1987 Lincoln CONTINENTAL problems and owner complaints
Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.
Key facts
9 owner complaints analyzed
1 distinct recall campaigns
Not available median reported failure mileage
Scope: 1987 model year. Data updated: . 0 complaints include usable failure mileage. View data status.
This selection has limited data. It remains available for lookup but is excluded from search indexing.
Owner-reported patterns
Most common problems
Electrical System:Ignition is the most frequently named component, appearing in 2 of 9 complaints (22.2%). A complaint can name multiple components.
Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic
Matching reports
Share of complaints
Transmission and shifting
2
22.2%
Engine operation
1
11.1%
Braking behavior
1
11.1%
Electrical and battery issues
1
11.1%
Steering behavior
1
11.1%
Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.
Component breakdown
Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.
Electrical System:Ignition
2
Power Train:Automatic Transmission
2
Suspension:Front:Springs:Air Suspension System
2
Electrical System:Ignition:Switch
1
Electrical System:Wiring:Interior/Under Dash
1
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline
1
Equipment:Appliance:Air Conditioner
1
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
1
Component breakdown data
Category
Count
Electrical System:Ignition
2
Power Train:Automatic Transmission
2
Suspension:Front:Springs:Air Suspension System
2
Electrical System:Ignition:Switch
1
Electrical System:Wiring:Interior/Under Dash
1
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline
1
Equipment:Appliance:Air Conditioner
1
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.
Under 25,000
0
25,000 to 49,999
0
50,000 to 74,999
0
75,000 to 99,999
0
100,000 to 149,999
0
150,000 and above
0
Reported problems by failure mileage data
Category
Count
Under 25,000
0
25,000 to 49,999
0
50,000 to 74,999
0
75,000 to 99,999
0
100,000 to 149,999
0
150,000 and above
0
Under 25,000: 0; 25,000 to 49,999: 0; 50,000 to 74,999: 0; 75,000 to 99,999: 0; 100,000 to 149,999: 0; 150,000 and above: 0
No usable failure mileage is recorded. 9 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.
Complaints over time
Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.
1995
1
1996
3
1997
2
2001
3
Complaints over time data
Category
Count
1995
1
1996
3
1997
2
2001
3
1995: 1; 1996: 3; 1997: 2; 2001: 3
Pattern summary
Electrical System:Ignition leads the component reports. Transmission and shifting appears in 2 complaint narratives. Engine operation appears in 1 complaint narratives. Braking behavior appears in 1 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.
Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.
Complaint evidence
Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.
I WAS DRIVING AT ABOUT 25 MPH WHEN I NOTICED THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPING. I DROVE HOME ABOUT 5 MILES. KNOWING A LITTLE ABOUT CARS I LIFTED THE HOOD TO CHECK THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. THE LEVEL WAS FINE BUT THE FLUID LOOKED A LITTLE DARK TO ME. I SMELLED THE FLUID AND IT SMELLED BURNT. THE TRANSMISSION HAD BEEN FINE UP TO THAT POINT SO I LOOKED AROUND TO SEE IF I COULD SEE ANYTHING ELSE WRONG. I NOTICED THAT THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL CABLE THAT ATTACHES TO THE THROTTLE WAS HANGING LOOSE. I TOOK OUT MY SHOP MANUAL AND COPIED THE PAGE WITH THE LINKAGE …
THE IGNITION MODULE ON VEHICLE BECAME INOPERATIVE, CAUSING VEHICLE TO STALL AS CONSUMER WAS DRIVING, THE IGNITION MODULE FAILED DUE TO EXCESSIVE HEAT, ITS LOCATION BEING ON THE DISTRIBUTOR.*YD
FAILURE OF AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM. VEHICLE RIDES ON AXLE ; HARD STEERING AND ROUGH RIDING. VEHICLE REPAIRED BUT HAS BEEN IN FOR SAME PROBLEM SEVERAL TIMES. *AK
Inspect model-year patterns, reported mileage, monthly activity and the evidence behind each signal.
Data completeness
9 unique complaints in this selection. Analysis snapshot: 2026-10-01.
0.0%Usable mileage0 / 9 records
88.9%Valid incident date8 / 9 records
100.0%Valid filing date9 / 9 records
88.9%Ordered incident and filing dates8 / 9 records
Missing, zero and invalid mileage is excluded. Dates after the snapshot are excluded. Examples are limited selections, not a representative sample.
Problems by model year
Model-wide comparison of the eight most reported components across the model. Cells show counts and shares within each model year. Open a cell for source examples.
Component complaint heatmap
Component
2017
2018
2019
2020
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
Power Train:Automatic Transmission
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
Vehicle Speed Control
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
00.0%
No examples available for this selection.
Unknown Or Other
1621.3%ODI 11129985 · 125 mi
THE FRONT HOOD VIBRATES AS IF IT'S GETTING READY TO UNLATCH AS YOUR DRIVING AT 70 M.P.H. WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. IT'S VERY UNCOMFORTABLE AND SCARY.
