2013 Ford MUSTANG

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2013 Ford MUSTANG has 325 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 4.1x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is air bags problems (45% of all complaints), specifically: tl* the contact owned a 2013 ford mustang. the contact's vehicle was rear ended by another vehicle while idling at a stop sign. the driver side air bag deployed, but the passenger side air bag did not deploy. both the driver and the passenger suffered injuries and were transported to the hospital fo. ⚠️ 2 fire reports filed.

2 fire reports 14 crash reports 10 injuries

325

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

4.1x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

AIR BAGS

145 complaints

45%

• TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2013 FORD MUSTANG. THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHILE IDLING AT A STOP SIGN. THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED, BUT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. BOTH THE DRIVER AND THE PASSENGER SUFFERED INJURIES AND WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL FO
• ON FEBRUARY 24, 2013, I WAS INVOLVED IN A "FENDER BENDER" IN MY BRAND NEW 2013 FORD MUSTANG WHERE I WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH. ALTHOUGH THE COLLISION WAS MINOR, AND THE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END WAS MINIMAL, THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT AND SIDE PANEL AIRBAGS BOTH DEPLOYED. T
• TURNED VEHICLE TO THE LEFT OUT OF A DRIVEWAY, PRESSED ON ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO SHIFT FROM 1ST TO 2ND, BACK END FISHTAILED, SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL TO TRY TO DECREASE THE SPIN OF THE TIRES, PUMPED THE BRAKES, OVER CORRECTED AND HIT A PARKED VEHICLE AT BETWEEN 15 TO 20 MILES PER HOUR. ONLY ONE PERSON IN

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports💥 9 crashes

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2013 FORD MUSTANG. THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHILE IDLING AT A STOP SIGN. THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED, BUT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. BOTH THE DRIVER AND THE PASSENGER SUFFERED INJURIES AND WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL FO”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

49 complaints

15%

• OWNER OF A 2013 MUSTANG GT PREMIUM 5.0 WITH 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION. HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH ROUGH SHIFTING SINCE SHORTLY AFTER BUYING. HAVE TAKEN IT INTO MY LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP 2 TIMES SO FAR AND MADE MENTION OF MY PROBLEMS SEVERAL OTHER TIMES. FORD HAS BEEN UNABLE TO CORRECT THE ROUGH SHIFTING WI
• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD MUSTANG. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SHIFT INTO THIRD GEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 300. ..UPDATED 03/18/13 *BF THE CONSUMER STATE
• # 1 STEERING/SUSPENSION NOISE IN THE FRONT OF THE CAR (BUSHING - CR3Z-3078-C AND CR3Z-3079-C ARM ASY).# 2 FSA 12E06 POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE.# 3 CHECK FUEL FILL INLET. *TR

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 2 crashes

“OWNER OF A 2013 MUSTANG GT PREMIUM 5.0 WITH 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION. HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH ROUGH SHIFTING SINCE SHORTLY AFTER BUYING. HAVE TAKEN IT INTO MY LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP 2 TIMES SO FAR AND MADE MENTION OF MY PROBLEMS SEVERAL OTHER TIMES. FORD HAS BEEN UNABLE TO CORRECT THE ROUGH SHIFTING WI”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ENGINE

23 complaints

• INCREASING SPEED TO MERGE ONTO KELLOGG IN WICHITA, KANSAS WESTBOUND FROM OLIVER AND TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO JERK, THEN IN A VERY SHORT TIME SPAN, ABOUT 2-3 SECONDS, ENTIRE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN. DEALER DID SOME REPAIR WORK BUT THE CAR HAS HAD NUMEROUS ELECTRICAL INCIDENTS INCLUDING FAILING TO START, SHUT
• ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND TO A HARD ACCELERATION, DONE IN AN EFFORT TO AVOID A POSSIBLE CRASH. CRASH HOWEVER DID NOT HAPPEN. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON MORE OCCASIONS. THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT ON THE INTERNET. *TR
• VEHICLE LOST POWER WHILE DRIVING, ENGINE WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON, MADE RATTLING NOISE BUT STILL IDLING. AFTER FULL SHUTDOWN AND RESTART, ENGINE APPEARED TO WORK FINE. DEALER DETERMINED THROTTLE BODY DEFECTIVE, SIMILAR TO OTHER FORD VEHICLE THROTTLE BODY ISSUES WHICH HAD RECENT RECALLS AND WARRANTY EXTE

