Owner-reported complaints naming the fuel system system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2012 Ford Mustang submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 22 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
WHILE DRIVING THE CAR SHIFTS DOWN INTO FIRST GEAR ON ITS OWN WHILE THE DASH GOES BLANK AND THE SPEEDOMETER STOPS WORKING. IT WILL ALSO SHOW A WRENCH LIGHT AT TIMES.
DEFECTIVE CANISTER PURGE VALVE
HOLA EL PROBLEMA COMENZ 2 MESES DESPUS DE HABERLO ADQUIRIDO CUANDO LO ENSCENDIA DESPUS DE MINUTOS EMPEZABA A TEMBLAR CASCABELEAR COMO SI SE AHOGARA Y SE KISIERA APAGAR LE PRENDI LUZ DEL CHECK ENGINE REPENTINAMENTE Y LO LLEVE AL DEALER DONDE LO ADQUIR Y DINERO TODO ESTS BIEN NO TENA PROBLEMAS AL PASO DEL TIEMPO REGRESO EL PROBLEMA PASO LO MISMO AHORA CUANDO LLENABA EL TAQUE DE COMBUSTIBLE Y ERA MS NOTORIO CMO TEMBLABA Y AL MOMENTO DE ACELERAR PERDA POTENCIA HASTA EL PUNTO QUE PRENDI CHECK ENGINE Y TUVE KE REPLAZAR LA VLVULA DE PURGA DEL CANISTER 3 VECES HASTA EL DIA DE HOY OBIAMENTE EL SCANER MARCABA LA FALLA EN LA VLVULA MENCIONADA...
THROTTLE BODY MALFUNCTION - CAUSES LOSS OF POWER WHILE DRIVING. ACTS AS THOUGH YOU TOOK YOUR FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL. ENGINE WILL NOT REV ABOVE IDLE SPEED. CHECK-ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. IF YOU STOP, TURN OFF THE CAR, AND RE-START, IT WILL BE OK FOR A WHILE. IT HAPPENED TO ME TWICE IN 2 WEEKS. PART WAS REPLACED, BUT THE NEW PART FAILED AGAIN IN 16 MONTHS. HAD THAT REPLACED THIS WEEK. (MAY '17). I AM AWARE OF FORD CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM 16B23, BUT THE DEALER SAID MY VIN WAS NOT ONE OF THE AFFECTED VEHICLES. I BEG TO DIFFER.
TAKATA MY CAR HAS DIFFERENT MANUFACTURING ISSUES INCLUDING THE CONVERTIBLE ROOFING IT DOES OPENLY BY ITSELF, I GOT SCARED AND CHOCKED THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, ALSO THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO SENT A LOWER SPEED TO THE MOTOR. AIRBAG DIDN'T EXPLODE IN A CRASH. DRIVING IS WHEN IT HAPPENS. *TR
ON AUGUST 1, 2016, AT APPROXIMATELY 7:30 P.M., I WAS DRIVING SOUTH ON U.S, HIGHWAY 1 (Y,S, HIGHWAY 2 IS A 3-LANE ROAD). SUDDENLY, MY VEHICLE LOST THE POSER TO ACCELERATE. I WAS PANICKED, AS THERE WAS TRAFFIC BEHIND ME AND TO MY LEFT SIDE. I COULD DO NOTHING TO STOP THE LOSS OF ACCELERATION. FORTUNATELY, MY FRIEND AS FOLLOWING ME AND WAS IMMEDIATELY AWARE THAT I WAS HAVING A PROBLEM. MY FRIEND IMMEDIATELY PUT ON HIS EMERGENCY FLASHERS; AS I SLOWED, I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE AND COAST INTO A FILLING STATION. AT THIS TIME, I NOTICED TWO THINGS; THE CAR RAN ROUGHLY AT A VERY SLOW SPEED AND A WRENCH SYMBOL APPEARED ON THE DASH. I WAS ABLE TO PULL TO A SAFE LOCATION ON THE FILLING STATION LOT. MY FRIEND SEARCHED FOR THE SYMBOL IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL WHICH INDICATED THERE WAS A THROTTLE CONTROL PROBLEM AND I SHOULD CONTACT MY DEALER IMMEDIATELY. AT THIS TIME, I CALLED AAA AND WAS ADVISED THAT A TOW TRUCK WOULD BE THERE IN APPROXIMATELY AN HOUR AND A HALF. WHEN THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED, I COMPLETED THE PAPERWORK AND THE CAR WAS TAKE TO PARADISE FORD WHERE I PURCHASED IT IN 2012. THE FOLLOWING MORNING, FORD CALLED ME AND DIAGNOSED IT AS A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY ASSEMBLY AND REPLACED IT. SOME RESEARCH INDICATED THAT A TSB HAD BEEN ISSUED TO FORD DEALERS ABOUT THE MALFUNCTION OF THIS ITEM. BECAUSE IN MY CASE, THIS WAS AN OBVIOUS SAFETY ISSUE, I FEEL FORD SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED ME AND GIVEN ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE IT REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. AS A RESULT OF THIS, I WAS CHARGED $621 FOR THE REPAIR. TO REITERATE, THE MAIN ISSUE HERE IS THAT IN AN UNSAFE SITUATION DUE TO, WHAT I PERCEIVE, AS THE FORD DEALER'S NEGLIGENCE.
