2018 Ford Mustang Reliability Report

Doors unlatching while driving fill nearly every report. The passenger door is the usual culprit, though driver doors do it as well. It happens at 70 mph on highways, at city speeds, and even over railroad tracks, sometimes while the door is locked. Wind rushes in and the door ajar chime sounds, forcing a stop. One owner notes Ford handles this through Customer Satisfaction Program 21N10 rather than a recall. Convertible rear windows that will not reseal and repeated water leaks into the rear footwell make up the rest.

A mix of unrelated failures lands here. Air conditioning evaporators leak, which can fog the windshield, and one dealer quoted $2,679.88 to replace one. Several owners report waiting on the rear camera wiring recall because dealers have no parts. Other complaints cover transmission jerking traced to a failed CDF drum, engine shutoffs from a defective throttle on a brand-new GT, SYNC and radio glitches, fading black metallic paint, passenger doors popping open, and a creaking clutch pedal.

The backup camera shows a black, cloudy, distorted, or no-signal image in reverse. Some owners link this to the wiring harness running to the trunk lid, which is the subject of recall 25V572, and report that repair parts are not yet available and the wait has dragged on. Other cases trace to a failed APIM module that also kills the radio, navigation, and Bluetooth, sometimes only until the car warms up. Out of warranty, that repair runs about $1,000.

Coolant getting into cylinder 1 or 3 is the recurring failure, usually leading to a dealer recommendation to replace the engine. Warning signs include a check engine light, misfire codes, an overheating message, and coolant coming out of the exhaust. Reported failure mileages run from about 23,000 to 72,212 miles. Separate reports describe an oil leak with knocking at 49,000 miles and a rear active exhaust valve rubbing the subframe, blowing a fuse and damaging its wiring.

Front doors unlatch or swing open while the car is moving, most often the passenger side and frequently at highway speed. The door ajar warning comes on and wind noise follows, and the driver has to pull over and slam the door. Many owners say it repeats. Reported mileages range from about 27,000 to 70,000 miles. One owner was told the coverage program, 21N10, had expired days before calling, and one dealer diagnosed a door spring needing replacement.

Power steering assist can quit suddenly with the car in motion and no warning, making the car hard to control at interstate speed. One failure came at 16523 miles, and the replacement part was on national back order. A single crash report describes the wheel turning left on its own at 63 mph before the car hit a concrete barrier. With only four complaints, this is a small but serious pattern.

Only two complaints exist, both from crashes, with four injuries reported. In one, the side air bags did not deploy when another car struck the driver side at about 30 mph, and the car was totaled. In the other, the driver attributes a fractured left leg to the air bag in two separate city crashes at 35 miles per hour. No clear pattern emerges from so few reports.