Lincoln has always been a brand that promotes comfort, amenities, and luxury with its vehicle line. The 2020 Lincoln Aviator is certainly no exception. The upscale SUV offers an essentially all-new look and feel, with all the advanced features you’d expect from Lincoln. But, for some consumers, bells and whistles are nice, but overall vehicle reliability is the primary concern. So, how reliable is the Aviator? We looked into the various reliability ratings from the experts and even uncovered some concerns.

How the experts gauge reliability

Before we address reliability ratings, it might be helpful first to understand how the experts gauge reliability in the first place. Consumer Reports, for example, provides a summary of 17 points of functionality for each model year of the vehicle.

J.D. Power reviews the past three years of a potential model, to determine a historical roster of past vehicle problems. The experts use these data points to score each vehicle and compare them with other models within the same segment.

Who is the target consumer for the Lincoln Aviator?

We found a few ownership and buying preference statistics that you might find helpful. Midsize Premium SUV owners agree that the primary consideration for purchasing is reliability (60%). Other factors include workmanship (60%) and handling and performance (58%). Some data suggests luxury SUV buyers first look for driving dynamics, styling, engine and transmission, and safety features.

What the experts have to say about Lincoln Aviator

The Aviator has been around for several years, but it’s relatively new in terms of vehicle lines. With a series of redesigns, it’s actually one of the shortest-produced vehicles from Lincoln overall. So, with a limited history, can the experts score an accurate reliability rating?

What Consumer Reports says about Aviator

Consumer Reports sends questionnaires to subscribers, asking for relevant details about vehicle problems or repair issues over the previous year. For the Lincoln Aviator, there isn’t enough data yet collected from these subscribers for the experts to make an accurate rating. However, it is important to note, CR reports the 2020 model has three recalls initiated by the NHTSA.

What J.D. Power says about Aviator

J.D. Power and Associates offers a Vehicle Dependability rating based on a five-star scale. If there isn’t enough historical data for their study, they provide a Predicted Reliability rating. For the 2020 Lincoln Aviator, they suggest a 3.5-star predicted rating, categorizing it among the average reliability vehicles.

Consumer complaints are mounting for the Lincoln Aviator

Ford Motor Company has curbed thousands of 2020 Explorers as well as Lincoln Aviators due to a series of manufacturing issues causing consumer problems. According to a Detroit Free Press report, the complaints are flooding in, about a variety of software glitches and mechanical malfunctions.

One Consumer Reports expert discussed issues with the digital gauge cluster during auto testing. One Aviator consumer, complained of problems ranging from a leaky sunroof within her first week of ownership, to the parking brake engaging while driving.

Reliability ratings for others in its class

For now, a slightly above average reliability rating for the Lincoln Aviator might be satisfactory. It might, in fact, be right in line with others in its class. We found three-star averages for reliability, from J.D. Power for 2019 models of Audi Q7, Infinity QX60, and Lexus RX.

The jury still might be out on overall reliability for the 2020 Lincoln Aviator for now. There are plenty of expert reviews praising the redesign. But, it looks like there are a few manufacturing concerns for the latest model, too, suggesting a quality control issue.

If you’re considering adding an Aviator to your family fleet of vehicles, be educated on the latest expert recommendations before you buy. You will no doubt be impressed with what the Lincoln Aviator has to offer.