Total Complaints
572 filings
FORD MUSTANG · model year
572 NHTSA complaints, 34 crash reports, and 7 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2012FORDMUSTANG carries 572 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 34 crashes, 3 fires, 17 injuries, and 2 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with Not Rated/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and 5/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2012 MUSTANG is power train with 157 filings, followed by air bags (157) and vehicle speed control (35). 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. This model year has 7 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 3 investigation files overlapping the 2012 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
572 filings
Crashes Reported
34 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | 157 |
| AIR BAGS | 157 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 35 |
| ENGINE | 30 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 21 |
| POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION | 20 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 20 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 18 |
| SUSPENSION | 16 |
| STEERING | 16 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 15 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 12 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 10 |
| WHEELS | 6 |
| SEATS | 5 |
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2014 Mustang vehicles manufactured April 6, 2004, to June 21, 2014, and 2005-2006 GT vehicles manufactured February 20, 2004, to September 22, 2006. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford F-150 trucks, 2012 Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and Ford Mustang vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with an automatic transmission that may unexpectedly downshift to first gear, regardless of vehicle speed.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain air bag inflator and/or module replacement service parts that may have been used as part of a collision repair. The parts include certain driver-side air bag inflators and/or modules, designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang and Mustang GT500. It also i
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marian
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Vi
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 FORD F-150, 2012 EXPEDITION AND LINCOLN NAVIGATOR, AND 2012-2013 MUSTANG VEHICLES, FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NOS. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE, STARTER INTERLOCK, AND TRANSMISSION BRA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Mustang. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the front windshield wipers independently activated. There were no warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the front windshield wiper fluid reservoir failed to drain the excess water as intended. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the cost. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic for a second opinion, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the windshield wiper motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired at the consumer's expense; however, after 3 months the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the same local independent mechanic for the windshield wiper motor replacement. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.
Mileage: 56,000
Down shifting in to first and reverse problems nothing wrong with transmission
I bought the car on Dec 20th 2024. The dealership informed me of the recall and turned off the passenger side airbag. I returned to the dealership as scheduled about 2 weeks later. When I went to pick up my car after work the service center said they couldn't fix the problem because the airbag didn't exist and sent me on my way. I tried calling the sales person but had to leave a message. There has been no other communication.
Speedometer went to zero while driving and seemed to be in neutral. Could not accelerate. Also low fuel warning light came on when I had a full tank. After car was shut off and restarted speedometer seemed fine for about 1 mile, then self accelerated. Now continues to read zero and can not accelerate unless I restart engine.
Speedometer went to zero while driving and seemed to be in neutral. Could not accelerate. Also low fuel warning light came on when I had a full tank. After car was shut off and restarted speedometer seemed fine for about 1 mile, then self accelerated. Now continues to read zero and can not accelerate unless I restart engine.
Speedometer went to zero while driving and seemed to be in neutral. Could not accelerate. Also low fuel warning light came on when I had a full tank. After car was shut off and restarted speedometer seemed fine for about 1 mile, then self accelerated. Now continues to read zero and can not accelerate unless I restart engine.
Transmission seems to lose power while driving, the car will barely pull itself but the rpms increase if I accelerate. This has happened several times while driving and occasionally there are dash lights lighting and speedometer/gas gauge doesnât work but that doesnât happen every time. When it happens I pull over and shut it down and restart and it runs correctly until it happens again! I do a lot of highway driving and the car just âfalling flatâ on a multi-lane highway at 70+ mph is definitely a safety issue! I have taken it to my local fastlane shop and the car was driven but didnât malfunction at that time. He advised me to try to drive it there if it happened again, but I have never been close to the shop at the times it happens or they are closed. There is no advance warning, it happens at various speeds and even on takeoff after stopping for traffic lights. I once was pulling into traffic when it happened and didnât have enough power to get to my lane before it fel
Transmission seems to lose power while driving, the car will barely pull itself but the rpms increase if I accelerate. This has happened several times while driving and occasionally there are dash lights lighting and speedometer/gas gauge doesnât work but that doesnât happen every time. When it happens I pull over and shut it down and restart and it runs correctly until it happens again! I do a lot of highway driving and the car just âfalling flatâ on a multi-lane highway at 70+ mph is definitely a safety issue! I have taken it to my local fastlane shop and the car was driven but didnât malfunction at that time. He advised me to try to drive it there if it happened again, but I have never been close to the shop at the times it happens or they are closed. There is no advance warning, it happens at various speeds and even on takeoff after stopping for traffic lights. I once was pulling into traffic when it happened and didnât have enough power to get to my lane before it fel
Windshield wipers turn on randomly and will not stay on when switch is on, also sprays washer fluid on windshield randomly and wipers do not work making it a very dangerous driving hazard
Windshield wipers turn on randomly and will not stay on when switch is on, also sprays washer fluid on windshield randomly and wipers do not work making it a very dangerous driving hazard
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Mustang. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started stalling. The contact pulled over to the side of the road; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with transmission range sensor failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V190000 (Power Train, Exterior Lighting) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.
Mileage: 180,000
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Mustang. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started stalling. The contact pulled over to the side of the road; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with transmission range sensor failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V190000 (Power Train, Exterior Lighting) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.
Mileage: 180,000
Recently started having erratic shifting issues. Will downshift randomly out of nowhere while driving. Sometimes will just be stuck in 1st gear and wonât go anywhere until I pull over and shut off/start up again. Dangerous because I never know when it will do it. Might seem like everything is fine and then all of a sudden, it downshifts and loses power. Rpmâs rise but car has no power. Have to figure out how to get out of the way. As stated in fordâs â Customer Satisfaction Program 16N02,â my 2012 has all the symptoms and I have DTC code P0731 but dealer refused to service my vehicle because it doesnât show up with my VIN, even though itâs a 2012 and I clearly need my Molded Leadframe replaced.
Recently started having erratic shifting issues. Will downshift randomly out of nowhere while driving. Sometimes will just be stuck in 1st gear and wonât go anywhere until I pull over and shut off/start up again. Dangerous because I never know when it will do it. Might seem like everything is fine and then all of a sudden, it downshifts and loses power. Rpmâs rise but car has no power. Have to figure out how to get out of the way. As stated in fordâs â Customer Satisfaction Program 16N02,â my 2012 has all the symptoms and I have DTC code P0731 but dealer refused to service my vehicle because it doesnât show up with my VIN, even though itâs a 2012 and I clearly need my Molded Leadframe replaced.
The transmission down shifted to first gear and the rear tires locked up. Skidding on the highway.
driver and passenger airbags were replaced under a recall and now theres a airbag warning light showing up on my dash.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear and the vehicle's rear tires ceased. Additionally, the speedometer failed. The air bag warning light, the traction control warning light and the check engine warning light were illuminated. The contact used an OBD reader and read the DTC code P0720. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V248000 (Power Train). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or a dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.
Mileage: 67,000
There was a pencil mark on the inside tire wall where there was a leak. On the test drive there was a light on the dash indicating low pressure. Prior to pick up I was told it was repaired. On -27-23 I was driving the car and was lusting towards the center of the road after I regained control I had the tire checked at a tire shop and found that a patch had been put on the inside of the tire on the sidewall. The problem was reported to BBB and the dealer has not responded. I am in possession of the tire. No one has inspected the tire.
The rear end creaks and the 2nd gear grinds and pops out in the manual transmission
The rear end creaks and the 2nd gear grinds and pops out in the manual transmission
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.