INTERMITTENTLY, WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED THE VEHICLE WILL GO INTO 'LIMP HOME MODE'. THE 'WRENCH' TROUBLE LIGHT ILLUMINATES ON THE DASH. THE VEHICLE THEN HAS TO BE STOPPED COMPLETELY, PUT INTO PARK AND SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE THEN STARTS AFTER A FEW EXTRA CRANKS OF THE STARTER AND RUNS NORMALLY. THE 'WRENCH LIGHT IS NO LONGER LIT AND NO ENGINE CODE IS STORED. MY MECHANIC CANNOT TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM BECAUSE NO ENGINE ERROR CODE IS STORED. RESEARCH ON-LINE POINTS TO DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY AS THE CULPRIT WITH REPLACEMENT AS THE SOLUTION. FORD SHOULD ADD THE MUSTANG TO ITS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM FOR DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODIES. I UNDERSTAND SOME 1.6 MILLION VEHICLES ARE ALREADY ON THIS LIST. THE PROBLEM BEGAN FOR ME ABOUT A YEAR AGO AROUND THE 18K MILE MARK AND THE VEHICLE NOW HAS ABOUT 22K MILES ON IT, IS METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED AND CARED FOR. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT THAT WE, AS OWNERS, COULD AT LEAST ADDRESS PROPERLY IF THERE WAS AN ENGINE ERROR CODE REPORTED. I AM GOING TO HAVE THE THROTTLE BODY REPLACED AT MY OWN EXPENSE BASED ON WHAT OTHERS HAVE REPORTED, SINCE THERE IS NO KNOWN FIX FROM FORD. I DID REPORT THIS TO FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE TODAY 04/23/2016. THEY CONFIRMED THEY ARE UNAWARE OF ANY PROBLEM WITH MUSTANG THROTTLE BODIES. I RECOMMEND THAT FORD PUT SOME ENGINEERS ON THIS AND REMEDY THE PROBLEM. IN THE MEANTIME, WE MUSTANG OWNERS WITH CARS OUT OF WARRANTY ARE HAVING TO FEND FOR OURSELVES.
WENT TO STOP AND HAD TO PUT CAR INTO NEUTRAL BEFORE CAR STOPPED BECAUSE GAS PETAL WOULD NOT RELEASE.
MY VEHICLE CONSTANTLY GOES INTO LIMP HOME MODE WHILE DRIVING. TURNS OFF ALL CYLINDERS EXCEPT 1 WHICH LET'S YOU DRIVE ABOUT 5MPH. ALSO WHILE MY VEHICLE IS AT IDLE IT BEGINS TO LOOSE PROPER IDLE RPM AND NEARLY STALLS UNTIL REVS BACK TO A HIGHER RPM. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THAT THE ISSUE IS THOUGHT TO BE THE THROTTLE BODY AND THROTTLE BODY SENSOR. CURRENTLY MYMY VEHICLE IS AT THE DEALERSHIP GOING THROUGH SOME VEHICLE DIAGNOSTICS TO FIGURE OUT THE EXACT PROBLEM. THEY TOLD ME IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE VEHICLE WARRANTY AND I AM BEING CHARGED $145.00 FOR THE INITIAL INSPECTION AND THEN CHARGED BY THE HOUR TO FIX THE PROBLEM, I NOT INCLUDING PARTS. MY VEHICLE ONLY HAS 59,000 MILES ON IT AND IT'S ALREADY FAILING. IT APPEARS THAT NUMEROUS PEOPLE ARE HAVE THIS ISSUE AND FORD HAS YET TO RECALL AFFECTED VEHICLES.
WHEN PUT IN GEAR ,IT JERKS FORWARD.GAS ACCELERATES SUDDENLY WITH OUT PRESSING.AT TIMES,PEDAL WILL NOT REV UP CAR.ERROR WHEN TESTED WAS THROTTLE SCENSOR
WRENCH LIGHT COMES ON, FOLLOWED BY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. CAR GOES INTO FAIL SAFE MODE, DOWN TO ABOUT 2 MPH; RPMS FLUCTUATE DRAMATICALLY. HAPPENS ON THE HIGHWAY, AND DURING NORMAL STREET DRIVING. SEEMS TO BE IN THE THROTTLE, THE SAME THING AS IN THE RECALLED FORD FOCUS THROTTLE PLATE ACTUATOR.
