[Moragamkc]

We've had our 2.0 fwd for almost a year and 11,000 miles. I can't get over the feeling that the steering in the MKC is not just Lincoln vague - but downright inferior! It pulls randomly over pour pavement and can really go off left or right during hard braking - constantly surprises me. Tires are wearing fine and dealer states alignment, brakes and suspension are all fine and in order.

Does anyone else feel this car requires lots of corrective input just to hold it in line? Our MKC just does not go down the road with any decent straight line lane holding under 30 mph. It's better on freeways and good roads, but without a doubt one of the worst steering cars I've ever owned. Not at all what I expected with a newer technology car.

Feedback from others greatly appreciated.

 

[5.0 Candy REDCS]

I don't know about "inferior" but I DO find the steering a lil twitchy and very sensitive....It does NOT like bad road crown either!...The slightest input to the steering and it DOES reacts....there really is no centre dead spot in this steering geometry, just very precise.....

 

[blankster]

Compared to my jeep the mkc steering is very good and is also better than the 2011 edge we traded in. This is the first vehicle I've owned with electric steering and overall I'm pretty pleased.

 

[5.0 Candy REDCS]

Agreed blankster...however it IS a lil twitchy and over sensitive compared to my Mustang GT's steering....both Ford products, both with electric steering...but night and day difference!
I'd take the Mustang GT's steering any day over the Lincoln, but that's just me!

 

[midnite cruiser]

After almost 25,000 miles, I would call the MKC average in directional stability. Really no worse than my wife's Volvo S60 except in crosswinds, but that is of course a function of its CUV profile.
Our South Carolina roads are almost the worst in the continental US- 1-2" of tire gutters where everyone tracks - it makes me ride to the RH side of the lane so I can get my drivers side tires on the center lane hump. I agree the MKC needs a pretty smooth road to track well. It was interesting that just after the dealer did the front/rear rotation, tracking improved a lot.
Tires are a huge part of the equation. You might experiment a bit with tire pressures, including 3-5 psi differential from fronts to rears and see how that feels.

I do wish the MKC could be adjusted for more caster to make it track like my old Saabs, but that is not going to happen.

 

[5.0 Candy REDCS]

yeah...but if you adjust caster you must also reduce toe,those two work hand in hand....speaking of which it would track a whole lot better if it came with a slightly more negative camber, but that would make it a lil more aggressive on tire threads and wear!.... as long as you rotate tires every 5,000Km you'd be fine tho.
Mustang GT came with 2.5 degrees of neg camber and it was fine...I changed that to 3 degrees and it's planted like it's on rails now! massive difference.

 

[blankster]

Agreed blankster...however it IS a lil twitchy and over sensitive compared to my Mustang GT's steering....both Ford products, both with electric steering...but night and day difference!
I'd take the Mustang GT's steering any day over the Lincoln, but that's just me!

MKC is based off of a FWD architecture and Mustang is RWD thats the only real difference I see plus the allignment specs of a "sports" coupe and a "luxury" cross-over probably have different dynamics dialed in.

 

[FloridaMatt]

Mine had a tendency to wander, with alignment at 10k miles an improvement. At 20k an alignment at the same dealer seems to have made it much better. I'll note, though, that I had also complained about a "clunk" going over bumps whose resolution was "adjust tie rods".

The "left or right under hard braking" should absolutely not be happening. You need to get the dealer to either fix that or have the problem escalated.

 

[Moragamkc]

Thanks to all for the comments. I think I'll take the MKC to a proper tire and wheel shop for a check. The Ford dealer (turned Lincoln too) has good showroom people, but service department has yet to realize what customer service for a luxury brand is all about. I'm as equal as a Fiesta or F150 owner. I'm sure they treat everyone as marginal as this cars vague steering. Can't imagine what they'll do with that new Continental customer base.

The service tech has stated the vehicle size and shape, higher center of gravity, low profile tires, blabity blab as reasons (excuses) for why the car rides and steers the way it does. My 97 Bravada, while bouncy and steering jerky over speed bumps and pushed sideways by wind at least felt like it had some keel to it. It was much more manageable in its 215,000 mi. life than the MKC. And our 07 VW Eos with even lower profile tires IS a rail with great steering precision and feedback even after 150,000 mi.

Will update later if some improvement can be made.

 

[blankster]

My Lincoln dealer (a brand new location) has all new allignment equipment (they even took me on a tour of the service area). If you have the 20" wheels, they are fairly wide series 50 tires (I think 255s) for that type of vehicle and may respond a little different than 18s or 19s.

 

[countryguy]

I have the 20" wheels on my MKC. I don't have any complaints with the steering...don't find it any different than on previous cars.

 

[5.0 Candy REDCS]

I find my 18" winter tires a lil bit more sensitive than on my 20" all season....size ( in this case,width) does matter! I understand what you're saying blankster, however the way they set up the suspension on the MKC is a little passive for softer less dynamic ride quality...or at least it is how I am reading my setup....is it bad? not at all, would I like it a lil more planted, yes, but there are a bunch of things that come into play with this ride...first off....its an all wheel drive ( when needed) secondly it's a fairly narrow wheel base...and third it is NOT a high performance ride,I really was not comparing this suspension to a Mustang's, but there are some attributes I wish it had, that it does not.....and lets not forget it's centre of gravity is quite high especially based on overall width!

 

[2015MKC23]

steering

hey, i've only had my MKC for a couple of weeks. here's what i can say.

when it's in D (my settings put that into "comfort" mode) the steering sort of wallows like an old town car.

when i put it in S and put it in performance mode, i find the steering to be quite good -- at least as good as the other cars in this class that i've test drove.

so maybe play with the steering settings a bit?

 

[Bruce]

hey, i've only had my MKC for a couple of weeks. here's what i can say.

when it's in D (my settings put that into "comfort" mode) the steering sort of wallows like an old town car.

when i put it in S and put it in performance mode, i find the steering to be quite good -- at least as good as the other cars in this class that i've test drove.

so maybe play with the steering settings a bit?

I agree with you! I've been monkeying with the setting for 18 months and finally decided I must change the handling to meet the conditions but I like the "Sport" settings best!

 

[TheReaper]

hey, i've only had my MKC for a couple of weeks. here's what i can say.

when it's in D (my settings put that into "comfort" mode) the steering sort of wallows like an old town car.

when i put it in S and put it in performance mode, i find the steering to be quite good -- at least as good as the other cars in this class that i've test drove.

so maybe play with the steering settings a bit?

Thanks, this is the same way I feel.