11 complaints reported

2020 Lincoln Aviator Electrical System

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
11
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Jan 2026

We purchase car on [XXX]. On [XXX] there is a significant leak in the panoramic sunroof that completely floods the trunk (unsure if this is related to the next problem). Our car is at the dealer for repairs 12/12/25 - 1/8/26 and is "fixed" as per the dealer. On [XXX] it starts running independently in the driveway when we are not home and both keys are untouched inside our locked home. We return a call from a concerned neighbor to enter our home, get the key, and turn off the car. After this incident the car is nearly undriveable because so many error messages begin to populate the screen. With the unpredictable nature of the car starting it is extremely frightening to depend on this car and know if it is going to suddenly start running (or driving!) unsupervised which could lead to all different kinds of compromised safety situations, especially since our driveway has easy access to the main street where kids often play. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2026
Nov 2025

The inside electric push-button switch that opens the door behind the driver was intermittent and is now completely inoperative. The inoperative switch means that anyone in the seat behind the driver must either roll down the window, reach out, and push the outside door button to open the door, or must slide across the rear seat and open the rear door on the right-hand side of the vehicle. The inoperative switch could be extremely dangerous when people must exit the car quickly.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: May 2025
Jul 2025

The vehicle doors lock on their own. Also the keyless entry keypad on the drivers door does not respond so entry cannot be made using that method. This is very dangerous and possibly fatal if one of us were to exit the car let's say to pump gas and all the doors locked with a grandchild still in the car. I have spoken to the Lincoln service department but their response is that they do not know of any such issues. I believe this first happened once or twice last year but it now seems to happen monthly. We have changed the battery in the key fob with no improvment.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2025
Aug 2024

The exit switches on both rear doors on my wife's 2020 Lincoln Aviator all of the sudden stopped working today. For whatever reason, Lincoln decided to make the exit handles electronic instead of a traditional pull-style exit handle. This is a HUGE safety concern as the passengers in the rear of the vehicle are now trapped inside. I am a professional fire fighter and I take this problem very seriously. After doing some research for the last two hours online, I've found that dozens of people have experienced the exact same malfunction on their 2020 Lincoln Aviators. I've checked the recalls for the 2020 Aviator on your website and to my disbelief, this is not a recall! Prior to both door exit switches failing, there were no warning lamps, messages, or any other notification. They simply just failed without notice.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2024
Jun 2024

Driving car on side street - going about 30 mph and car lost ALL power. Stopped completely in middle of road. No power - would not restart. NO FLASHERS. Since Aviator has "piano keys", the car would not go into Neutral and once we figured how to manually put car in neutral, we could not get the driver's door to close and latch. Car was placed on flatbed wrecker and driver had to tape the door shut for transportation. Luckily this happened during daylight hours and Sherriff's office sent a car to park behind us. Had this happened on my commute to office (at 0500) when it was DARK outside, it could have horrible - NO FLASHERS

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: May 2024
Sep 2023

I would like to express my concerns about the Lincoln Aviator (2020) I used to own and to why I traded it in. I spoke with Ford and even took my case to BBB and lost. I was asking for my money back to buy my Ford Explorer. The case was about all my electrical problems I was having and due to the fact, I did not take mv car into the dealer enough I lost. The dealership had advised me to make a list of problems instead of taking the car in each time because of travel distance that was a big mistake on my part as I felt they knew the car had problems and they were putting the problem back on me. They also had mentioned I did not drive very much and I tried explaining I was driving it more. One example was I drove it 50 miles one way and when I got to my destination I could not open back lift gate until I used button inside even though it was fine when I used it to load up the car before I left the house. Another time I came back from going to the coast, a good 3-hour drive, and I couldn't get in until I used key fob. You never knew how the car was going to act electrical. One morning I got up to go to store and the car was completely dead. Tow truck came and driver jumped the car and I backed it out of garage and put the car in park and it shut the car down. I remembered the little latch and was able to get out and the tow truck driver jumped it again and left the charger on the car to load the car up on the tow truck. I see now there is a recall for audible seat belt warning that has not been fixed yet. The biggest issue I addressed with Ford was since there is only one way out how were the passengers suppose to get out and they told me they had to climb over everything to go out the driver's door. Then I asked what if the person is large and has disabilities they are stuck, also what if there is an accident and they hit the driver door then there is no way out. I also said what if the car is going to catch fire, then what? You can't get out. I mentioned we have a 2006 corvette and we have 3 ways to get out of that car if the battery goes dead. I feel this car is very unsafe and I traded it off and will never buy anther car without door handles inside and outside. I hope you address this problem as it could become a hazard. If you do find this is a problem, could I as least get my down payment back as I paid too much for the Explorer due to covid. Thank you for listening

