This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I own a 1995 Lincoln Mark viii and the driving lights are hazard. I say at best these lights are like driving at dusk without having your lights on that is about what you can expect to see. Lincoln should be forced to replace the light assembly especially because they knew of the defect and changed them in the 1996 models to hiv lights. A look at the Mark viii website shows this is a big problem... I would like to know what was done about this safety hazard.
I own a 1995 Lincoln Mark viii. The headlights are very dim, with very little light on the road. I have researched this and have found that this is a common problem with this car. Your site has 70 complaints on this issue. Apparently the headlight assemblies are defective, allowing the reflective material inside the headlight to deteriorate. I feel that Ford/ Lincoln should replace the headlight assemblies. If there is a recall for this problem, please let me know. Thank you.
Headlights to dim(non hid model) making driving at night hazardes even more around citys where slight glow is around sky makeing the allready dim lights impossible to see caused by plastic lens and plastic deflectors age and heat makes lights yellow (yellowing, plastic defuserr, and reflector and dull cause by heat produced) very common problem on Mark viii from first to the 96 only on the non hid version of the lsn and standard versions hid have no driving problems.
Faulty low beam headlights - reflectors in low beam headlights begin to errode due to high tempatures in headlight housings and cause light output to drop to very low levels and therefore create a safety hazard. Low beam headlights have less utput than the parking lamps. Most headlights in this condition will not pass state safety inspection requiring owner to replace headlight unit every 3 years as this is lso a problem on oem replacement parts.
The headlamps on 1995 Lincoln Mark viii show early signs of aging causing the intensity of the light to be substandard. This condition could cause a dangerous situation.
I just recently purchased a 1995 Lincoln Mark viii and I just found out that there is a known problem with the brightness and the design of the headlights. I think this is a safety issue and should be addressed making the car manufacturer justify and fix the problem.
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 Lincoln around 1994 to 1996. Thanking you and will await your reply. ***dimsii IVOQ entry posted after 12-12-02 cut over to artemis***761512
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.
Consumer states headlamps are very dim causing poor visibility during the night hours. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer checked the vehicle but found nothing wrong. They did install a new set of lens'.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
Consumer is concerned with the light output of the headlamps, the reflective coating on the rear of the lamp is discolored and flaking off the light output, causing poor visibility especially at night.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Sidney, OH, USA