1994 Lincoln Mark Viii

1993 THROUGH EARLY 1996 LINCOLN MARK VIII'S HAVE A SERIOUS VISIBILITY PROBLEM AT NIGHT DUE TO THEIR INFERIOR HEADLIGHT DESIGN. BECAUSE THE HEADLIGHT PROFILE IS SO SLIM AND THE LENSES YELLOW SO EASILY WITH USE, YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING WHEN IT IS DARK. I FIND MYSELF CHECKING TO MAKE SURE MY HEADLIGHTS ARE IN FACT ON THEY ARE SO BAD. NO PRECAUTIONS CAN BE TAKEN TO PREVENT THIS LOW VISIBILITY SITUATION, IT IS A BAD DESIGN. FORD SWITCHED OVER TO HID IN 1996 TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, BUT US OLDER VEHICLE OWNERS WERE LEFT OUT WITH A DANGEROUS CAR AND OUR ONLY CHOICE IS TO PAY ONE THOUSAND PLUS DOLLARS FOR A RETROFIT KIT THAT WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR. *TR

THE HEAD LIGHTS ON THE 94 LINCOLN MARK 8 DO NOT PUT OUT ENOUGH LIGHT TO SAFELY SEE WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE RD, IT APPEARS THE REFLECTIVE MATERIAL IS GONE, THE HEADLIGHTS HAVE BEEN POLISHED TO REMOVE SCRATCHES AND YELLOWING, THEY WERE ALSO AIMED, TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE FORD DOES NOT OFFER HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES FOR THIS CAR ANYMORE NOR DO THEY HAVE A SOLUTION TO FIX IT AVAILABLE. *TR

MY VEHICLE HAS 2 DEFECTS WHICH I HAVE NOTICED ON NUMEROUS OTHER CARS LIKE MINE, EVEN LATER MODEL YEARS. THE HEADLIGHTS BECOME VERY DULL AND YELLOWED AFTER 3-4 YEARS, TO THE POINT THAT YOU HAVE TO DRIVE WITH HIGHBEAMS ON ALL THE TIME JUST TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE ROAD. I HAVE SEEN THIS AS THE #1 COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS MODEL CAR ON NUMEROUS BLOGS. THE 2ND PROBLEM IS WITH THE SEAL AROUND THE BACK WINDSHIELD. IT WARPS AFTER A FEW YEARS. VIRTUALLY EVERY MARK VIII THAT I SEE HAS THIS SAME PROBLEM, AND IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR BECAUSE THE WHOLE WINDSHIELD HAS TO BE REMOVED, AND THE BACK WINDSHIELD IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN THE FRONT. *TR

93 THROUGH 96 LINCOLN MARK VIII HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY THE PROBLEM IS ONE OF MANY FACTORS: HEAT, PLASTIC, ULTRAVIOLET EXPOSURE, BAD DESIGN, ALL ROLLED UP INTO A NICE MESS. THE HALOGEN BULBS USED ARE QUITE HOT. THIS IS A KNOWN FACT. ADD IN THE SHORT HEIGHT OF THE HOUSING, AND YOU HAVE A REAL PROBLEM. ALSO, INSIDE THE LOW BEAM HOUSING, THERE IS A DIFFUSER, WHICH IS USED TO CUT DOWN THE DIRECT LIGHT FROM THE BULB, AND PRODUCE A SLIGHTLY LOWER INTENSITY BEAM. ALL OF THESE "FEATURES" OF THE ASSEMBLY CONTRIBUTE TO GENERATING SO MUCH TRAPPED HEAT FROM THE BULB, THE TOP SIDE OF THE REFLECTOR MATERIAL IS BURNED AWAY. THIS REDUCES THE REFLECTIVE QUALITIES OF THE REFLECTOR, OF COURSE, BUT IT ALSO LEAVES A BLACK AND YELLOW CHARRED AREA WHICH ACTUALLY ABSORBS SOME OF THE LIGHT. NOT ONLY IS THERE LESS LIGHT BEING REFLECTED FROM THE TOP (AND THIS IS IMPORTANT IN THE DESIGN OF THE LIGHT ITSELF), THERE IS LESS LIGHT IN GENERAL DUE TO THE DARKENED SPOT! THE PROBLEM IS SO SEVERE THAT I BELIEVE, GIVEN ENOUGH TIME, THE ASSEMBLY ITSELF WILL ACTUALLY MELT AWAY. THERE IS SIMPLY NO WHERE FOR THE HEAT TO GO, EXCEPT UP. NOW COUPLE THESE PROBLEMS WITH THE FACT THAT THE PLASTIC CLEAR LENS TENDS TO NOT ONLY YELLOW WITH AGE (DUE TO CLEANING PROBLEMS AND ULTRAVIOLET EXPOSURE) BUT ALSO START TO HAVE HUNDREDS OF TINY STRESS CRACKS IN THE LENS ITSELF. THE YELLOW DIMS THE LIGHT AGAIN, AND THE TINY CRACKS DIFFUSE THE REMAINING LIGHT. THE RESULT IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION OF LOW LIGHTING OF THE ROAD. ALL IN ALL, A PRETTY BAD SYSTEM FOR SOMETHING THAT CAME ON A $35,000-$45,000 CAR, DON'T YOU THINK? *TR

IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION SINCE PURCHASING MY 1994 LINCOLN MARK VIII THAT THE HEADLIGHTS ON THIS MODEL FOR THE YEARS 1993 TO 1995 ARE OF POOR DESIGN AND ARE AN EXTREME HAZARD WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT. THE LOW BEAM REFLECTORS FAIL OVER A SHORT TIME CAUSING UP TO 90% LOSS OF CANDLE POWER RENDERING THE VEHICLE UNUSABLE AT NIGHT UNLESS USING THE HIGH BEAMS ALL THE TIME, CAUSING HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR ONCOMING DRIVERS. I AM REQUESTING THE ASSISTANCE OF THE NHTSA IN THIS MATTER, AS IT APPEARS TO BE A DEFECT THAT THE MANUFACTURE HAS KNOWN ABOUT FOR SOME TIME AND IS NOT WILLING TO RECONCILE. *TR

HEADLIGHT HOUSINGS REFLECTIVE SURFACE NO LONGER REFLECTIVE AND PLASTIC LENSES ON FRONT OF HOUSINGS HAVE BECOME FOGGY. LIGHT OUTPUT WITH LOW BEAMS IS HARDLY MORE NOTICEABLE THAN DRIVING WITH JUST PARKING LIGHTS. THIS MAKES FOR VERY POOR NIGHT VISIBILITY DUE TO SEVERE DEGRADATION OF OEM HEADLAMP SYSTEM AND THAT THIS MAKES NIGHT DRIVING DANGEROUS IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE WITH OUT SOME SORT OF AFTERMARKET LIGHTING SYSTEM OR OEM REPLACEMENTS WHICH WILL SOON FAIL AND CAUSE THE ISSUE ALL OVER AGAIN. THIS IS CLEARLY A DEFECT IN WORKMANSHIP AND/OR DESIGN FLAW AND FORD/LINCOLN/MERCURY NEEDS TO FIX THIS ISSUE WITH THE 93-95 MARK VIII'S WITH HALOGEN BULBS SYSTEMS BEFORE ACCIDENTS ARE CAUSED, LIVES LOST AND CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS BEGIN. *CN