1986 Lincoln Town Car: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 1986 Lincoln Town Car. The newest campaign is 90V093000. NHTSA received the report on 9 May 1990. The NHTSA record gives the component Equipment / Other / Labels. NHTSA has 50 complaints on file for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation names this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 90V093000, in the NHTSA record

Add compliance label.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 3,601,557 units in total.

90V0930009 May 1990Equipment / Other / Labels
90V0500006 Mar 1990Seat Belts / Front / Anchorage
87V1390004 Sep 1987Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
85V1230007 Oct 1985Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Lever and Linkage / Column Shift

90V093000Received 9 May 1990. 544 units.
Equipment / Other / Labels
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: limousines built by empire coach. Vehicle alterers label may be missing or incomplete.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Vehicles do not comply with part 567.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Add compliance label.
Report filed by EMPIRE COACH COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 4 Jun 1991.
90V050000Received 6 Mar 1990. 223 units.
Seat Belts / Front / Anchorage
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Safety belts (type 1 lap belts) for rear facing seats were not installed.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Lack of restraints could contribute to otherwise preventable injury and would not comply with FMVSS 209 and 210.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Install safety belts for rear facing seats.
Report filed by ROYALE LIMOUSINE MFRS.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 22 Feb 1991.
87V139000Received 4 Sep 1987. 3,600,000 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Delivery / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Spring lock fuel line coupling may not be properly engaged.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Coupling could disengage due to fuel pressure,vibration, and engine movements; this would cause loss of fuel which, inpresence of an ignition source, creates a fire risk.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Install retainer clips over the couplings to prevent coupling separation and fuel leakage.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 12 Oct 1987.
85V123000Received 7 Oct 1985. 790 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Lever and Linkage / Column Shift
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Incorrect bolts were used in the transmission linkage adjustment mechanism. Consequence of defect: the transmission gear shift selector lever on the steering column would be on the wrong transmission function. Should this occur, the driver would find their car in a gear other than the one indicated by shift lever indicator. This could cause an accident if the car is left unattended.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Replace the shift linkage trunnion, grommet and adjustment bolt.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

50 complaints, 54 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

1986 Lincoln Town Car
All 1986 vehicles

1986 Lincoln Town Car: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1986 Town Car	All 1986 vehicles	Town Car, all years	Mentions
Electrical System	592.6	147.2	128.9	32
Power Train	55.6	57.7	41.3	3
Vehicle Speed Control	55.6	40.3	108.3	3
Structure	55.6	60.8	38.6	3
Fuel System, Gasoline	37	92.1	25.2	2
Engine and Engine Cooling	37	138.3	109	2
Wheels	37	10.8	10.2	2
Unknown or Other	37	10.2	20.8	2
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	37	77.2	100	2
Seat Belts	18.5	121.5	28.6	1

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 12.

Complaints that report a crash: 4
Complaints that report a fire: 26
Injuries in the complaints: 4
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 25 Aug 2008

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1986 Lincoln Town Car, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1996, with 26 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1986 Lincoln Town Car
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
PE88012	Preliminary evaluation	NON COLLISION FIRES	Suspension	15 Jan 1988	2 May 1988

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 1986 Lincoln Town CarThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1986 Lincoln Town Car: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/lincoln/town-car/1986/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: EMPIRE COACH COMPANY

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1986 Lincoln Town Car?: 3,601,557 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Lincoln Town Car have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 47 recall campaigns for the Lincoln Town Car, model years 1977 to 2011. 4 of them name the 1986 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1986 Lincoln Town Car name most often?: Electrical System: 32 of 54 component mentions, or 592.6 per 1,000. For all 1986 vehicles the figure is 147.2 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1986 Lincoln Town Car open?: No. The 1 investigation that names this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.