Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 347 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2008 Ford Mustang. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Showing 1–25 of 347 · page 1 of 14
Driving approximately 20 mph, on a smooth road, in a retirement community, the drivers seat airbag explosively inflated without warning. The seatbelts are locked and unusable, the seat bolster is shredded, the driver door panel is disconnected as is the exterior rocker cover. I am afraid to drive the car in fear of the other air bags exploding while driving.
Battery goes dead when sitting for a week when not driven. When I charge the battery and hook up the terminals and turn on the ignition with key the radio comes on and I know it was shut off before shutting car down.I always shut off radio before shutting off the car.I have seen reports of shutting radio off first then car ignition.Any idea what to look for.
See attached document for complaint.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while the son was driving approximately 40 MPH and pressing the brake pedal to reduce speed, the engine began to rev and the vehicle continued to accelerate. The driver observed that the accelerator pedal had remained pressed toward the floorboard and reached down to manually lift the pedal to reduce the vehicle's speed. The vehicle then drove into an intersection and crashed into a second vehicle. During the crash, no injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene, and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact indicated that the vehicle was previously repaired after the same failure had occurred. No further information was available. The failure mileage was 95,000.
I have a 2008 Ford Mustang with a V-6 engine. Recently I had to jump start it twice in a week's time to get it started and decided to take it to my dealer to have the battery checked. On the way there, I had to stop for a line of line of traffic at a red light. The instant I applied the brakes the engine started racing. I stood on the brakes as hard as I could, but could not bring the car to a complete stop. I got it slowed down to about three MPH, steered it into a parking lot that was next to me, and shoved it into park. I was afraid to drive it, so I called AAA and had it towed to my dealer. I told them how the engine started to race when I applied the brakes, and that I couldn't bring the car to a complete stop. They wrote it up that the engine started running rough when I applied the brakes. That is not what I told them. They made no written reference to the unintended acceleration. This struck me as odd. Their analysis of the vehicle showed that the master cylinder and brake power booster had failed. They told me that sometimes when these components fail they can cause the engine to rev. My engine more than revved, it sounded like it was racing at full throttle. The incident shook me up quite a bit. It also seemed odd to me that two major brake components would fail at the same time. I had gotten new front and read brake pads earlier in the years and no other brake issues were discovered. Though the car has been repaired and seems to be OK, I'm somewhat skittish about driving it. I'm aware that there was a class action law suit filed against Ford in 2013 for 2002-2010 Ford vehicles claiming unintended acceleration. Though the suit was dismissed, I'm worried that the problem still exists. I know for a fact that my foot was fully on the brake pedal, and that the floor mat played no role in this issue. I had no similar issues with the car in the fifteen years prior.
The headlights on my 2008 Ford Mustang are dim at best. And it's hard to drive the vehicle at night due to the lighting. I've already had one accident where a deer ran in front of me and that was due to it being at night on a dark Road. I have tried to fix it but the mechanic says that it is the way the factory made it. I've already spent $2,300 on fixing the car once and would like to know if there's anything I can do as a safety feature
Accident after side swiping cattle guard, flew off the road at 70mph, landing roughly, and bouncing off desert terrain, trying to control crash outcome, realign no brakes, and no way to slow down vehicle, except no acceleration, and turned away from homes and power poles, to eventually slam into a a higher terrain, until complete stop. My repaired airbags didn't deploy, and at that speed, my passenger side wheels were shattered, tires flat, face hit the steering wheel and windshield, my knees hit dashboard, arms bounced off off everything the seat belt couldn't protect me from. Because of airbag failure to deploy, I ended up with 2 fractures, T9 and L1, 6 lose teeth making front teeth unable to use, and 2 cervical discs pushing into spinal column. I have Medicaid for insurance, and they will not do the surgery on my neck, so I have permanent nerve damage to my arms and hands, and the rest of my life to avoid any falls, or sudden injury to these areas so I can exist as a cripple, all because the safety equipment mandated by you, failed or was non existent. I had basic motor insurance coverage and no medical for me. What do you propose I do, with what's left of my car and my body parts, to continue existing in this life? Why have safety regulations when the equipment is knowingly defective, and costly, with no recourse in case something happens, before you as owner, are aware of it. I'm so pissed off to discover I own a vehicle, or paid for vehicle, that tried to kill me.
I have had my car for about 3 years now and long story short one day my whole ignition switch feel out and what happens is it lock the steering wheel while driving which will cause an accident.
When making a left turn the entire car turns off when using the car all day on hot days
Got rain for a couple days straight the seal in the window is faulty and all the rain got into my car and did something to my electrical wires.
As I’m driving the wrench light comes on and keeps coming on after a couple minutes of driving the car and when I talk to everyone or even mustang forms they keep saying the car is going into limp mode and almost causing crashes, every time we scan for codes the car won’t tell us anything you turn the car off and the light goes away for awhile but eventually turns back on.