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER DEPROGRAMS ITSELF, INTERIOR LIGHTING STOPPED WORKING, FOLDING EXTERIOR MIRRORS FOLD THEMSELVES WITHOUT COMMAND TO DO SO,REAR VIEW MIRROR CHANGES IT SETTING WITHOUT COMMAND, HUD FLASHES MULTICOLOR LIGHTS ONTO WINDSHIELD VIEWING AREA, APPROACH LIGHTING STOPPED WORKING. SYNC3 WAS PROGRAMMED TO DISPLAY MAP ON STARTUP BUT RECENTLY CAME UP WITH DIFFERENT SETUP. ALL OCCURRED WHILE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. BEGAN 12/11/2018 UNTIL PRESENT. *TR
I am not aware of an accident involving this defect. I am reporting a safety concern that occurred to me after I bought the car. All door controls(inside and out) are electronic. Doors are electronically opened by pressing a button. In the event of a crash that disables the electric system, occupants would be trapped in a locked car with no way to open the door. For this apparent reason, the driver's side door has a very small mechanical lever low on the driver's side door panel that will open the door in case of electrical failure. Howev…
UNEXPLAINED CRACK IN WINDSHIELD. CRACK APPEARED WITHOUT ANY EXTERNAL OBJECT STRIKING THE WINDSHIELD. TEMPERATURE WAS IN THE 70S AND NOT FREEZING TEMPERATURES ALL YEAR (LIVING IN FRESNO CA). NOT SURE WHEN IT HAPPENED, BUT I NOTICED IT WHEN THE CAR WAS PARKED AFTER DRIVING ABOUT 7 MILES.
Darker cells indicate a larger share of submitted complaints. Components overlap. This measures complaint composition, not failure probability.
Failure mileage by component
Median and middle 50% of usable owner-reported mileages. Ranges require at least five records.
Component failure mileage distribution
Component
Mileage range (25th–75th percentile)
Median
Usable records
Examples
No usable records for this analysis.
Complaint and recall timeline
Explore monthly filing activity alongside recall announcements. Up to ten years of monthly history is available.
Solid line: filed complaints. Dashed amber lines: recall announcement dates for this vehicle selection; markers include all recall components. The latest month is partial. Temporal proximity does not establish causation.
Monthly counts, recall campaigns and complaint examples
Monthly complaint and recall timeline
Month
Complaints
Campaigns announced
Examples
2024-11
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2024-12
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-01
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-02
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-03
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-04
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-05
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-06
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-07
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-08
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-09
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-10
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-11
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-12
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-01
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-02
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-03
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-04
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-05
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-06
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-07
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-08
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-09
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-10 (partial)
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
Emerging complaint spikes
Complete months in the latest six months with at least 10 complaints, at least twice the preceding 12-month average, and at least three square-root deviations above that average.
This is a descriptive screening rule, not a statistical defect finding. Publicity and reporting changes can increase submissions.
No complete months meet the spike thresholds for this selection.
Equal-age model-year comparison
Model-wide cumulative reports during the first three or five calendar years, starting with the model year (age 0). Only fully elapsed windows are compared.
2019: 4 complaints · 2020: 5 complaints
Equal observation windows
Model year
Through age 0
Through age 1
Through age 2
2019
0
2
4
2020
2
3
5
Date coverage across each selected cohort
Date basis for all complaints in selected model years
Year
Incident dates used
Filing date fallbacks
Excluded dates
2019
32
0
0
2020
7
0
0
Incident date is preferred when valid and no later than filing; otherwise filing date is used. Model year approximates age. Equal observation time does not adjust for sales, distance driven or reporting delays. One complaint linked to multiple model years can appear in each cohort.
Components reported together
Each cell counts unique complaints naming both components. Open a nonzero cell for examples.
Component co-occurrence matrix
Component
Electrical System:Ignition
Power Train:Automatic Transmission
Suspension:Front:Springs:Air Suspension System
Electrical System:Ignition:Switch
Electrical System:Wiring:Interior/Under Dash
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline
Equipment:Appliance:Air Conditioner
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Electrical System:Ignition
—
0
0
1ODI 800599
WHEN TURNING ON THE VEHICLE, THE IGNITION SWITCH CAUSES THE ABS TO GO OUT AS WELL AS THE AIR CONDITIONING.AK
Co-reporting does not establish that one component caused another concern.
Recurring narrative patterns
Specific keyword mentions beyond broad component labels. Matching includes negations and comparisons and does not confirm a diagnosis.
1 patterns with matching reports.
Stalling or loss of power
1 mentions · 11.1% of complaints
Median mileage: Unavailable (0 usable records).
ODI 562199
THE IGNITION MODULE ON VEHICLE BECAME INOPERATIVE, CAUSING VEHICLE TO STALL AS CONSUMER WAS DRIVING, THE IGNITION MODULE FAILED DUE TO EXCESSIVE HEAT, ITS LOCATION BEING ON THE DISTRIBUTOR.*YD