1995 LINCOLN MARK VIII Complaints

AT TIMES, THE IDLING SPEED MOTOR TAKES CONTROL OF THE CAR AND CAUSES THE CAR TO SPEED UP OUT OF CONTROL. THIS REQUIRES VERY HEAVY BRAKING . IT USUALLY HAPPENS AT VERY SLOW SPEED, AND AT DANGEROUS TIMES, (E.G. STOPPING FOR A CROSS WALKER). THIS HAS HAPPENED OVER A DOZEN TIMES IN THE PAST FIVE YEAARS AND HAS COME CLOSE TO NEAR FATALIITY OCCURANCES. AUTO MECHANICS SAY ONLY REPLACEMENT OF THE CONTROL WILL WORK AND THEY ARE NOT SURE IF THE PROBLEM WILL NOT REOCCUR DATE BELOW IS THE LAST OCCURANCE..

TREAD PEELED OFF LEFT REAR TIRE AT 65 MPH STILL HELD AIR. RIGHT REAR TIRE DEVELOPED "BUBBLE" AT THE SAME TIME WHERE TREAD HAD BEGUN TO SEPARATE. TIRES HAD LESS THAN 13,000 MILES (NEW TIRES ON USED VEHICLE, LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF WEAR). DT

IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CLEAR THE WINDSHIELD ON FOGGY AND ICEY DAYS, WITH THE ENGINE COMPLETELY WARMED UP AT ANY TIME. THE HEAT IS RAISED TO 90, THERE IS NO HEAT AVAILABLE, ALL OTHER TEMPERATURES ARE GOOD. THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THE BLEND DOOR ACTUATOR FAILS, OR THE LEVER BRAKES, DUE TO A STICKY BLEND DOOR. I FIND THIS PROBLEM TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE, ESPECIALLY IF IT OCCURES WHILE DRIVING. OTHER OWNERS HAVE STATED THAT IT HAPPENS OFTEN, EVEN AFTER REPAIR, AND THAT NEW COMPONENTS ALSO FAIL. DT

CONSUMER STATES HEADLAMPS ARE VERY DIM CAUSING POOR VISIBILITY DURING THE NIGHT HOURS. *TT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER CHECKED THE VEHICLE BUT FOUND NOTHING WRONG. THEY DID INSTALL A NEW SET OF LENS'. *NM

MY COMPLAINT ON THESE HEADLIGHTS IS THE LACK OF GOOD LIGHTING. UNLIKE OTHER OWNERS, MY LIGHTS HAVE NOT YELLOWED NOR HAS ANY OF THE REFLECTIVE MATERIAL PEELED INSIDE THE HOUSING. THESE LIGHTS PLAIN SUCK. FORD/LINCOLN SAW FIT TO EQUIP THE LSC MODELS OF THE MARK VIII (1995-1996) WITH HID LIGHTING SYSTEMS, WHILE THE BASE MODEL MARK VIII FROM 1993-1996 USED STANDARD HALOGEN LIGHTING. THE HALOGEN LIGHTS ARE ABOUT AS EFFECTIVE AS A CANDEL IN A HURRICANE, AND IN MY OPINION AND THE OPINIONS OF OTHER OWNERS CREATES A VERY REAL HAZZARD FOR NIGHT TIME DRIVING. 1997-98 MARK VIII HAD HID LIGHTS ON ALL MODELS, AND THE HOUSINGS ARE A BIT LARGER, WHICH LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THEY KNEW THE STANDARD HALOGEN LIGHTS WERE A BAD DESIGN FROM THE BEGINNING, AND WAITED 4 YEARS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. SYLVANIA, THE MANUFACTURER OF THE HEADLIGHT HOUSINGS IS JUST AS MUCH TO BLAME AS FORD/LINCOLN FOR THE FLAWS IN THESE UNITS. KNOWING THE HALOGEN UNITS ARE AS INNEFFECTIVE AS THEY ARE, THE HID LIGHTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN STANDAR EQUIPMENT ON ALL MODELS, AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN A WARRANTY UPGRADE FOR ALL CARS NOT SO EQUIPPED FROM THE FACTORY INCLUDING THE 1993-94 MODELS AS WELL AS THE 1995-96 MODELS. THIS IS NOT FORD BASHING, I AM A FORD GUY ALL THE WAY, BUT THIS TYPE OF BAD DESIGN IS JUST WRONG, AND COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS INJURY. *AK

