Lincoln Navigator Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Lincoln Navigator model year from 1998 to 2025, benchmarked against each other with 1,790 federal complaints, 71 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 1998–1999, 2003. These years top the Navigator's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
Safer bets: 2002, 2007–2008, 2015–2018, 2020–2022 — the quietest years with at least four years on the road.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the Navigator's own worst year — full methodology.
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Electrical tops the Lincoln Navigator file with 234 complaints, concentrated in the 1998–2001, 2003–2004 model years, most often reported around 85,250 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Few reports | 21 | 6 | — | 5 |
| 2024 | Few reports | 28 | 7 | — | 10 |
| 2023 | Few reports | 9 | 8 | — | 2 |
| 2022 | Better year | 33 | 14 | — | 17 |
| 2021 | Better year | 40 | 12 | — | 10 |
| 2020 | Better year | 34 | 13 | Transmission & drivetrain | 10 |
| 2019 | Typical | 96 | 10 | Transmission & drivetrain | 28 |
| 2018 | Better year | 67 | 12 | Transmission & drivetrain | 20 |
| 2017 | Better year | 45 | 5 | Brakes & stability | 13 |
| 2016 | Better year | 33 | 4 | — | 9 |
| 2015 | Better year | 31 | 4 | — | 10 |
| 2014 | Few reports | 25 | 0 | — | 11 |
| 2013 | Few reports | 20 | 0 | — | 7 |
| 2012 | Few reports | 15 | 3 | — | 3 |
| 2011 | Few reports | 10 | 0 | — | 3 |
| 2010 | Few reports | 22 | 0 | — | 10 |
| 2009 | Few reports | 10 | 1 | — | 4 |
| 2008 | Better year | 40 | 2 | — | 11 |
| 2007 | Better year | 56 | 2 | Fuel system | 20 |
| 2006 | Typical | 90 | 3 | Engine | 32 |
| 2005 | Typical | 71 | 0 | Suspension | 23 |
| 2004 | Below average | 119 | 0 | Suspension | 38 |
| 2003 | Avoid | 179 | 1 | Suspension | 59 |
| 2002 | Better year | 48 | 4 | Engine | 20 |
| 2001 | Below average | 116 | 6 | Wheels & tires | 45 |
| 2000 | Below average | 137 | 7 | Wheels & tires | 62 |
| 1999 | Avoid | 155 | 7 | Wheels & tires | 58 |
| 1998 | Avoid | 240 | 6 | Wheels & tires | 100 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 3,120 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Lincoln Navigator. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Lincoln Navigator TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Lincoln Navigator years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 1998–1999, 2003 as the Lincoln Navigator years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Lincoln Navigator problem?
Electrical tops the Lincoln Navigator file with 234 complaints, concentrated in the 1998–2001, 2003–2004 model years, most often reported around 85,250 miles.
What are the best Lincoln Navigator years to buy used?
The quietest Lincoln Navigator years in federal records are 2002, 2007–2008, 2015–2018, 2020–2022 — each with at least four years on the road and well-below-average complaint volume for this model.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Lincoln Navigator only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.