2008 Ford Mustang problems
Owners have filed 384 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Ford Mustang. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 63% of complaints. Next are drivetrain & axles (7%) and cruise control (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 384 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 63% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 32 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 24 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 37,000 miles 161 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 | 57 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 30 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 22 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 22 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 9 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 161 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 37,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 40,000 miles (52 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 32 complaints mention a crash; 24 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 27th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Mustang with enough data (83 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 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.
I was involved in a serious car accident on sunday of last week. While in the right-hand lane of interstate 95 in boynton beach, florida, my 2008 mustang was hit in the rear by an apparently speeding motorist. I was traveling between 55-60 MPH and accelerating to achieve pace with the other cars on the highway. My car was struck in the rear, and propelled forward striking a minivan in front to me.
Driving down martin luther king dr. While approaching a curve at 45 MPH vehicle stability and brakes gave out. Airbags deployed incorrectly and caused injuries to myself and a passenger. Seat belts are also no longing working. Brakes are
I purchase this car from the ford dealership six months ago. On 04/08/2012 about 1:50 am I was heading home from airmount, ny. I was driving the car at night off a winding road going down hill. As I was driving the steering wheel lock out of no where. Then brakes started to shake .I kept pressing on the brakes and brakes would not work and fail. At that point I lost control of the car and hit a tree head on. The airbag on driver side deploy, but the passenger side never deploy it fail.
2 tires with sidewall stress issues in a period of 10 months 12,000 miles I spoke to the tire company who advised me that I "probably hit a curb or pot hole which caused a knot on the side of the tire", which did not happen. I had rapid deflation while traveling down the road on the first incident. Good luck had the tire on the rear of the vehicle and lose of control was minimal. The second, I was able to detect early. I had to dispose of the first tire when I had it replaced.