I AM WRITING AGAIN, IN HOPES THAT MAYBE SOMEONE IS LISTENING. THE COST IS QUITE PROHIBITIVE TO REPLACE A SIMPLE, AND SAFETY REQUIRED, THING AS HEADLAMPS, BUT THIS IS THE CASE WITH THESE CARS THE 1993 THROUGH 1996 MARK VIII IS THE ONLY CAR EVER OFFERED IN THE USA THAT USES THE HIGH WATTAGE 9005 BULB FOR LOW BEAM. THIS BULB IS NORMALLY USED IN FOUR LAMP SYSTEMS AS HIGH BEAM ONLY, WITH A 9004 OR 9007 OR OTHER BULB FOR LOW BEAM. HOWEVER, FORD AND/OR SYLVANIA'S CHOICE FOR THIS BULB, REQUIRED BECAUSE OF THE SMALL AREA OF LENS AND REFLECTOR, CAUSES THE REFLECTOR TO BE BURNT AWAY, AND A POSSIBILITY OF FIRE IS ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD, IN MY OPINION, GIVEN THE SEVERE BLACKENED SPOTS ABOVE THE BULB. FURTHER, I FIND IS QUITE INTERESTING THAT GIVEN THE SHEER NUMBER OF REPORTS ON THIS PROBLEM ALONE, THERE IS NOT A SHRED OF INFORMATION ON YOUR WEBSITE THAT ANY INVESTIGATION IS HAPPENING REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. SOMEONE LIKELY HAS TO GET KILLED BEFORE THIS BECOMES A MAJOR ENOUGH PROBLEM, IS THAT IT? SERIOUSLY, THESE CARS ARE DANGEROUS AT NIGHT, AND FORD AND SYLVANIA SHOULD BE MADE TO REPAIR ALL OF THEM THAT ARE STILL ROADWORTHY. SEE MORE INFORMATION AT HTTP://WEB.WT.NET/~HOUTEX/MARKLIGHTS.HTM. PLEASE BE SURE TO ALSO VISIT THE PAGE WITH THE PICTURE OF THE DAMAGED BEING DONE TO ALL MARKS AT HTTP://WEB.WT.NET/~HOUTEX/DAMAGED.HTM. I URGE YOU TO PROD JEFF TAYLOR, THE ORIGINAL CONTACT WE HAVE REGARDING THIS MATTER, AND/OR WHOMEVER ELSE IS INVOLVED TO PUSH THIS SERIOUS CONCERN OF SAFETY THROUGH SO THESE MACHINES OF POTENTIAL DEATH CAN BE MADE SAFER. I CANNOT STRESS THAT DEATH MAY BE A POSSIBILITY IF THESE LIGHTS AREN'T FIXED. WE ARE ONLY HUMAN, AND AS SUCH, DO NOT HAVE EXTRAORDINARY VISION AT NIGHT. THE DESTRUCTION OF THESE LIGHTS, CAUSED BY THE MANUFACTURER'S FLAWED DESIGN AND SPECIFICATIONS, MUST BE FIXED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. MICHAEL A. BINCKLEY. *AK

THE HEADLIGHTS ON THIS CAR ARE DANGEROUSLY DIM FOR NIGHT DRIVING. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS I HAVE CLOSE CALLS WITH CURBS AND ONE TIME WITH A PEDESTRIAN. I HAVE LOOKED INSIDE THE HEADLIGHTS WITH A FLASHLIGHT AND HAVE NOTICED WHAT LOOKS LIKE OVERHEATING FROM THE LIGHTBULB. THE REFLECTIVE MATERIAL AROUND THE BULB HAS EFFECTIVELY BEEN BURNT AWAY. I HAVE LOOKED AT SOME OF MY FRIEND'S1993-1996 MARK VIIIS AND ITS ALL THE SAME. I HOPE THAT SOMEONE AT FORD LISTENS ABOUT THIS. SOMEONE IS BOUND TO GET HURT OR KILLED BECAUSE OF THIS THE ONLY QUESTION IS WHEN. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP IN ADVANCE.*AK

THE DEALER PROMISED TO FIX UNACCEPTABLE INTENSITY OF HEADLIGHTS. THEY POLISHED LENSES AND ADDED NEW BULBS. THIS DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. I HAVE CHECKED WITH OTHER OWNERS ON MESSAGE BOARDS, WHO HAVE THE EXACT SAME COMPLAINT. THIS WAS A HIGH TICKET AUTOMOBILE AND I BELIEVE THE INNER REFLECTORS HAVE BURNED OUT OVER A SHORT TIME. IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD AS THE LIGHT DOES NOT DISPERSE. I AM ASKING ALONG WITH MANY OTHER OWNERS TO TRY AND PUT PRESSURE ON FORD TO RECALL ALL THESE SUBSTANDARD HEADLIGHTS FOR MARK V111 LINCOLNS AROUND 1994 TO 1996. THANKING YOU AND WILL AWAIT YOUR REPLY. *TS ***DIMSII IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12-12-02 CUT OVER TO ARTEMIS***761512

I AM APPALLED BY THE UNSAFE HEADLIGHTS ON THIS VEHICLE! THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN DEFECT - THE CHROME PLATED PLASTIC INSIDE THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY IS WORN AWAY, RESULTING IN SEVERELY DIM LIGHTING AT NIGHT. FORD HAS AN ALTERNATIVE FEASIBLE DESIGN, WHICH THEY CHOSE TO USE ON THE 1996 LINCOLN MARK VIII LSC MODEL (HID LIGHTING). THE COST TO UPGRADE TO THESE SAFER HID LIGHTS IS OVER $1500 AT A LINCOLN DEALER. I AM A STUDENT AND CANNOT AFFORD, AND SHOULD NOT BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR, FORD'S DEFECTIVE DESIGN. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT SAFETY ISSUE, BEFORE AN OTHERWISE AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY OCCURS!

CONSUMER BELIEVES THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY UNIT CONTAINS A DEFECT, CONSUMER INSPECTED THE UNIT BECAUSE IT WAS NOT DISPLAYING THE PROPER LIGHT INTENSITY EVEN AFTER CHANGING THE HALOGEN BULB, THE INTERIOR REFLECTIVE SURFACE IS SHOWING BURN MARKS ON THE TOP PORTION OF THE UNIT AND THE REFLECTIVE COATING IS GONE, ALSO THE BURNING AND BLISTERING OF THE PLASTIC CAUSES MOISTURES TO ENTER THE UNIT AND THIS CAUSES THE LIGHT TO BECOME DIMMER AND DIMMER OVER TIME.*JB