"How reliable is the 1996 Lincoln Continental?"

"Based on 69 NHTSA complaints, the 1996 Lincoln Continental has a median complaint mileage of 0 miles. The most common issue is SUSPENSION:FRONT."

"What are common problems with the 1996 Lincoln Continental?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1996 Lincoln Continental is SUSPENSION:FRONT, accounting for a significant portion of the 69 total complaints filed."

1996 Lincoln Continental: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 69 complaints

Total Complaints

SUSPENSION:FRONT

Top Issue

Crash Reports

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SUSPENSION:FRONT

VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SUSPENSION

STEERING:GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION)

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

STEERING:RACK AND PINION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN STOPPED WITH TRANSMISSION IN PARK, WITH FOOT ON BRAKE, VEHICLE WILL MOVE BY ITSELF AND WITH ENGINE NOT RUNNING. *SLC"

"FILM COVERS THE WINDSHIELD WHENEVER THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS ARE USED."

"CONSUMER CALLED TO SET AN APPOINTMENT AT BOB DUSSEAU LINCOLN MERCURY OVER TWO MONTHS AGO, DEALER SAID THAT HE WOULD CALL WHEN THE PARTS CAME IN, NO CALL YET. *AK AT TIME CONSUMER RESPONDED, RECALL REPAIR WAS STILL PENDING. *SLC"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 21 CA: 7 NY: 6 IL: 4 CT: 4 FL: 3 NH: 3 PA: 3 SC: 3 MN: 2

Who Files Complaints?

20.3%

Original Owners

79.7%

Second+ Owners

Lincoln Continental — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	244	-	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	5
1991	399	-	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	7
1992	199	130,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	3
1993	200	75,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	5
1994	303	89,751	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	16
1995	94	36,645	EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS	9
1997	109	59,075	VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:INTERIOR	5
1998	88	96,500	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	11
1999	46	91,500	SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS	6
2000	108	86,500	AIR BAGS	17
2001	38	79,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	1
2002	43	66,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	4
2017	92	42,360	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	1
2019	36	27,000	LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES	2

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28