Interior fuse box keeps getting water or moisture which causing lots of electrical shorts in the wiring system.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD MUSTANG. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ACCELERATING OR DECELERATING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SPEED REMAINED AT 70 MPH WITH THE RPM EXCEEDING TO 3,000 RPM. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER ARRIVING AT HER DESTINATION, THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED AND DROVE AS DESIGNED. THE CONTACT CALLED OXMOOR FORD LINCOLN (100 OXMOOR LN, LOUISVILLE, KY 40222) TO INFORM THE DEALER OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.
2008 MUSTANG WITH TREMEC 3650 MANUAL TRANSMISSION. WAS ON HIGHWAY DOWNSHIFTING FROM 5TH INTO 4TH TO PASS ANOTHER CAR WHICH ABRUPTLY ENTERED MY LANE WHEN CAR WENT INTO 2ND, LOCKED REAR END AND SPUN CAR, CAUSING ME TO CRASH ON SIDE OF ROAD. CAR WAS TOTALED, LUCKILY I WAS UNHARMED DUE TO SIDE AIRBAGS. THIS 4TH TO 2ND GEAR LOCKOUT HAS HAPPENED TO ME NUMEROUS TIMES ALTHOUGH AT SURFACE STREET SPEEDS SO WAS ABLE TO RETAIN CONTROL. CA HIGHWAY PARTOL REPORT #9645.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD MUSTANG. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS ACTIVATED WITH THE WINDSHIELD WIPER SWITCH IN THE OFF POSITION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR AND WIRING HARNESS WERE DAMAGED DUE TO CORROSION CAUSE BY MOISTURE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO ASSISTANCE PROVIDED. A DEALER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,000.
I'VE TRIED NUMEROUS TIME TO MAKE APPOINTMENT TO GET THE FIXED NO CALL BACK AND PUT ON HOLD EVERY TIME I NOTIFIED MY LOVE ONES AND LAWYER TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME OR ANYONE IN MY VEHICLE FOR YEARS THIS HAS GONE ON IT'S SAD TO GO THROUGH THIS WITH NOTHING DONE. A CIVIL SUITE IS MY NEXT OPTION
WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE, I CHANGED GEARS (MANUAL TRANSMISSION) AND THE CLUTCH FAILED TO ENGAGE PROPERLY AND ENGINE RPM SPIKED DRAMATICALLY. WHEN THE CLUTCH FINALLY ENGAGED I PULLED OVER TO THE RIGHT LANE. THE CAR WILL NOT MAINTAIN SPEED, AND ENGINE RPMS SPIKE CONTINUALLY REGARDLESS OF GEAR/SPEED. THE CAR IS VERY UNSAFE TO DRIVE AND THE SITUATION NEARLY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT ON THE INTERSTATE. FORD HAS ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE WITH THE FACTORY-INSTALLED CLUTCH ON THE 2007-2009 SHELBY GT500S, BUT HAS REFUSED TO ISSUE A RECALL AND PASSES ON THE REPAIR COST TO CONSUMERS.
CAR WAS TAKEN TO FORD DEALERSHIP FOR AIRBAG RECALL AND ALL 4 WHEEL BRAKE JOB (12-2017). 7 MONTHS AFTER A GRINDING AND PULSATION PRESENTED ITSELF IN THE BRAKE PEDAL UNDER MEDIUM TO HARD BRAKING CONDITIONS WHILE DRIVING THE CAR. IT FELT LIKE THE ABS WAS KICKING IN AND CAUSED DRIVER TO DRASTICALLY ADJUST BRAKING AND STEERING BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT YOUR BRAKES WERE FAILING AND YOUR CAR WAS OUT OF CONTROL. THE CAR WAS RETURNED (7-2018). DEALER REPLACED FRONT PADS AND MACHINED ROTORS, BUT THE GRINDING AND PULSATION RETURNED. BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP (8-2018). THEY MACHINED ROTORS AGAIN, BUT PROBLEM RETURNED. BACK TO DEALERSHIP (10-2018). REPLACED ALL PADS AND ROTORS. OK FOR SHORT TIME BUT THE GRINDING RETURNED. CAR WAS PARKED DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS. TOOK TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP FOR A SECOND OPINION (9-2019), THEY VERIFIED THE COMPLAINT. BUT WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING. TIRES BALANCED, BRAKE FLUID CHANGED, SUSPENSION PARTS TIGHTENED BUT THE GRINDING PERSISTED. THE CAR FELT UNSAFE. BASICALLY, WAS RECOMMENDED EVERYTHING SHOULD BE SCRAPPED AND START OVER WITH ALL NEW BRAKE PARTS. I COULDN'T AFFORD DEALERSHIP PRICE A SECOND TIME IN 20 MONTHS, SO DID IT MYSELF WITH NAME BRAND, NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PARTS. ALL PULSATION, GRINDING, THUNKING, VIBRATIONS AND EXCESSIVE SENSITIVITY TO ROAD CONDITIONS DISAPPEARED. UPON CLOSER INSPECTION, FOUND THE OEM MOTORCRAFT ANTI-RATTLE SHIM HAD DETACHED FROM THE BRAKE PADS AND BEGAN MIGRATING AROUND THE BACK OF THE PAD. LESS THAN 10K MILES AND 7 TOTAL TRIPS TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP AND I HAD TO THROW ALL THE FORD PARTS OUT AND FIX THE PROBLEM MYSELF. ORIGINAL DEALERSHIP REFUSES TO REFUND MY $1K FOR THE ORIGINAL WORK. FORD KNEW PADS WERE DEFECTIVE AND STILL SENT CUSTOMERS OUT THE DOOR WITH FAULTY BRAKES. LARGE SAFETY CONCERN, OR AN OVERALL SCAM TO DEFRAUD CONSUMERS FOR REPEATED BRAKE REPAIRS-NOT SURE, BUT IT'S UNACCEPTABLE.
