Total Complaints
44 filings
FORD MUSTANG · model year
44 NHTSA complaints, 4 crash reports for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1987FORDMUSTANG carries 44 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 4 crashes, 14 fires, 4 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1987 MUSTANG is electrical system:ignition:switch with 6 filings, followed by exterior lighting:headlights (3) and vehicle speed control (3). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 3 investigation files overlapping the 1987 MUSTANG, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
44 filings
Crashes Reported
4 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH | 6 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS | 3 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 3 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION | 3 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD | 2 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY | 2 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR | 2 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | 2 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM | 2 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | 2 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 2 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS | 1 |
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING | 1 |
MY COMPLAINT DOESN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM BUT IT WAS REQUIRED. MY COMPLAINT IS WITH NEW CARS NEW CARS COMING OUT NOW WHERE THEIR HEADLIGHTS ARE THERE LOW BEAMS ARE UNBELIEVABLY BRIGHT AND I CANNOT BELIEVE IF YOU'VE EVER DRIVEN AT NIGHT YOU DON'T SEE THE SAME PROBLEM IT'S BLINDING IT'S RIDICULOUS. I MEAN HONESTLY LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. YOU GUYS ARE ALL WORRIED ABOUT SPEED AND WHAT NOT BUT AT LEAST YOU CAN SEE A STREAK OF ME GOING BY GOING FAST BUT YOU'RE BLINDED WITH THOSE LIGHTS I THINK THAT'S A WAY OF MORE OF A SAFETY HAZARD THAN SPEED.
Mileage: 126,000
MY COMPLAINT DOESN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM BUT IT WAS REQUIRED. MY COMPLAINT IS WITH NEW CARS NEW CARS COMING OUT NOW WHERE THEIR HEADLIGHTS ARE THERE LOW BEAMS ARE UNBELIEVABLY BRIGHT AND I CANNOT BELIEVE IF YOU'VE EVER DRIVEN AT NIGHT YOU DON'T SEE THE SAME PROBLEM IT'S BLINDING IT'S RIDICULOUS. I MEAN HONESTLY LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. YOU GUYS ARE ALL WORRIED ABOUT SPEED AND WHAT NOT BUT AT LEAST YOU CAN SEE A STREAK OF ME GOING BY GOING FAST BUT YOU'RE BLINDED WITH THOSE LIGHTS I THINK THAT'S A WAY OF MORE OF A SAFETY HAZARD THAN SPEED.
Mileage: 126,000
ENGINE RACES TO 3000-4000 RPM SUDDENLY, WHILE DRIVING OR IDLING. WHEN IGNITION IS SWITCHED OFF AND THEN BACK ON, ENGINE RETURNS TO NORMAL IDLE. THIS OCCURS SEVERAL TIMES A DAY. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE ABOUT 1992. *TR
Mileage: 48,000
HEAD LIGHT SYSTEM. THE HEADLIGHTS ON SEVERAL FORD CARS LEAK AND ALLOW WATER TO ENTER RESULTING IN DIM LIGHTS THAT ARE UNSAFE. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THESE ON SEVERAL CARS. 1987 MUSTANG, 1988 THUNDERBIRD AND 1993 CROWN VICTORIA. *NM
THE ALTERNATOR ON MY WIFE'S 1987 MUSTANG GT CAUGHT FIRE, DAMAGING ENGINE COMPARTMENT COMPONETS BEFORE FIRE COULD BE EXTINGUISHED.
Mileage: 65,000
CONSUMER STATES OF HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE HEADLIGHTS .PLEASE ADD MORE DETAILS. MR
TFI MODULE FAILED WHILE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN ON HIGHWAY. AS A RESULT OF THIS FAILURE, ALL POWER WAS LOST WITH DRIVER STRANDED ON HIGHWAY. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS.*AKI
WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND HIT A TREE. FUEL CUT OFF SYSTEM SHUT OFF, CAUSING VEHICLE TO CATCH ON FIRE. VEHICLE WAS TOTALLED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND HIT A TREE. FUEL CUT OFF SYSTEM SHUT OFF, CAUSING VEHICLE TO CATCH ON FIRE. VEHICLE WAS TOTALLED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
ENGINE QUIT IN SUMMER OF 91.WAS ABLE TO DRIVE 2 MILES BY ENGAGING STARTER ON AND OFF.REPLACED THICK FILM IGN MODULE. *AK
THE CRUISE CONTROL STUCK AND DID NOT RELEASE CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE OUT OF CONTROL AND RESULT IN COLLISION. *MJS
A "FLOATING SHORT" HAS RUINED TO DIFFERENT HORNS, THE MAP LIGHT, THE RPM GAUGE, THE FUEL GUAGE, AND TWO STEREOS. IN ADDITION, THE HEAT/AIR ONLY WORK ON HIGH, AND THE DASH LIGHTS NOW ONLY WORK ON THE BRIGHTEST SETTING AND ARE STILL FADED TO THE POINT IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO READ.
THICK FILM IGNITION MODULE REPEATEDLY FAILS - CAR SIMPLY QUITS WHEN FAILING. *AK
ALTERNATOR HAS CAUGHTON FIRE TWICE REQUIRING REPLACEMENT, HARNESS HOT.*AK
WHILE DRIVING CAR WOULD SHUT OFF AT ANY TIME. CONSUMER WAS ALMOST IN AN ACCIDENT TWICE BECAUSE OF THE CAR CUTTING OFF. DEALER SAID IT WAS THE ELECTRICAL IGNITION SWITCH. *AK
WHEN OPERATING THE FOG LIGHTS HEADLIGHTS BECOME INOPERATIVE, CAUSING VISIBILITY PROBLEMS AND MAY RESULT IN A CRASH. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
WHEN OPERATING THE FOG LIGHTS HEADLIGHTS BECOME INOPERATIVE, CAUSING VISIBILITY PROBLEMS AND MAY RESULT IN A CRASH. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
WAS DRIVING AND VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. IT WAS TOTALLED. FORD DENIED THEY WERE ARE FAULT. YEARS LATER IT WAS PROVEN THERE WAS A VEHICLE DEFECT. INSURANCE HAD TO PAY OFF BALANCE AND I AM STILL WITHOUT A CAR 9 YEARS LATER.
FORD SOLENOID SWITCH HAS WEAK SPRING WHICH, OVER TIME, WEARS OUT AND ALLOWS VECHICLE TO CRANK OVER ON ITS OWN. THIS CAUSED FIRE AND EXPLOSION WHICH INJURED TWO PEOPLE AND DESTROYED GARAGE.
THE HEADLIGHT AND FOG LIGHT SWITCHES BURNED AND MELTED, WHICH CAUSED MY FOG LIGHTS TO NOT WORK. THE MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH WOULD NOT LET MY LIGHTS TURN ON SOMETIMES AND ALSO CAUSE THEM TO TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING. I ALSO CANNOT USE MY BRIGHTS BECAUSE OF THE MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH.
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.