Power Train. Review the 200 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Air Bags. Review the 125 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Engine. Review the 48 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

20 crash reports1 fire reports10 injury reports

What owners actually said

466 reports

2,000 miles · Nov 1, 2011

Power Train

MANY TIMES UNABLE TO SELECT AND ENGAGE GEARS WITH THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION WHILE ACCELERATING. PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE MOST FREQUENT WHEN MAKING A LEFT TURN, CREATING A DANGEROUS SITUATION BY PULLING OUT INTO FAST MOVING TRAFFIC, BUT UNABLE TO ACCELERATE DUE TO GEAR LOCK-OUT (USUALLY SECOND GEAR, BUT SOMETIMES THIRD AS WELL). *TR

NHTSA ODI #10433874

Mileage unknown · Oct 31, 2011

Power Train

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2011 FORD, MUSTANG GT 5.0, MANUAL 6 SPEED: EARLY 2011 (JAN-FEB) I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR IN NUMEROUS TIMES TO THE RODEO FORD SERVICE REPAIR CENTER ABOUT THE GRINDING AND ROUGH SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND AND 2ND TO 3RD. A FORD SERVICE TICKET HAS BEEN OPENED TO TRACK THE ISSUE AND DEALER REPAIRS MADE. THE DEALERS SERVICE MANAGER HAS DRIVEN THE VEHICLE, WITH ME PRESENT, AND HAS NOTICED THE SAME GRIND AND ROUGH SHIFT PATTERN AS DESCRIBED. THE SERVICE CENTER IMPLEMENTED THE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TSB 11-3-18, 'THE INCREASED SHIFT EFFORT MAY BE THE RESULT OF THE INCREASED VISCOSITY OF THE TRANSMISSION FLUID IN COLD WEATHER'?. THE WEATHER IN AZ DOES NO''T GET THAT COLD AND IT CONTINUED EVEN DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS. I HAD ALSO REQUESTED THAT THE 1ST TO 4TH SKIP SHIFT BE DISABLED, WITH NO CHANGE IN SHIFTING. I DRIVE THE CAR APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES A DAY TO GET TO WORK, BUT I DO NO''T DRIVE IT LIKE I WOULD LIKE TO, I HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL NOT TO PULL OUT IN FRONT OF ANYONE. CURRENT MILEAGE IS 2,900 MILES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10433621

1,100 miles · Oct 30, 2011

Power Train

VERY NOTCHY TRANSMISSION AND CAN'T SHIFT GEAR AT CERTAIN RPM'S. ALSO, TRANSMISSION WOULD POP OUT OF GEAR ON THE HIGHWAY. ALL PROBLEMS STARTED APPEARING AFTER THE FIRST 1000 MILES. WHEN COMPLAINED TO FORD, I WAS TOLD THAT ALL OF THOSE PROBLEMS ARE NORMAL. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10433594

6,477 miles · Oct 24, 2011

Engine And Engine CoolingPower Train

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2011 MUSTANG GT WITH 6477 MILES, WITH 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. TAKING OFF FROM A STOP SIGN AND ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT FROM 1ST GEAR TO 2ND GEAR, RESULTED IN ONLY BEING ABLE TO SHIFT FROM 1ST GEAR TO NEUTRAL. ONCE THE SHIFTER MOVED INTO THE NEUTRAL POSITION, THE VEHICLE IS NO LONGER ABLE TO SHIFT INTO ANY GEAR. HAD TO COAST THE VEHICLE TO A SAFE STOPPING POINT WITH NO ENGINE POWER AND TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALER FOR REPAIR. THIS IS THE 2ND INCIDENT WITH THE TRANSMISSION ON THIS VEHICLE IN LESS THAN 1 YEAR, WITH THE PRIOR INCIDENT BEING A FAULTY SLAVE CLUTCH CYLINDER. (THIS VEHICLE IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH THE 'SKIP SHIFT' FEATURE THAT IS MEANT TO INCREASE GAS MILEAGE BY LOCKING OUT CERTAIN GEARS.) *TR

NHTSA ODI #10432637

455 miles · Oct 21, 2011

Power Train

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FORD MUSTANG GT. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT DOWN SHIFT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND STATED THERE WAS NO FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER ALSO STATED THERE WAS NO FAILURE AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 455 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 17,000. UPDATED 11/14/11 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED FORD ENGINEERS INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND FOUNDS NOTHING WRONG. UPDATED 11/18/11*JB