MY DAUGHTER AND I WERE GETTING HOME FROM A SHORT TRIP. AS I WAS SLOWING DOWN AND TURNING INTO MY DRIVEWAY THE CAR ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL. I HAD TO TURN SHARPLY TO AVOID A PARKED CAR AND WAS HEADED STRAIGHT INTO OUR NEIGHBORS HOUSE. I STOMPED ON THE BRAKE, BUT IT JUST WENT TO THE FLOOR. I WAS ABOUT TO THROW THE CAR INTO PARK WHEN I REGAINED CONTROL. STOPPED THE CAR, PUT IT IN PARK AND TOLD MY TERRIFIED DAUGHTER TO GET OUT AND GO IN THE HOUSE. I BACKED UP, PULLED INTO MY DRIVEWAY AND PARKED IT. I'M SCARED TO DRIVE IT NOW.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD MUSTANG. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GEAR SHIFT SELECTOR INDICATOR WAS FRACTURED, WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE CONTACT TO KNOW THE GEAR SHIFTER POSITION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE FAILURE WAS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE AND NOT COVERED BY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 28,000.
TAKATA RECALL AIR BAGS NEED TO BE REPLACED. I RECEIVED A LETTER SAYING I NEED MY AIR BAGS REPLACED.
THE LATCH ON THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT SOMETIMES STICKS AND WILL NOT RELEASE AND AT OTHER TIMES IT WILL NOT LATCH.
TAKATA RECALL - I HAVE TRIED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS TO HAVE THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG RECALL PERFORMED AT AUTONATION FORD, SANFORD, FL. THEY KEEP TELLING ME THAT THEY HAVE TO ORDER THE PART. I KEEP CHECKING BACK AND THEY KEEP TELLING ME THAT THEY STILL HAVE TO ORDER THE PART. MOST TIMES NO ONE ANSWERS THE SERVICE LINE AT AUTONATION FORD. NOW I'M RECEIVING SEVERAL AIRBAG RECALL NOTICES FROM FORD EACH WEEK. I TRIED THEIR 1-866-(XXXX) HELP LINE BUT CAN NEVER GET THROUGH. I TRIED THE CHAT ON THEIR WWW.FORDOWNER.COM WEBSITE BUT CANNOT GET THROUGH. THIS HAS BEEN AN EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING SITUATION, ESPECIALLY SINCE I'M TOLD I SHOULD NOT HAVE SOMEONE SIT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT UNTIL THE RECALL IS PERFORMED. I WANT TO KNOW HOW SOON I CAN GET THIS RECALL PERFORMED ON MY VEHICLE AND STOP BEING HOUNDED BY ALL OF THESE MAILINGS. THERE IS NO WAY TO SEND FORD AN E-MAIL COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS ISSUE. VERY FRUSTRATING! NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DON'T BOTHER TO GET A SAFETY RECALL PERFORMED ON THEIR VEHICLES! I USED TO WORK FOR NHTSA IN THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION SO I UNDERSTAND HOW THE SAFETY RECALL PROCESS IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. THIS IS "BROKEN" AT FORD AND AUTONATION FORD OF SANFORD FLORIDA
TAKATA RECALL. HAVE CALLED FOR 6 MONTHS TO CLASSIC FORD LINCOLN OF COLUMBIA AND BEEN UNABLE TO GET THE PART SERVICED. CALLED WITH THE FORD CUSTOMER CARE TEAM ON THE LINE AND THEY HUNG UP AND WOULD NOT PICK UP WHEN THE AGENT REDIALED THIS MORNING. SHE INSTEAD CALLED DICK SMITH FORD OF COLUMBIA WHO IS ALSO UNABLE TO SCHEDULE AND SAYS IT'S FIRST COME FIRST SERVER AT THE TOP OF EVERY MONTH. THE FACT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO DRIVE THE CAR, BUT ARE UNABLE TO ACTUALLY GET THE ISSUE ADDRESSED IS RIDICULOUS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD MUSTANG. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WATER ENTERED THE VEHICLE DUE TO THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WHEN IT RAINED. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE SEATS AND FLOOR TO BE SOAKED WITH WATER. THE CONTACT CALLED CROSSROADS FORD OF KERNERSVILLE, INC. AT 877-331-8058 (LOCATED AT 1330 NC-66, KERNERSVILLE, NC 27284) AND WAS INFORMED TO BRING THE VEHICLE TO THE SHOP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 104,000.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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