1993 LINCOLN MARK VIII Complaints

THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE VERY INADEQUATE.IF I'M DRIVING AT NIGHT IN THE RAIN IN UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY,I MUST PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.I ONLY FEEL SAFE IF I'M ON A WELL LIT INTERSTATE.IF THERE IS NO SUPPLEMENTAL STREET LIGHTING I NEVER FEEL SAFE.

THE LOW BEAMS ARE NOT BRIGHT ENOUGH FOR NIGHT TIME DRIVING. I FEEL THIS IS A VALID COMPLAINT. *AK

LOW BEAMS ARE NOT BRIGHT ENOUGH. EXTREMLY DIFFICULT TO SEE AT NIGHT. PROBLEM EXISTS FOR ALL 93-96 MARK VIII OWNERS.

THE HEADLIGHTS ON MY 93 MARK VIII ARE JUST PLAIN DANGEROUS. JUST DRIVING HOME AT NIGHT IS ENOUGHT TO MAKE YOU NOT WANT TO DRIVE AT ALL. THE HIGH BEAMS ON THESE CARS IS LIKE THE LOW BEAMS OF A NORMAL HEADLIGHT SYSTEM. YOU DON'T DARE DRIVE AT NIGHT IN A STORM. YOU ARE JUST ASKING FOR TROUBLE THEN. I WOULD BE VERY SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN INJURED IN A CAR ACCIDENT WHILE DRIVING ONE OF THESE CARS. I HOPE THAT ALOT MORE PEOPLE ARE SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT IT. HOPEFULLY THE MANUFACTURER WILL REALIZE THAT THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE BY OWNERS OF THEIR CARS. THANK YOU.

BOTH HEADLAMP LOW BEAMS ARE EXTREMELY DIM. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS WHERE I HAD TO SWERVE TO AVOID PEDESTRIANS AND ANIMALS BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT ILLUMINATED BY THE HEADLAMPS. INSPECTION OF THE INSIDE OF THE HEADLAMP TUBS SHOWS THE REFECTIVE COATING HAS VANISHED AND THE REMAINING PLASTIC IS A BURNED BROWN COLOR. I BELIEVE THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE POOR ILLUMINATION IS THE HOT LOW BEAM BULBS HAVE EVAPORATED THE REFLECTIVE MIRROR COATING OF THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY.

I'M 46 YEARS OLD, AND HAVE DRIVEN A LOT OF CARS. I HAVE NEVER SEEN A CAR WITH SUCH POOR HEADLIGHTS AS THE 93 LINCOLN MARK VIII. EVEN WHEN I'M ON A ROAD THAT I DRIVE A LOT THE HEADLIGHTS DO NOT LIGHT THE ROAD SO I CAN SEE. I HAVE 20/20 VISION. IN FACT, WHEN YOU TURN THE TURN SIGNAL ON, THE SIDE LIGHTS (TURNING LIGHTS ON THE SIDE OF THE CAR) THROUGH MORE LIGHT ON THE ROAD IN FRONT OF THE CAR THAN THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS. THE BRIGHT LIGHTS ARE NOT MUCH BETTER. THEN IF THE ROAD IS WET, FROM A RAIN, FORGET IT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND DRIVE BY THE STREET LIGHTS OR THE MOON LIGHT. THIS IS NOT SAFE!

THE HEADLIGHTS ON THE LINCOLN MARK VIII YEAR MODEL 1993-1996 ARE BECOMING A SAFETY PROBLEM. THESE HEADLIGHTS ARE BECOMING YELLOWED AND DECREASING VISIBLITY TO THE POINT THAT YOU CAN NOT EVEN TELL IF THE LIGHTS ARE ON. THE INSIDE REFLECTIVE COATING ALSO IS FALLING OFF AND LOWERING THE LIGHTING EVEN MORE. AS A WEB SITE OWNER OF A MARK VIII SITE I HAVE RECEIVE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS AND CONCERNS ABOUT THESE HEADLIGHTS. MOST OWNERS ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR NEW HEADLIGHT ASSY'S BECAUSE OF THE POOR QUALITY. THESE ASSY'S ARE SUPPOSEDLY WARRANTEED BY SYLVANIA, BUT NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO RESOLVE ANYTHING WITH THEM OR LINCOLN. THIS IS A GROWING CONCERN AMONG MARK VIII OWNERS BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY ISSUES THAT COME UP FROM NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE.

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 70 MPH VEHICLE STARTED VIBRATING, AND AT THE TIME TO SLOW DOWN. FRONT LEFT TIRE BLEWOUT WITHOUT A PRIOR WARNING. COOPER STARFIRE CONSTALLATION, 225/60 R16. *AK COOPER 225/60/R16 *MW

HEADLIGHT INTENSITY HAS GRADUALLY DECLINED DUE TO DETERIORATION OF REFLECTIVE COATING INSIDE HEADLAMP LENS ASSEMBLY. INSPECTION OF INSIDE OF LENS REFLECTOR WITH LAMP REMOVED USING A DENTAL MIRROR SHOW PLASTIC HAS MELTED AND TURNED DARK BROWN IN COLOR INSTEAD OF A REFLECTIVE CHROME FINISH.*AK

BOTH CYLINDER HEADS FAILED WITHIN ABOUT 5,000 MILES OF EACH OTHER. THE FAILURE IS SPARK PLUGS BLOWING OUT OF THE CYLINDER HEAD, TAKING THE THREADS WITH THEM. FOMOCO RECOMMENDS SPARK PLUGS BE CHANGED AT 100,000 INTERVALS. HERE IS THE PROBLEM: MECHANICS UNDERSTAND THAT AN ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEAD AND STEEL SPARK PLUGS CAUSE A DISPARITY. THE CONSTANT HEATING AND COOLING OF THE CYLINDER HEADS OVER 100,000 MILES CAUSES THE STEEL SPARK PLUGS TO PARTIALLY BOND TO THE ALUMINUM THREADS IN THE HEAD. WHEN THE OLD PLUGS ARE REMOVED, THEY EXTRACT A PART OF THE CYLINDER HEAD THREADS AT THAT TIME. NEW PLUGS ARE THUS INSTALLED ONTO WEAKENED THREADS. EVENTUALLY, THE THREADS GIVE WAY AND THE PLUGS EXPLODE OUT OF THE HEAD. IN MY CASE, THIS OCCURRED ABOUT 25,000 MILES AFTER THE PLUGS WERE CHANGED. I DON'T FEEL OBLIGATED TO FUND REPAIRS TO A DESIGN DEFECT IN THIS ENGINE. THIS ENGINE SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAD EITHER HEAD FAIL, MUCH LESS BOTH OF THEM. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, THE SECOND HEAD BLEW AT THE NORTH CAROLINA-VIRGINIA BORDER ON INTERSTATE 85 (VIRGINIA WELCOME CENTER). SINCE A MARK VIII CAN ONLY BE WORKED UPON BY A LINCOLN DEALER, I HAD TO PAY A 135 MILE WRECKER BILL TO TRANSPORT THE CAR TO THE NEAREST LINCOLN DEALER IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA. *AK