NHTSA ODI #10432325

2,000 miles · Oct 20, 2011

Power Train

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FORD MUSTANG GT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT GEARS MANUALLY FROM FIRST TO SECOND, THE VEHICLE WOULD SKIP SECOND AND SHIFT INTO THIRD GEAR, DISTORTING THE VEHICLES SPEED. ALSO, WHEN SHIFTING FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR, THE VEHICLE WOULD EXHIBIT A CLUNKING AND GRINDING NOISE. THE …

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NHTSA ODI #10432243

21,000 miles · Oct 14, 2011

Power Train

MY 6-SPEED TRANS WILL NOT ENGAGE INTO GEAR. FOR EXAMPLE, I ENTERED ONTO THE HIGHWAY AND COULD NOT SHIFT FROM 2ND GEAR TO 3RD GEAR AND WHEN I WAS ABLE AGAIN THE CLUTCH MADE A "POP" NOISE AND RAISED 3-5 INCHES TOWARDS MY FOOT. AFTER THAT INCIDENT I CANNOT SHIFT OR ACCELERATE AND THE RIDE IS ROUGH NOW. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10430269

1,500 miles · Oct 14, 2011

Electronic Stability Control (esc)Service Brakes, Hydraulic

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APPROX. 1-2 TIMES A MONTH, AFTER LEAVING MY HOUSE AND DRIVING A SHORT, PAVED STREET GOING TO THE MAIN ROAD, MY ADVANCETRAC LIGHT ON THE DASH WILL START BLINKING, INDICATING THE STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. ALONG WITH THIS THE RIGHT FRONT BRAKE WILL BE ACTIVATED BY THE ABS SYSTEM. TYPICALLY WILL HAPPEN FOR 10-15 SECONDS THEN AS I COME TO A STOP TO TURN ON TO THE MAIN ROAD IT WILL STOP. WHEN I THEN TURN ON TO THE MAIN ROAD, AS I AM ACCELERATING, THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. SOMETIMES THE BRAKE PULSATING THE FRONT RIGHT WHEEL IS LIGHT AND NOT TOO INTRUSIVE. SOMETIMES, IF ACCELERATING HARD ENOUGH, THE SYSTEM WILL CUT ENGINE POWER, AND ALTERNATELY PULSATE THE FRONT RIGHT AND REAR LEFT BRAKES, NEARLY PULLING ME OUT OF MY LANE, AS I FIGHT TO DRIVE STRAIGHT. AGAIN THIS LASTS FOR ABOUT 10-15 SECONDS. AFTER WHICH CAR BEHAVES PERFECTLY FINE, LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED. IT NEVER LEAVES ANY DIAGNOSTIC CODES IN THE COMPUTER SYSTEM, OR ANY TRACE THAT IT EVER HAPPENED, THE FORD TECHS HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM, AND I CAN NOT MAKE IT HAPPEN ON COMMAND. IS TOTALLY RANDOM. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10430166

7,100 miles · Oct 5, 2011

Power Train

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ROUGH, IRREGULAR SHIFTING, MOST NOTICEABLE SHIFTING FROM 1ST GEAR ON THIS MANUAL TRANSMISSION. SEEMS TO LOCK YOU OUT OF GEARS AT ANY GIVEN TIME. ALSO WHILE DOWN SHIFTING, I.E. EXITING OFF THE HIGHWAY ONTO AN EXIT RAMP, HAVE EXPERIENCED A SIMILAR PROBLEM. FROM 6TH GEAR, THE TRANSMISSION LOCKED ME OUT OF 4TH GEAR AND FORCED ME INTO 2ND GEAR. THIS CAUSED A MASSIVE AND SUDDEN DECREASE IN SPEED CAUSING THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME TO SLAM ON THEIR BRAKES IN ORDER TO AVOID REAR-ENDING ME. PERSISTENT GRINDING NOISE AND FEEL WHILE THE CAR IS BEING SHIFTED, AS IF THE GEARS ARE NOT MESHING WHEN SHIFTED. NOTICEABLE IN THE FEEL OF THE STICK AND AUDIBLE AT TIMES AS WELL. THIS IS NOTICEABLE IN MOST GEARS IN PARTICULAR 2ND THRU 5TH. THE TRANSMISSION CONSTANTLY MAKES A HARD CLUNKING NOISE WHEN IT IS PUT INTO FIRST GEAR FROM NEUTRAL. THIS CLUNK CAN BE HEARD AND FELT IN THE CAR CLEARLY. I'VE HAD THIS VEHICLE TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES, KEEP GETTING THE RUN-AROUND, I.E., "THAT IS NORMAL", "OUR TECH'S COULDN'T REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM" ETC...STANDARD DEALER DEFLECTION. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10428761