WHILE DRIVING EXPRESSWAY SPEEDS IN THE CENTER LANE OF A BUSY EXPRESSWAY THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY WENT INTO LIMP MODE AND LOSS OF ALL ACCELERATION. HAD TO COAST TO GET TO RIGHT HAND LANE/SHOULDER. TOOK CAR TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE THROTTLE BODY HAD TO BE REPLACED. AS A SIDE NOTE, I HAD THE FUEL INJECTORS AND THROTTLE BODY CLEANED JUST OVER A YEAR AGO. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE MUSTANG IS NOT COVERED UNDER FORD'S "CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM" THAT IS BEING OFFERED FOR FAULTY THROTTLE BODIES IN OTHER MODELS AS THE UNSAFE SYMPTOMS AND RESULTS WERE IDENTICAL, I.E. CAR DRIVING HIGHWAY SPEEDS ABRUPTLY GOES INTO LIMP MODE AND LOSS OF ALL ACCELERATION.
I WAS ACCELERATING WHEN SUDDENLY THERE WAS NO MORE POWER, THE "WRENCH" LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTED THE ENGINE. THE PROBLEM THEN WENT AWAY HOWEVER REOCCURRED ABOUT SIX TIMES SINCE WITH THE SAME SYMPTOMS. I HAD A MECHANIC RUN A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WHICH REVEALED A FAULTY THROTTLE BODY. FORD DEALER HAS NOT AGREED TO REPLACE, DID SAY THAT THEY WOULD MATCH ANY LOWER PRICE FOR THE PART SO THAT THERE WOULD BE A 2 YEAR FORD WARRANTY. SINCE THERE ARE SEVEN OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THIS CAR AND IT IS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY SHOULD REPLACE THE PART.
THE VEHICLE HAS GONE INTO LIMP MODE SEVERAL TIMES. THE WRENCH SYMBOL ON THE DASH COMES ON AND THE VEHICLE MUST BE SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED. I AM TOLD THE THROTTLE BODY MUST BE REPLACED. WHY IS THERE A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM FOR THE ESCAPE AND OTHER MODELS BUT NOT THE 2012 MUSTANG. I OWN A 2012 FORD ESCAPE ALSO AND HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM WITH THAT VEHICLE. ONLY EXPERIENCE IT WITH A SAME YEAR VEHICLE THAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM. THE VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE WHEN IT SHUTS DOWN AT 45+ MPH.
DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE WRENCH LIGHT COME ON AND CAR WENT INTO LIMP MODE. IT HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES SINCE. ONCE GOING DOWN A 4 LANE HIGHWAY IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC AND CAR JUST STALLS. I HAD TO GET OVER IN FAR LANE AND GET OFF ROAD AS CARS WERE FLYING UP ON ME AND AROUND ME.
WHILE MERGING ON A LOCAL HIGHWAY AT 15 MPH THE WRENCH WARNING LIGHT CAME AND THE CAR WENT INTO LIMP MODE. I WAS LUCKY THE RIGHT HAND LANE HAD BREAK IN TRAFFIC AND I WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE ROAD. THE LIMP TURNED IN NO ACCELERATION AND WAS UNRESPONSIVE TO THE GAS PEDAL. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND WAITED 1 MINUTE AND RESTARTED THE CAR - EVERYTHING WAS BACK TO NORMAL. I DROVE DIRECTLY TO MY MECHANIC AND HAD HIM SCAN FOR CODES. NO CODES WERE FOUND. HE RAN NUMEROUS OTHER CHECKS AND DROVE THE CAR FOR 60 MILES WITH NO PROBLEMS. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE WRENCH WARNING LIGHT HAS COME ON IN THE LAST 3 WEEKS. THE FIRST TIME NOTHING HAPPENED AS THE CAR DID NOT GO INTO LIMP MODE. THE CAR WAS SCANNED THEN ALSO WITH NO CODES SHOWING. I WAS FORTUNATE NOT TO HAVE BEEN HIT.
