1995 Lincoln Town Car problems & reliability
165 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1995 Lincoln Town Car, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
8 complaints report injuries (14 injured, 2 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1995 Lincoln Town Car vehicles were involved in 9 fatal crashes with 10 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 49 | 30% |
| Suspension → | 23 | 14% |
| Electrical System → | 21 | 13% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 19 | 12% |
| Steering → | 15 | 9% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 14 | 8% |
| Air Bags → | 12 | 7% |
| Exterior Lighting → | 12 | 7% |
| Power Train → | 12 | 7% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 8 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 103,734 miles (middle 50% between 80,000 and 135,750 miles), based on 40 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Well I was driving home one day and smoke was starting to poor out from underneath my dashboard luckily I was close enough to the house to be able make it home and then after I had gotten home I cut the car off and was not able to start it up since”
Electrical System · filed Dec 28, 2019
“Tl* the contact owns a 1995 lincoln town car. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated. Also, the brake pedal was stiff when depressed. The brake lines were replaced three times by an independent mechanic, but the failure recurred. Furthermore, the steering wheel had to be maneuvered in either…”
Service Brakes · filed Jun 11, 2019
“Tl* the contact owns a 1995 lincoln town car. The contact noticed a pool of fluid under the vehicle while idling. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the brake lines were leaking fluid. While refueling the vehicle, there was an abnormal fuel odor. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The contact…”
Fuel/propulsion System · filed Aug 22, 2018
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- REAR BRAKE LINE FAILURE
Engineering Analysis EA03012 · opened Jul 25, 2003 · closed Apr 11, 2005 · led to recall 05V086000
- REAR BRAKE LINE FAILURE
Recall Query RQ03004 · opened Mar 11, 2003 · closed Jul 25, 2003
- BALL JOINT SEPARATION
Recall Query RQ03002 · opened Jan 3, 2003 · closed Jun 3, 2003
- SPEED CONTROL DEACTIVATION SWITCH FIRES
Engineering Analysis EA02025 · opened Sep 6, 2002 · closed Jun 30, 2004
- FUEL-FED FIRES
Defect Petition DP02007 · opened Aug 22, 2002 · closed Dec 4, 2002
- POST REAR END COLLISION FIRES
Investigation SQ01014 · opened Nov 27, 2001 · closed Oct 3, 2002 · led to recall 02I003000
Technical service bulletins
108 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1995 Lincoln Town Car. The 10 most recent:
Ford/lincoln mercury: certain 1992-2001 model year crown victoria, grand marquis, and town car vehicles registered in the states of wisconsin and connecticut upgrade modifications for high speed rear impacts. *pe
CSP 08B04 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 15, 2008
Customer satisfaction program 05b31 - information only. A possibility that during a high speed / high energy rear collision, certain components have an increased risk of puncturing the fuel tank on vehicles with limo…
0531 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 8, 2007
Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips. *tt
03181 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 15, 2003
New transmission cooler flusher - service tips. 2003 escort and super duty f series included. *tt
03148 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 21, 2003
New service part - number 5 needle bearing and race kit - 4r70w transmission - service tip. *tt
03261 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 5, 2003
Climate control a/c service tech tips. *eh
02208 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 14, 2002
Transfer service tips for the front wiper motor mount bracket and depressed park output arm. *tt
02107 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 27, 2002
Some engine assemblies with aluminum cylinder heads repaired in-vehile have been found to leak coolant and/or oil from the cylinder head gasket area. *tt
0214 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 21, 2002
Engine oil system priming procedures, service tips for reports of premature engine failure. *tt
01246 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 10, 2001
Parts and procedure to reduce the potential of fuel tank punctures during rare and extremely high-speed rear impacts. *tt
012114 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 29, 2001
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1995 Lincoln Town Car has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1995 Lincoln Town Car?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 103,734 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.