buckle assembly
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger and sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and minivans. Equipped with seat belts supplied by trw. It is possible that the driver's and/or front passenger's outboard seat belt buckle may not fully latch. Ford crown victoria built at st. Thomas assembly plant from 4/17/00 - 5/29/01 mercury grand marquis built at st. Thomas assembly plant from 4/17/00 - 5/29/01. Lincoln town cars built at wixom assembly plant from 3/27/00 - 5/30/01. Lincoln navigators built at michigan truck plant from 4/11/00 - 5/31/01. Ford windstars built at oakville assembly plant from 3/23/00 - 5/30/01. Ford rangers built at twin cities plant from 3/28/00 - 5/30/01, and also at the edison plant from 3/13/00 - 5/25/01. Ford f-150 truck built at norfolk plant from 4/18/00 - 5/25/00; at ontario plant from 5/10/00 - 5/28/01; at kansas city plant from 9/11/99 - 5/25/01; and at cuautitlan plant from 5/16/00 - 6/9/01. Ford super duty f-250, f-350, f-450, and f-550 trucks built at kentucky plant from 4/17/00 - 5/27/01; and at cuautitlan plant from 5/16/00 - 6/19/01. Ford excursions built at kentucky plant from 4/17/00 - 10/2/00. Ford expeditions built at michigan truck plant from 4/11/00 - 5/31/01.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash, the restraint system may not provide adequate occupant protection, increasing the risk of personal injury to the seat occupant.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the front outboard seat belt buckles and if the buckle fails the inspection process, it will be replaced. Owner notification began july 25, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332.
Recall number 01V227001 · Recall details
Tires
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: certain limousines stretched over 60 inches fail to comply with the requirements of fmvss no. 109, "new pneumatic tires," and no. 110, "tire selection and rims."
- Risk
- The vehicle weight could exceed the maximum load rating for the tire, increasing the risk of premature tire wear or blowout.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace all 5 tires (including the spare tire) with michelin tires (225/70r16 107t reinforced white sidewall) with a sufficiently higher load rating. Owner notification began january 10, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1‑800‑248‑0186.
Recall number 00V356000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: minivans and passenger vehicles. A restraint control module (rcm) or a side or front crash sensor may have been assembled with one or more of the screws that mount the circuit board in the housing missing. If some or all of the screws are missing, the performance of the occupant restrains could be affected.
- Risk
- In some cases, less than the intended level of protection in the event of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the rcm and crash sensors and, if necessary, replace them.
Recall number 00V412000 · Recall details
Air bags
- What is wrong
- Certain passenger vehicles, limousines, and mini vans were built with a newly designed restraint control module (rcm). In some cases, the rcm does not recognize certain system faults that could result in an air bag or seat belt pre-tensioner unexpectedly activating during the self-test sequence at vehicle start-up.
- Risk
- This condition could result in personal injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rcm in these vehicles. Owner notification began september 14, 2000. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673.
Recall number 00V270000 · Recall details
See all 5 recalls for the 2001 Lincoln Town Car
Defect investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
Front seat belt buckle assembly
During the initial recall campaign in 2001, the subject vehicles were inspected by ford dealerships using a test tool that would detect a defective front seat outboard seat belt buckle assembly.approximately one million vehicles passed the inspection test for one or both front buckles.subsequent to the recall service action, odi received 15 consumer reports alleging that a passed inspection buckle subsequently failed to latch or inadvertently unlatched during use.in addition, ford has identified 543 owner and field reports alleging buckle failure subsequent to passing the inspection test.ford tested and examined over 100 warranty-returned buckles and found that 44% of the buckles had no problem or a condition not related to the recall inspection (non-latch related buckle damage or foreign contamination).warranty claims were highest during the 18-month period after the start of the recall (july 2001) and have been declining during the past 24 months.over the past 12 months, ford has received approximately 12 warranty claims per month out of a vehicle population of about one million.complaints counts are also decreasing.during the past seven months, odi has received only two complaints. A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
EA05004
Front seat belt buckle assembly
Under recall campaign (01v227), ford recalled approximately 1.3 million vehicles to inspect and if necessary replace the front driver and/or passenger seat belt buckle.approximately 1.1 million owners responded by taking their vehicles to a dealer for inspection of the buckle using a specialized buckle test tool.ford reported that 829,927 vehicles had both buckles pass the tool test and another 167,336 vehicles had one buckle pass.odi and ford received complaints alleging seat belt buckle failure shortly after passing the original recall inspection service.complainants alleged that the buckle failed by either not latching or false-latching (partial engagement of the latch to the latch plate).a false-latched buckle may release with minor movement or impact against the buckle housing including inadvertent release while the vehicle is in motion.odi is upgrading this recall query to an engineering analysis (ea05-004) to further analyze the field performance of those vehicles that ford dealers passed (one or both buckles) using ford's inspection test (997,263 vehicles).
RQ04011
Inadvertent side air bag deployment
This investigation identified a total of 182 reports alleging inadvertent or non-crash deployment of the side air bags.the data examined during the investigation suggest that the side air bag crash sensing system's algorithm may recognize certain non-crash incidents as deployable events.odi has not, however, identified any failed component that relates to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.also, odi has not identified any trend in the manufacture dates of complaint vehicles that may indicate a component or vehicle-manufacturing problem.a safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time.further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances.see attached summary report.