ENTERING INTO TRAFFIC, THE CAR WILL GO INTO LIMP MODE. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE FROM THE GAS PEDAL AND THE CAR JUST CRUZED AT A SNAIL PACE. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION, AS THE TRAFFIC WAS MOVING AND I BARELY MOVED OUT OF THE WAY. SINCE, I HAD 4 OCCURRENCES AND TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER. THEY WILL NOT WORK ON THE CAR UNLESS THE CHECK ENGINE SIGN STAYS ON. THE CAR COMPUTER WILL RESET EVERYTIME YOU START THE CAR. I HAD THE CAR TOW TO THE DEALER THE FIRST TIME AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS, BUT AS I MENTIONED THE DEALER DID NOT WANTED TO RECOGNIZE THE SITUATION. *TR
DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY FULL SPEED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, AND ENGINE JUST SHUTS DOWN. WRENCH LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON. HAVE TO COAST THROUGH TRAFFIC TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND STOP. RESTART THE CAR A COUPLE OF TIMES, AND THEN IT'S FINE. TOOK TO FORD DEALER, WHO SAID I HAD A BAD THROTTLE BODY. CHARGED OVER $800 TO REPAIR. COMPLETELY LOSING POWER WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE! FORD HAS AGREED TO FIX DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODIES ON OTHER MODELS, BUT NOT THE MUSTANG. THIS REALLY LOOKS LIKE THE SAME PROBLEM, AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY FORD. *TR
AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH ON I-295 IN MODERATELY HEAVY TRAFFIC, THERE WAS AN AUDIBLE "CLUNK" AND VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN DECELERATING. PRESSING ON THE GAS PEDAL DID NOT POWER THE VEHICLE. DRIVER WAS ALREADY IN THE FAR RIGHT LANE PREPARING TO EXIT, SO SAFELY MADE IT TO THE SHOULDER. HAD DRIVER BEEN IN ANOTHER LANE, THERE WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT RISK OF COLLISION AS THE VEHICLE LOST POWER SO QUICKLY. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO FORD DEALER, WHO REPORTED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY HAD FAILED. FORD DENIED THAT THROTTLE BODY FAILURE WAS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE MUSTANG, ALTHOUGH IT HAS BEEN IN SEVERAL OTHER FORD MODELS. *TR
FUEL SYSTEM PROBLEM: EVAPORATIVE EMISSIONS SYSTEM RELATED FAILURE, FUEL FILL NECK FAILURE (POSSIBLY AT CONNECTION TO FUEL TANK) AND UNKNOWN OTHER LEAK. DEALER CLAIMS NOT COVERED BY CALIFORNIA OR FEDERAL EMISSIONS REQUIRED WARRANTY. DEALER REPORTS SEEING FUEL FILLER NECK PROBLEMS ON MUSTANG AND OTHER FORD VEHICLES. (POSSIBLE CONCERN FOR FUEL OR VAPOR LEAKAGE, SAFETY RELATED CONCERN) MUSTANG USES "NASCAR" STYLE FUEL DOOR THAT IS CLEARLY SUSPECT, DOESN'T STAY SEALED TIGHT, OPENS UNEXPECTEDLY AND ALLOWS RAW FUEL EMISSIONS INTO ATMOSPHERE. PRIOR SOFTWARE PATCH APPLIED TO ECM DUE TO NASCAR STYLE FUEL DOOR AT 2,900 MILES. *TR
WE WERE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND THE CAR STARTED ACTING LIKE IT WAS RUNNING OUT OFF GAS. THE STEERING WHEEL JERKED AND THE BRAKES LOCKED UP. WE NOW KNOW THE PROBLEM OCCURS ONLY WHEN SOMEONE SITS IN THE BACK SEAT BEHIND THE DRIVER. WE HAVE DUPLICATED THE PROBLEM NUMEROUS TIMES. SITTING IT THE BACK SEAT CAUSES SOMETHING TO SHORT OUT AND THE CAR DIES. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS IN REAL DRIVING CONDITIONS AND WE ARE LUCKY NO ONE WAS HURT. *TR
ON FEBRUARY 16, 2013 ON A CLEAR SUNNY DAY, WITHOUT WARNING (NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OR OTHER VISIBLE/AUDIBLE SIGNAL), MY MUSTANG BEGAN TO SPUTTER AND DIE WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH ON A LOCAL FREEWAY IN THE FAST LANE. EFFORTS TO DOWNSHIFT AND REV THE ENGINE TO KEEP IT ALIVE FAILED. I WAS FORCED TO PULL THE VEHICLE HARD OVER TO THE BREAKDOWN AREA IN THE CENTER OF THE HIGHWAY JUST AS THE ENGINE COMPLETELY DIED. EFFORTS TO RESTART IT FAILED - THE ENGINE CRANKED, BUT WOULD NOT TURN OVER. MY FAMILY (INCLUDING A 4 YEAR OLD) WERE WAS STUCK FOR 45 FRIGHTENING MINUTES WAITING FOR A TOW AS VEHICLES WHIZZED BY. *TR
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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