1998 Ford Mustang problems
Owners have filed 297 complaints with NHTSA about the 1998 Ford Mustang. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 14% of complaints. Next are brakes (12%) and fuel system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 297 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 52 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 41 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 90,000 miles 37 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 37 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 90,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 52 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 41 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Mustang with enough data (189 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl-the driver owned a 1998 ford mustang. While driving at speeds unknown, the vehicle accelerated. The vehicle began to smoke and liquid splashed onto the vehicle. The driver lost control of the vehicle. The driver ended up on the other side of traffic and crashed into a van. The vehicle was destroyed. The drivers and passengers were injured in the crash. A police report was filed. The failure and current miles were not available. The VIN was not available. Aa
Intake manifold is made of plastic, this lead to it cracking and anti-freeze coming out. Could not see while driving.
I hit a tree after driving off the road and the car became ingulfed in flames and soon burned the car to nuthing but straight metal loss of everything even rims were melted and windows too all that was left was hard metal surfaces I was almost burned alive plus the airbags deployed to late and my head actually impacted the steering wheel breaking my nose and splitting my forehead open and almost lost my left eye due to the impact the seatbelt worked too good it sperated my left shoulder and broke my collar bone…
Consumer hears a noise when the vehicle is going 60 MPH or greater. Also, it can be heard when accelerating up a hill.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving any speed, antifreeze leaked heavily from the vehicle. A private repair shop inspected the vehicle and determined that the intake manifold was cracked. Also, while driving 75 MPH, there was a clicking noise heard, and the hood raised slightly as if it was not shut properly. The contact pulled over and shut it again. The repair shop was unable to determine the cause of that problem.