3,000 miles · Oct 3, 2011

Power Train

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MT 82 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION FAILED TO DOWN SHIFT PROPERLY CREATING A NEAR MISS SITUATION DUE TO DRIVER NOT BEING ABLE TO SELECT LOWER GEAR TO POWER UP TO EXCEED OR AT LEAST MATCH THE SPEED OF ON COMING VEHICLE. THE ON COMING VEHICLE WAS A SEMI TRAVELING 55 MPH IN 55 MPH POSTED SPEED ZONE. HAD THE VEHICLE PERFORMED PROPERLY SUFFICIENT SPEED WOULD HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED AS TO NOT IMPEDE THE PROGRESS OF THE APPROACHING SEMI. A REASONABLE AND ACCEPTABLE AMOUNT OF DISTANCE WAS PRESENT PRIOR TO PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC. DEALER WAS ADVISED AND PERFORMED A CHANGE OF FLUID TO A DUEL CLUTCH FLUID WHICH AND I INSTALLED AN AFTERMARKET SHIFTER (MGW SHIFTER) WHICH MADE A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT. I STILL BELIEVE A DESIGN ISSUE EXISTS. PLACEMENT INTO GEAR IS OFTEN DIFFICULT AND UP SHIFTING IS NOT SMOOTH AS IT SHOULD BE. THIS TRANSMISSION HAS DONE THIS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. I AM NOT SURE HOW MANY COMPLAINTS THERE HAVE BEEN BUT THIS TRANSMISSION DEFECT IN THE 2011 MUSTANG IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE AMONG MUSTANG WEB SITES AND FORUMS. THE GENERAL FEELING IS FORD HAS NOT BEEN AS AGGRESSIVE AS THEY SHOULD BE TO FIND A SOLUTION FOR THIS ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10428393

Official recalls

21V081000 · Air Bags:frontal; Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module; Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Feb 16, 2021

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.

Additional source detail variants (3)

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.

Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

Air Bags:frontal

19V001000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Jan 7, 2019

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles and 2011-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Ford is also recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2010-2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, and 2010-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall 19S01.

16V384000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

May 31, 2016

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles and 2005-2008 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Any vehicle not included in "Zone A", or "Zone B" is not included in the safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Ford mailed interim letters informing owners that parts are not yet available on July 15, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.

15V319000 · Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

May 28, 2015

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2014 Mustang vehicles manufactured April 6, 2004, to June 21, 2014, and 2005-2006 GT vehicles manufactured February 20, 2004, to September 22, 2006. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on June 10, 2016. Even if interim repairs were performed under safety recall 14V-802, owners must bring their vehicles in for the final remedy. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S21. Note: This recall supersedes safety recall 14V-802.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

PE11024 · Inability To Shift Gears On Acceleration

Opened Aug 3, 2011 · Closed Dec 14, 2011

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Power Train:manual Transmission

The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) analyzed complaint data provided by Ford as well as complaints submitted to ODI from consumers.In total, there were 364 unique reports indicating various shift quality issues while driving.Ford identified several factors that may contribute to shift quality concerns in the subject vehicles, including cold transmission, clutch stay-out at high engine speeds, gear clash or grinding, and gradual loosening of clutch plate bolts in some early production vehicles.The largest percentage of complaints indicated higher than expected shift efforts in cold ambient temperatures.These complaints were related to transmission fluid viscosity and the higher shift efforts resolved themselves with the drivetrain warming.Ford published technical service bulletin TSB 11-3-18 to inform technicians that a lower viscosity fluid was available for use to address the cold shift issues.The clutch stay-out condition typically occurs at engine speeds greater than 4000 rpm.It does not prevent the selection of any gear, but may delay clutch re-engagement depending on how long the driver maintains the higher engine speed.Ford identified rotating inertia of the clutch components as the root cause and replacement clutch pedal parts were made available under Ford TSB 10-19-4.A number of reports alleged increasing difficulty selecting gears along with gear clash or grinding.Grinding or notchy gear shifts may be caused by gradual loosening of clutch plate fasteners, which is promoted by certain aggressive shifting.This condition is progressive in nature and initially results in symptoms related to shift quality/feel.Clutch plate bolt loosening will not result in inability to select any gear unless the progressive symptoms are ignored until complete clutch failure occurs.ODI?s analysis identified only five complaints alleging an inability to shift into gear due to loose clutch plate bolts.None of these resulted in a stall and gear shifting could occur before engine start.A revised fastener was designed and implemented in production and is available for service through a special service message.There is no indication of loss of motive power or unreasonable safety risk associated with the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.This preliminary evaluation is closed.