What are the common problems with the 2009 Lincoln MKZ?
Owners of the 2009 Lincoln MKZ have filed 114 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the airbags (66) and the brakes (18). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 38 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 114 owner complaints on the 2009 Lincoln MKZ. Owners named the airbags most often: 66 complaints, and half of the 8 that list a mileage came after 40,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 114 complaints, 8 report a crash, none reports a fire and 7 report an injury (7 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2009 MKZ
NHTSA's file holds 114 owner complaints on the 2009 Lincoln MKZ. Owners named the airbags most often: 66 complaints, and half of the 8 that list a mileage came after 40,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 66 | 8 | 41,000 |
| Service Brakes | 18 | 10 | 85,447 |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 7 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Power Train | 5 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Wheels | 5 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 114 complaints, 8 report a crash, none reports a fire and 7 report an injury (7 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2009 MKZ
The 38 mileages owners gave run from 1,542 to 160,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 31,000 miles, half at or under 66,000, three quarters at or under 98,943 and nine in ten at or under 127,000; 8 (21%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (3%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2009 MKZ wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 30 of the 38 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2009 MKZ can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1,542 miles |
| 25th percentile | 31,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 66,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 98,943 miles |
| 90th percentile | 127,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 160,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 8 (21%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 1 (3%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 853 NHTSA owner complaints on the Lincoln MKZ that list mileage came after 63,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Lincoln MKZ last? →
Is the 2009 MKZ a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad MKZ: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 114 complaints, the 2009 ranks 9th of the 13 Lincoln MKZ model years from 2007 to 2019 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2008 (281). The fewest: the 2019 (23).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 MKZ | 259 | 97 | 77,456 |
| 2008 MKZ | 281 | 117 | 80,400 |
| 2009 (this page) | 114 | 38 | 66,000 |
| 2010 MKZ | 170 | 74 | 72,233 |
| 2011 MKZ | 185 | 98 | 69,000 |
| 2012 MKZ | 205 | 114 | 55,567 |
| 2013 MKZ | 122 | 79 | 46,000 |
| 2014 MKZ | 126 | 82 | 63,000 |
| 2015 MKZ | 97 | 55 | 48,989 |
| 2016 MKZ | 72 | 32 | 58,000 |
| 2017 MKZ | 159 | 52 | 70,000 |
| 2018 MKZ | 38 | 12 | 21,000 |
| 2019 MKZ | 23 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every MKZ year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Lincoln MKZ years to avoid →
2009 Lincoln MKZ recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 7 recall campaigns that name the 2009 Lincoln MKZ (6 vehicle campaigns and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 21V158000 | Mar 10, 2021 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 21V081000 | Feb 16, 2021 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 19V904000 | Dec 18, 2019 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE |
| 18V046000 | Jan 11, 2018 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 17V024000 | Jan 10, 2017 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2009 MKZ lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2009 MKZ.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 76 of the 114 complaints on the 2009 Lincoln MKZ give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: MKZ and MKZ HYBRID. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file name matched: MKZ.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2009 Lincoln MKZ questions
What are the most common 2009 Lincoln MKZ problems?
NHTSA's file holds 114 owner complaints on the 2009 Lincoln MKZ. Owners named the airbags most often: 66 complaints, and half of the 8 that list a mileage came after 40,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 114 complaints, 8 report a crash, none reports a fire and 7 report an injury (7 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2009 Lincoln MKZ?
Of the 38 complaints on the 2009 Lincoln MKZ that list mileage, the middle half came between 31,000 and 99,000 miles; 8 (21%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (3%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2009 MKZ can cover.
Is the 2009 Lincoln MKZ a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad MKZ: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 114 complaints, the 2009 ranks 9th of the 13 Lincoln MKZ model years from 2007 to 2019 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2008 (281). The fewest: the 2019 (23).
How many recalls does the 2009 Lincoln MKZ have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 7 recall campaigns that name the 2009 Lincoln MKZ (6 vehicle campaigns and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2009 Lincoln MKZ before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2009 Lincoln MKZ.