Owners have filed 8,529 complaints on the Ford Mustang, covering 1982–2026. The system named most often is Air Bags (1,041 reports). Worst years by volume: 2005, 2007, 2006; cleanest: 2026, 2025, 1986. 626 reports describe a crash, 270 a fire, 16 a death. On average the car was 5.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford Mustang
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 8,529 Mustang complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 1,041 Read
My driver side air bag didn't deploy when I was in a car wreck on saturday october 7, 2017
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Mustang. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH and making a left turn the contact crashed into a vehicle going straight through the intersection. The contact's entire front end crashed into the other vehicle's driver-side front fender by the driver's front wheel. The…
It stolen
Power Train 604 Read
I was contacted by the NHTSA, after I had an accident in my 2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost with the automatic transmission and ability to manually shift. I spoke with an Investigator by the name of [XXX]. The investigator wished me good luck, as it was relayed to me that I was the only one who had the problem which…
Caught in stop and go traffic at night for 45 minutes. Car started moving forward even though my foot was only on the brake pedal. My first thought was I'd accidentally pressed both the brake and gas pedals, but I could see my foot on the brake pedal since the under-dash area is lit in the Premium model. It happened…
The transmission gets stuck in gear when you accelerate hard, you can't take the car out of gear and the clutch does not work. The engine continually revs/speeds up when no one is touching the accelerator. This is very dangerous and needs to be addressed right away. This was driving in sport mode, this has no happened…
Electrical System 470 Read
I purchased a new 2018 ford mustang 2 dr 4 cyl ecoboost on july 9th 2018. On august 15, after having dinner with parents at the house, I went to visit some friends in davie and it was aprox 7:45 pm while driving on a 4 lane road divided by a median. Road has frequent speedbumps and the median has mature trees. While…
Was in the car during a very slow, around 5mph front end collision. The knee airbag went off at low speed. I. Exited the vehicle to look at damage and then I sat back in the driver seat. Upon sitting back in the driver seat I noticed the smoke that had cleared from the airbag had started to build back up and became…
25 mph mild frontal collision caused a fire to start in the door panel as identified by the driver and the fire dept. The fire caused a majority of the cabin to burn and the vehicle to become a total loss in under a minute. Front airbags deployed but not side airbags. Electrical system in left door possibly…
Engine 227 Read
2017 ford mustang gt premium with less than 20k miles while driving stalled and engine caught fire. No prior warnings, smells or leaks on the garage floor. I have the fire report and all other documents but couldn't get them to upload
After having the car for 5 months (59,000 mi) the engine blew up while driving 60mph on a state highway and dropped all of its oil. The ecoboost mustangs are incredibly prone to this issue and ford is just sweeping them under the rug. Ford had my car for 4 months when it was misfiring (which is how "ecoboom" begins)…
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that when purchasing the vehicle they noticed the instrument panel had failed to illuminate. Then while driving at approximately 20 MPH the red wrench displayed on the instrument panel and there was a loud noise coming from the vehicle, and the vehicle began…
Structure 185 Read
This is a 2024 Mustang convertible that I purchased from Autonation in Panama City and the back window was not properly installed and is now shaking and allowing water into the car. There is a major problem with the car disabling ABS as well and ive taken it to the dealership for both of these issues twice. The brakes…
The gas tank was only getting 10 gallons of gas and not 16 gallons like it was suppose to. We ended up running out of gas on a road trip with our two young daughters in the middle of the night on I-75. The gas tank said you had 100 miles to go before empty and then 3 miles later it would drop to 0 and you were running…
The contact owned a 2017 ford mustang. The contact stated that while her fianc was driving at 30 mph, the vehicle hydroplaned and crashed into a ditch. The contact stated that the passenger's side door hinge fractured, allowing the door to open violently. The contact stated that she was nearly thrown out from the…
Vehicle Speed Control 163 Read
The contact owns a 2006 ford mustang. While driving approximately 55 mph, the throttle became stuck and the vehicle increased acceleration abnormally. The vehicle began to travel uncontrollably through three traffic signals. The emergency brake was engaged and the contact then crashed into a tree. The contact and a…
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the contact stated that after he released his foot to engage the brake pedal, the accelerator pedal was stuck and failed to stop the vehicle. The contact then stated that he…
When pulling out of a parking lot the car accelerated to full throttle by itself. I put the brakes on as hard as I could. It had no affect on stopping the car or even slowing it down. The car went over the median and was heading eastbound in the westbound lanes of traffic. I swerved to the left to avoid hitting a…
Steering 162 Read
The vehicle experienced a sudden steering malfunction involving the electronic steering gear. While backing out of a parking structure, the steering wheel suddenly jerked and locked instead of naturally correcting, resulting in collision with a pillar. There were no warning lights, steering fault messages, or prior…
The lane assist kept pulling to the right when the lane markings were unclear. Entering highway, lanes go from 2 to 1. We were merging when a car tried to merge into us. We moved over to the right and the lane assist pulled us into a curb. We ended up in a roll over accident and NO air bags opened or went off
The contact owned a 2021 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds, the steering wheel independently veered in the right direction causing the contact to crash into a barrier without warning. The air bags deployed upon impact. The contact sought medical attention and was treated for…
Back Over Prevention 134 Read
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Mustang. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number:22V082000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the…
The rear backup camera will periodically fail and not show what is behind the vehicle while backing up. The backup camera monitor will receive a message that states contact the dealer for repair. This is similar to the same recall notice I received for my 2020 Ford Mustang GT, yet I have never received notification of…
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera intermittently failed to operate as needed while the vehicle was shifted into reverse(R). The contact stated that the camera image either displayed a blank image or the camera displayed an inaccurate distance between objects.…
Mustang years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Electrical System,service Brakes | 1 | — | |
| 2025 | Electrical System,unknown Or Other,visibility/wiper | 1 | — | |
| 2024 | Air Bags | 5 | — | |
| 2022 | Back Over Prevention | 3 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 13 | 5 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags,lane Departure,forward Collision Avoidance | 3 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 14 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 12 | 6 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 26 | 7 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 27 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 16 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 20 | 2 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 17 | — | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 11 | 1 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 15 | 2 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 19 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 35 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 25 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 31 | 7 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 23 | — | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 16 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 17 | 7 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 36 | 1 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 43 | 11 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 41 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 36 | 10 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 12 | 3 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 14 | 8 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 2,209 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.9 |
| Worst single series | 41 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.2 years |
A model average of 3.9 hides a worst series at 41. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Mustang?
By complaint volume, 2005, 2007, 2006 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Mustang years are the cleanest?
2026, 2025, 2022 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford Mustang have?
8,529 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1982–2026. Of those, 626 describe a crash and 270 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.