2019 Lincoln Navigator: What to check before buying

The 10-speed automatic slips, hesitates, and sticks in the wrong gear, then slams into gear late. The reports describe shudder at 17 to 23 mph on inclines, engine revving without the car pulling away from lights, and the car coasting as if in neutral while passing or turning into traffic. Several drivers report near rear-end collisions. Problems appear as early as 20,000 to 31,000 miles. Repeat dealer visits often fail to fix it, and some cases end in a rebuild. A smaller group ties reduced power and misfires to timing chain and cam timing faults.

Seat belt pretensioners fire without a crash. Drivers hear a loud bang, smell smoke or gunpowder, and feel the belt cinch hard across the chest. Two complaints report bruising injuries. Other belts lock up, refuse to extend, bind, or stop retracting, in both front and second-row seats, which leaves that seat unusable. Many complaints focus on long waits for a recall repair, with dealers saying the part is not yet available. Failures show up anywhere from under 10K miles to about 97,000.

The digital instrument cluster goes blank at startup and hides speed and fuel level, then comes back on its own. Dealers struggle to reproduce it and find no error codes. Backup, front, and 360-degree camera views stop displaying. Other reports cover dead brake lights and front emblem lighting, a failed heated seat, a telematics unit replacement quoted at $1181, and the engine shutting off in Drive with an auto start-stop message that the dealer blamed on low battery voltage.

Cold starts bring a loud rattle, ticking, and shaking. Dealers diagnose failed cam phasers or variable cam timing parts. Drivability also suffers, with hesitation and slow gear engagement, and one report ends in a blown engine. Failures cluster around 75,714 to 83,000 miles, including on vehicles with regular oil changes. Several owners say they were denied coverage for the repair. They describe quotes from $1,000 to $4,500 and weeks of waiting in dealer service lots.

In one rear-end crash at 40 mph, the air bags fail to deploy and the seat belt pretensioner does not work as intended. The driver and two children suffer bruising from the belts. A separate report describes the restraints warning light coming on every time a passenger buckles in, including while driving. The dealer could not find the cause. With only 2 complaints, no broader pattern is visible.

Control is lost while driving, with or without a turn, and the wheel feels completely disconnected from the wheels. Only one report describes this. The other complaint covers a vehicle that overheats, leaks fluid, and smokes within hours of delivery. A ticking noise follows, then a clunk and movement felt under the driver's feet, and the dealer replaced an axle and bearings. With only 2 complaints, no wider pattern shows.

Sunroof glass shatters while the car is moving. The break comes with a loud, explosion-like bang and no obvious impact. One case happens near 75 mph at about 45,000 miles and leaves a hole in the rear sunroof. Another happens two weeks after purchase. The sudden noise can startle the driver, and falling glass is a risk if the shade is open. Neither report says the sunroof was repaired.

Neither complaint describes a camera failure. Both concern a backup camera recall notice for which the repair part is not yet available. Owners say dealers confirmed the shortage and put them on a waiting list, and they feel the wait has gone on longer than is reasonable. The complaints are about parts supply and delays, not a malfunction they experienced.