Selling a junk Lincoln Aviator
Any Aviator sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Lincoln Aviator
NHTSA has 661 owner complaints on file for the Lincoln Aviator, model years 2003 to 2022, the 355th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are transmission and drivetrain (120, 18%), body and structure (82, 12%), electrical system (76, 11%). 22 complaints involved a crash, 5 a fire, and 18 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 62,000 miles. The 2020 model year has the most complaints (173). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is transmission and drivetrain, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a bad transmission: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Lincoln Aviator by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 168 | Transmission and drivetrain | 5 | 0 | 1 | 62,104 |
| 2004 | 115 | Transmission and drivetrain | 2 | 1 | 0 | 72,614 |
| 2005 | 62 | Body and structure | 4 | 0 | 0 | 71,500 |
| 2020 | 173 | Electrical system | 3 | 1 | 30 | 14,500 |
| 2021 | 68 | Electrical system | 1 | 2 | 28 | — |
| 2022 | 75 | Driver assistance | 7 | 1 | 21 | — |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Lincoln Aviator recalls
NHTSA lists 39 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for driver assistance (9), transmission and drivetrain (4), seats (4). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2020 model year, seats (campaign 26V451000, Jul 2026): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2027 Aviator and 2020-2026 Explorer vehicles. The switch for the easy-entry second-row outer seats may bind or stick, resulting in the seats unlatching, tipping, or sli…
- 2020 model year, transmission and drivetrain (campaign 26V402000, Jun 2026): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Navigator, Expedition, 2020-2021 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2021 F-150 vehicles. The transmission park pawl may engage while the vehicle is in motion, resultin…
- 2020 model year, seat belts (campaign 26V159000, Mar 2026): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2026 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. The seat belt anchor bolts at the second-row outer seating positions may be improperly secured.
- 2020 model year, visibility and wipers (campaign 26V117000, Mar 2026): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer, Escape, Lincoln Aviator, and Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The windshield wiper motor may fail and prevent the windshield wipers from operating properly.
- 2020 model year, driver assistance (campaign 26V123000, Mar 2026): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2020-2024 Lincoln Aviator, and Explorer vehicles. The image on the center display may flip or invert, resulting in an incorrectly displaye…
What a Lincoln Aviator is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Aviator on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a bad transmission 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
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Questions people ask
- What is a junk Lincoln Aviator worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Aviator gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Lincoln Aviator that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Lincoln Aviator?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Lincoln Aviator numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.