EA03014
Inadvertent side air bag deployment
Odi has identified 173 complaints alleging inadvertent or non-crash deployment of side air bags on model year (my) 1999-2003 lincoln town cars.most of the complaints allege that one of the side air bags deployed while driving without any impact.analysis showed that my 2001 through early my 2003 town cars have much higher complaint and warranty claim rates (138 complaints and 120 warranty claims) than the remaining vehicles (35 complaints and 32 warranty claims).ford changed its supplier of the side crash sensors for the my 2001 town cars.ford states that the algorithm in the my 2001 town cars is different from the previous model year's design, and that it is designed to provide improved occupant protection in moderate speed side pole impacts.in december 2002 (I.e., early my 2003 vehicle production), the crash sensors were moved from the floor of vehicle to near the base of b-pillars in order to reduce the incidents of inadvertent side air bag deployments.this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea03-014) for my 2001-2003 town cars built before december 2002.
PE03011
Post rear end collision fires
There is no summary currently available
SQ01014
Technical service bulletins for the 2001 Lincoln Town Car 91
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This article supersedes TSB 19-2026 to update the vehicle model years affected
- Corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust
- Lincoln: restraint control module replacement
- Ford/lincoln mercury: certain 1992-2001 model year crown victoria, grand marquis, and town car vehicles...
- Some 1997-2008 vehicles equipped with a 4.6L 2V, 5.4L 2V, or 6.8L 2V engine--spark plug thread repair...
- Customer satisfaction program 05B31 - information only
- Extended coverage program 05N04 - extended coverage for composite intake manifold
- Wds cop kit diagnostic tip - coil on plug (COP) ignition systems - engine misfire or rough running
- Safety belt retraction speed
- Safety belt web stop button service
2001 Lincoln Town Car fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6L 8‑cyl | RWD | 16 | 23 | 18 |
What 2001 Lincoln Town Car owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My car has been making a weird whistling noise for a few months. My husband found it was coming from the rear intake manifold hose. He started my car and next the car started smoking and he looked under the hood the nipple where the hose connected had broke off and there is a crack all the way down the intake manifold.
The contact owns a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the passenger’s side curtain air bag inadvertently deployed without warning. While the contact was startled by the deployment of the air bag, there was no injury sustained. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,930.
Passenger seat airbag deployed overnight. Car was turned off and parked in driveway, 50' from street.
" takata recall " when I drive over a pot hole my car wants 2 go all over the road the steering is loosecan't hartley hole it straight on the road I cannt. And also my windshield fluid doesn't come out when push.steering could is loose.all in motion even.on the hwy I cannot go on. I cannot take pic it is under the car
On july 16, 2017, I was traveling on interstate 70 east, near washington, pa. All of a sudden my 2001 lincoln started shaking very violently. I managed to pull into a rest stop a few miles away, and noticed that the rear portion of my lincoln was very low to the ground. I managed to drive into washington, pa, and a local mechanic told me that he suspected that the air suspension compressor, which controls the rear air suspension bags, was defective. A few weeks earlier, the "air bags" warning light relating to the rear air suspension bags had come on; my mechanic checked them out and stated that they were fine, as he had replaced both of them, in 2013. However, in retrospect, the computer was referring to the air suspension compressor and probably to the air suspension height sensor. I had my mechanic replace both of those parts. It appears to me that the lincoln personnel should have warned the lincoln town car owners that the air suspension system, which is used on the lincoln town cars, is prone to failure; and, there should have been a warning built into the computer to warn drivers of an impending loss to that system. A light coming on just stating "air bags" is not sufficient. Prior to that problem, I had no idea that there was an air suspension compressor, or an air suspension height sensor to control the rear air suspension bags. Since there are still thousands of lincoln town cars on the road, the federal safety agency should at least warn owners of those cars, about the potential suspension problem, which can cause a serious accident while driving.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 lincoln town car. While driving 45 MPH, the vehicle began to lose power without warning. The failure occurred twice. The vehicle was pulled over to the road shoulder and was restarted after ten minutes. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,250.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 lincoln town car. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle spontaneously accelerated. The contact had to shut off the vehicle in order to stop. No warning indicators illuminated. The contact also stated that the failure occurred one other time and had to depress the brake pedal coming to a screeching stop. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
I have replaced all steering components. And the steering still wonders to bad to drive.
My 2001 lincoln towncar signature ,. Gas in fuel and drove 3 miles in park. The car little exhaust, I proceeded to the light and thermostats heating needle to hot. I move to next, light, air condition on to cool down. Immediately left turn into cypress restaurant. Parking, turn off, cool down, and next open by friend who needed go the doctor. Called aaa pull to the shop. Estimated , can not repaired this...day. So, if it was manufactured defeceits. I look up ...
Compare the 2001 Lincoln Town Car
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Questions about the 2001 Lincoln Town Car
Is the 2001 Lincoln Town Car reliable?
Owners have filed 161 complaints about the 2001 Lincoln Town Car, 1.9 times a typical Town Car model year.
What is the 2001 Lincoln Town Car year score?
The 2001 Lincoln Town Car scores 48 out of 100 (below average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Lincoln Town Car: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2001 Lincoln Town Car?
Airbags, with 54 complaints, typically around 89,000 miles. Next is acceleration (26).
How many recalls does the 2001 Lincoln Town Car have?
5 recalls, covering visibility, seat belts and tires.
Was there a recall on the 2001 Lincoln Town Car airbags?
Yes, 2 recalls: 00V412000, 00V270000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Lincoln Town Car have bad airbags?
The Lincoln Town Car model years with the most airbags complaints are 2006 (58 complaints), 2001 (54 complaints) and 1999 (29 complaints).
What gas mileage does the 2001 Lincoln Town Car get?
Official estimates for the 2001 Lincoln Town Car range from 18 mpg combined. The most efficient version (4.6L 8-cyl, RWD) gets 16 city and 23 highway.
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