Lincoln Nautilus reliability by year
23 recall campaigns and 217 owner complaints across 7 model years. Best year to buy: 2021. Year to avoid: 2019.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 7 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 33, more than the 23 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Nautilus aggregated across 7 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Lincoln Nautilus?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2021 Lincoln Nautilus scores 8.2/10 — the strongest in the 2019–2025 range. 21 complaints on file, 2 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Lincoln Nautilus year should I avoid?
The 2019 Lincoln Nautilus scores 6.2/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 101 owner complaints with NHTSA, 8 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2019 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Lincoln Nautilus should I avoid?
No Lincoln Nautilus model year currently rises to an "avoid" or "high-risk" verdict on the NHTSA data — either the record is clean or sample sizes are still too thin for a confident call. The year-by-year breakdown below shows what's on file regardless.
How many years of the Lincoln Nautilus are tracked?
7 model years (2019 through 2025) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 23 distinct recall campaigns and 217 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 33 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Lincoln Nautilus?
powertrain is the most-reported category — 52 complaints across 4 model years. Average shop repair runs about $2,500.