2004 Lincoln Aviator 74,000 miles. While attempting to merge onto interstate 95 S the vehicle shuddered and lost power unable to accelerate. Final determination by a mechanic determined the #8 cylinder was not holding pressure because the valve was not sealing correctly. The 4.6L V8 Ford engine's valve's are powder coated and this caused the value to stick and overtime warped the valve's components due to excessive heat. This is an engine design defect and the engine and will require a complete valve job to replace the head, head gasket and faulty valve stem. Ford has issued a technical bulletin on the subject but will not perform a voluntary recall. This is a serious safety issue and could cause serious injury or death if the vehicle losses power while merging with or evading oncoming traffic.

- Walpole, MA, USA

I recently purchased a 2004 Lincoln Aviator. About a month after I purchased this vehicle it started to develop problems. The rear bearing seal failed and oil is leaking out. The gear shifter on the console is starting to stick and not go into gear. I understand the Aviator is having a lot of problems in these areas. The vehicle only had 79000 miles on it when I purchased it. Ford must have used inferior materials to make the Aviator. Please look into this and if so force Ford to recall the Aviator and replace the inferior parts with parts that are safe and reliable.

- Gardendale, AL, USA

I purchased an 04 Lincoln Aviator in Dec. 2006, in Aug. 2007 I noticed it was not running right. It was stalling when accelerating or decelerating. It would sputter like it was out of fuel. The problem worsened for the next 6 wks. No mechanic could tell me what was wrong because the engine light had not come on. In Oct. 2007, I was driving on the interstate when my car lost all power for a split second. I took it to the mechanic who could not tell me what was wrong still. Then my check engine light came on and I was told it was a coil pack. I had that replaced and 2 days later, the problem started again. I went to my mechanic who told me to take the car to Ford, because a car with that few miles should not be having engine trouble. I took it to Ford who told me it was another coil pack. I searched the internet and found that there was a voluntary service recall issued for the coil packs on this vehicle for up to 120,000 miles. I told Ford of this and the repairs were covered. I asked them to replace the remaining 6 coil packs, they said they could only do it as they went bad. They said that it would not break down, it would just run bad. 08/28/08 the engine light came on while driving and I lost all power driving 60mph down the highway. I lot my steering and breaks. It took all the strength I had to maneuver the car off the road. Once the vehicle slowed, it was not stopping (on a hill), I had to use the E break to stop it. I took it to Ford who replaced 2 more coil packs. I contacted the manufacture Ford to make them aware of the problem and to try to work something out. I decided I did not want to be driving around a death mobile. They would do nothing for me, except replace the parts as they go bad. I still have 4 bad coil packs & 4 more chances to avoid injury over an undefined time period. Ford is knowingly & willingly putting my family at risk in this vehicle, that they know could break down at any minute.

- Milltown, IN, USA

Check engine light came on 2 years ago or so. Took into shop. Replaced coil #8 and spark plugs. Several months later, light comes on again, this time #7. 2 days later, light comes on again, must have been a defective part, replaced the replaced #7. another 2 days later, light back on. I'm told it's a cylinder head problem and they won't know what exactly the problem is until they take the cylinder heads off. Or I can get a new engine.... Lincoln wants no responsibility for such a catastrophic and known problem. Since my mileage is over their warranty (although at the onset it wasn't). Gee, I wonder why no one wants to buy an american made car!

- Sterling, VA, USA

At 13,650 miles the engine destroyed itself due to a defective crankshaft. I was driving home at night in the rain when the engine light came on and a loud banging sound was coming from the engine compartment. I immediately pulled off the highway & called roadside assistance. I waited for 3 hours for a tow truck and eventually had to call ct state police who summoned a wrecker. The lower half of the engine was completely destroyed. Manufacturer replaced the engine with a new engine assembly and engineers requested the old engine be sent to them for inspection as they had never seen this defect before. I was without my vehicle for 15 days. The first night I picked it up the engine light came on after less than 20 miles on my way home, again at night. It was not a dummy light. Another defective part had to be replaced. This time it was the egr module. I am now experiencing occasional skips when the vehicle tries to shift to upper gears from a dead stop. I am confident this product is a lemon and have worked fruitlessly to try to get the dealer/manufacturer to provide a replacement vehicle. This vehicle is unsafe and unreliable and I have received no consideration for a replacement other than to treat the transaction as a new vehicle purchase with mine as a trade. At the time of the first event, I had only owned this car for 4 months and put roughly 6,700 miles on it as it was a dealer's demo, driven by the owner of the dealership. It had over 6000 miles at purchase and I had only made 3 car payments at the time of failure. This is ridiculous!

- Higganum, CT, USA