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports

“INCREASING SPEED TO MERGE ONTO KELLOGG IN WICHITA, KANSAS WESTBOUND FROM OLIVER AND TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO JERK, THEN IN A VERY SHORT TIME SPAN, ABOUT 2-3 SECONDS, ENTIRE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN. DEALER DID SOME REPAIR WORK BUT THE CAR HAS HAD NUMEROUS ELECTRICAL INCIDENTS INCLUDING FAILING TO START, SHUT”

— NHTSA complaint filing

SPEED CONTROL

19 complaints

• INCIDENT: WHILE WAITING IN THE LEFT TURN LANE FOR THE LEFT TURN LIGHT TO TURN GREEN I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. I WAS BEHIND ANOTHER LEFT TURNING VEHICLE. WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE SO TO APPLY PRESSURE ON THE ACCELERATOR. HOWEVER, BEFORE I PUT MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR TH
• VEHICLE LOST POWER WHILE DRIVING, ENGINE WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON, MADE RATTLING NOISE BUT STILL IDLING. AFTER FULL SHUTDOWN AND RESTART, ENGINE APPEARED TO WORK FINE. DEALER DETERMINED THROTTLE BODY DEFECTIVE, SIMILAR TO OTHER FORD VEHICLE THROTTLE BODY ISSUES WHICH HAD RECENT RECALLS AND WARRANTY EXTE
• CANNOT SHIFT FROM FORTH TO FIFTH IN MY CAR AND 2ND GEAR EXPERIENCES A LOCK OUT / MISSED SHIFT AND WILL NOT GO IN TO 2ND. BAD TRANSMISSION AND SYNCRO. PROBLEMS

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“INCIDENT: WHILE WAITING IN THE LEFT TURN LANE FOR THE LEFT TURN LIGHT TO TURN GREEN I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. I WAS BEHIND ANOTHER LEFT TURNING VEHICLE. WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE SO TO APPLY PRESSURE ON THE ACCELERATOR. HOWEVER, BEFORE I PUT MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR TH”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

18 complaints

• INCIDENT: WHILE WAITING IN THE LEFT TURN LANE FOR THE LEFT TURN LIGHT TO TURN GREEN I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. I WAS BEHIND ANOTHER LEFT TURNING VEHICLE. WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE SO TO APPLY PRESSURE ON THE ACCELERATOR. HOWEVER, BEFORE I PUT MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR TH
• THE VEHICLES INTERIOR DOOR PANELS WILL RATTLE WHILE THE CAR ACCELERATES AND WHEN THE VEHICLE STEREO IS PLAYING. THE VEHICE HAS BEEN IN TO HAVE THIS ADDRESSED NUMEROUS TIMES AND MULTIPLE DEALERS ARE UNABLE TO REPAIR THE ISSUE. DOOR PANELS HAVE BEEN REPLACED TO NO AVAIL. THIS IS VERY DISTRACTING AND M
• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD MUSTANG. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY FAILED TO ILLUMINATE WHILE ACTIVATED. IN ADDITION, THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL BECAME INOPERATIVE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED FOR A FEW MOMENTS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR RE

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

AIR BAGS(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

SPEED CONTROL(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 325 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
AIR BAGS: TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2013 FORD MUSTANG. THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHILE IDLING AT A STOP SIGN. THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED, BUT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. BOTH THE DRIVER AND THE PASSENGER SUFFERED INJURIES AND WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL FO
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
TRANSMISSION: OWNER OF A 2013 MUSTANG GT PREMIUM 5.0 WITH 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION. HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH ROUGH SHIFTING SINCE SHORTLY AFTER BUYING. HAVE TAKEN IT INTO MY LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP 2 TIMES SO FAR AND MADE MENTION OF MY PROBLEMS SEVERAL OTHER TIMES. FORD HAS BEEN UNABLE TO CORRECT THE ROUGH SHIFTING WI
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ENGINE: INCREASING SPEED TO MERGE ONTO KELLOGG IN WICHITA, KANSAS WESTBOUND FROM OLIVER AND TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO JERK, THEN IN A VERY SHORT TIME SPAN, ABOUT 2-3 SECONDS, ENTIRE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN. DEALER DID SOME REPAIR WORK BUT THE CAR HAS HAD NUMEROUS ELECTRICAL INCIDENTS INCLUDING FAILING TO START, SHUT
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
SPEED CONTROL: INCIDENT: WHILE WAITING IN THE LEFT TURN LANE FOR THE LEFT TURN LIGHT TO TURN GREEN I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. I WAS BEHIND ANOTHER LEFT TURNING VEHICLE. WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE SO TO APPLY PRESSURE ON THE ACCELERATOR. HOWEVER, BEFORE I PUT MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR TH
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)