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2023
Feb 2022

The vehicle main screen locks up and does not auto dim. It has been in the shop 6 times for this problem. No repairs are fixing the problem. Extremely distracting when driving.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2022
Jan 2022

There have been two recalls on this vehicle. One was a battery cable issue, the other is a backup camera issue. The battery cable was fixed. The backup camera has been worked on 6 times and has not been fixed. I have notified Lincoln they told me to visit another dealer. After two dealerships and 6 trips, the backup camera still flashes or goes blue. The dealer cannot fix. Also, the entire main screen in the vehicle has issues with 1. Locking Up (inoperable until shutting car down) 2. Screen does not automatically dim at night. Both of these issues are a huge distraction and causes us to look away from the road, or even pull over in bad areas to attempt to reset. This is also why the vehicle has been in 6 times for this issue. I believe the backup camera and screen are inter-related. Lincoln concierge has been notified. They are aware and are not fixing the issue. The vehicle is dangerous. I have videos and photos.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2022
Jan 2022

Vehicle was purchase in 12/2019 and garaged most of 2020 due to Covid. Started using vehicle in late 2021 and discovered a number of electrical problems that dealt directly with the safety systems of the vehicle. False vehicle theft alarms, "Pre Collision Assist Not Available" warnings continuously, "Remote Features Disabled" notices, "Hill Assist Warning " detected a failure, rear camera flickering, Adaptive Cruise control not functioning, adaptive headlights not functioning, Lane Keeping Assist warning and corrective non functional. Myself and any passengers were put at risk because of the vehicle inoperative and failing electronics. Pedestrians and Rear Cross traffic were put at rick due to intermittent failures of detectors and rea camera. Vehicle was in the possession of Planet Lincoln, Dallas for 4 different times totaling 30 days. Vehicle was examined by a Ford Engineer that was flown in from Ford Headquarters at Grapevine Lincoln for 5 days. Dealership or Ford Motors would not provide information of the issues found because of a Lemon Lawsuit we had filed. The issues began on or around August 2020. The last repair attempt by the Ford Engineer was performed in late December 2020. This attempt failed to correct all safety issues also.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2020
Jun 2020

ELECTRONIC DOOR RELEASE ON THE INTERIOR DRIVERS DOOR HAS FAILED AT 2200 MILES. THE BUTTON DOES NOT WORK AT ALL AND IS LOOSE IN THE DOOR. THIS PREVENTS EXIT FROM INSIDE THE CAR WITHOUT USING THE MANUAL OVERRIDE OR ROLLING DOWN THE WINDOW TO ACCESS THE OUTSIDE HANDLE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2020
Feb 2019

I WAS DRIVING HOME AND THE ENGINE COOLANT DISPLAY ON THE PANEL ALL OF THE SUDDEN WAS AT THE MAXIMUM. IT THEN WOULD NOT LET ME THROTTLE ANY MORE, SO I HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE AND TURN THE VEHICLE OFF. I DID AND LET IT SIT 20 MINUTES AND THE ISSUE WAS STILL PRESENT. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALER. IT TURNS OUT TO BE AN INSTRUMENT / ELECTRICAL ISSUE AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ACTUALLY OVER HEATING. SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN 2 WEEKS LATER AFTER THE DEALER HAD UPDATED THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND REPLACED THE SENSOR. MY CAR HAD LESS THAN 5000 MILES AND BEEN IN THE SHOP ALMOST 5 TIMES INCLUDING THESE 2 INSTANCES.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2019

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2020 Lincoln Aviator has 11 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.