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Research · Subcompact Cars

2008 Ford MustangRecalls, problems, MPG & safety

NHTSA lists 8 safety recalls and 347 owner complaints for the 2008 Ford Mustang. Most complaints involve air bags (240) and power train (30). The EPA rates it 16–20 mpg combined.

Check a VINAdd to my garage
Combined MPG
16–20mpg
EPA · 5 versions
NHTSA overall
—
Not rated by NCAP
Safety recalls
8campaigns
Latest Feb 2021
Owner complaints
347
Top: air bags
Fuel cost / yr
$3,200est.
EPA estimate, best version
01 —Recalls

Safety recalls

8 NHTSA campaigns · applies to some vehicles, check your VIN

Air bags: inflator module

Park It: do not driveRemedy pending

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 Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Air bagsReported Jan 10, 2017NHTSA 17V024000

Air bags: inflator module

Park It: do not driveRemedy pending

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles and 2005-2008 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Any vehicle not included in "Zone A", or "Zone B" is not included in the safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Air bagsReported May 31, 2016NHTSA 16V384000

Air bags: inflator module

Park It: do not driveRemedy pending

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 susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.

Air bagsReported May 28, 2015NHTSA 15V319000
See all 8 recalls with remedies
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Oct 27, 2026 · All recall detailsNHTSA vehicle page
02 —Complaints

Owner complaints by component

347 complaints filed with NHTSA · Dec 2007 – May 2026
  1. Air bags240
  2. Power train30
  3. Vehicle speed control19
  4. Electrical system15
  5. Structure15
  6. Service brakes9
  7. Seat belts6
  8. Engine6
  9. Steering6

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

By model year

Complaints for each Mustang model year we’ve synced.

View as table
Model yearNHTSA complaints
1996304
1997230
1998320
1999297
2000446
2001280
2002209
2003271
2004130
2005868
2006575
2007615
2008347
2009181
2010261
2011466
2012469
2013271
2014359
2015439
2016380
2017268
2018196
2019152
2020122
202155
202250
202315
202485
202520
20268
Crashes reported
21
Fires reported
0
Injuries reported
14
Deaths reported
0
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 27, 2026 · Full problem breakdownNHTSA vehicle page
03 —Common problems

What owners report most

Verbatim excerpts from NHTSA complaints, by component

Air bags

240 reports10 crashes
“Driving approximately 20 mph, on a smooth road, in a retirement community, the drivers seat airbag explosively inflated without warning. The seatbelts are locked and unusable, the seat bolster is shredded, the driver door panel is disconnected as is the exterior rocker cover. I am afraid to drive the car in fear of the other air bags exploding while driving.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 11, 2026Air bags, Seat beltsODI 11737021

Power train

30 reports3 crashes
“As I’m driving the wrench light comes on and keeps coming on after a couple minutes of driving the car and when I talk to everyone or even mustang forms they keep saying the car is going into limp mode and almost causing crashes, every time we scan for codes the car won’t tell us anything you turn the car off and the light goes away for awhile but eventually turns back on.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 23, 2021Power trainODI 11426102

Vehicle speed control

19 reports6 crashes
“The contact owns a 2008 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while the son was driving approximately 40 MPH and pressing the brake pedal to reduce speed, the engine began to rev and the vehicle continued to accelerate. The driver observed that the accelerator pedal had remained pressed toward the floorboard and reached down to manually lift the pedal to reduce the vehicle's speed. The vehicle then drove into an intersection and crashed into a second vehicle. During the crash, no injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene, and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact indicated that the vehicle was previously repaired after the same failure had occurred. No further information was available. The failure mileage was 95,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 1, 2025Vehicle speed controlCrash reportedODI 11670547
All 2008 Mustang problemsSend a problem to a mechanic on findmechanic.ai
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 27, 2026
04 —Key specs

Engines, transmissions & drive

5 versions rated by the EPA
EPA class
Subcompact Cars
Engines
4.0L 6-cyl · 4.6L 8-cyl · 5.4L 8-cyl supercharged
Transmissions
Manual 5-spd · Automatic 5-spd · Manual 6-spd
Drive
Rear-Wheel Drive
Fuel
Regular Gasoline · Premium Gasoline

Towing, payload and dimensions aren’t in the EPA or NHTSA data, so we don’t list them.

Data from EPA fueleconomy.gov · synced Oct 27, 2026EPA listing
05 —Fuel economy

EPA fuel economy by version

City / highway / combined, annual fuel cost and CO₂
EPA
VersionCityHwyComb.Fuel / yrCO₂ g/mi
Mustang
Man 5-spd, 6 cyl, 4.0 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
172620$3,200444
Mustang
Auto 5-spd, 6 cyl, 4.0 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
162419$3,400468
Mustang
Auto 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
152218$3,550494
Mustang
Man 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
152318$3,550494
Mustang
Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Sup Charg · Rear-Wheel Drive
142016$5,000555
  • Mustang
    Man 5-spd, 6 cyl, 4.0 L
    17 city · 26 hwy · $3,200/yr
    20
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Auto 5-spd, 6 cyl, 4.0 L
    16 city · 24 hwy · $3,400/yr
    19
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Auto 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L
    15 city · 22 hwy · $3,550/yr
    18
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L
    15 city · 23 hwy · $3,550/yr
    18
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Sup Charg
    14 city · 20 hwy · $5,000/yr
    16
    mpg comb.
Estimate your fuel costCost of ownership
Data from EPA fueleconomy.gov · synced Oct 27, 2026 · Fuel cost is EPA’s annual estimate (15,000 mi, 55% city)
06 —Safety

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings

2 tested variants
NHTSA has not published 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2008 Ford Mustang as of Oct 27, 2026.
Data from NHTSA NCAP Safety Ratings API · synced Oct 27, 2026Vehicle 2524Vehicle 2523
07 —Maintenance

Maintenance basics

General guidance, not the OEM schedule. Check your owner’s manual.
General guidance
ItemMilesTimeNote
Engine oil & filter5,000–10,000 mi6–12 monthsFollow the oil-life monitor if fitted
Tire rotation5,000–7,500 miEvery oil changeCheck pressure monthly
Engine air filter15,000–30,000 mi1–2 yearsSooner in dusty areas
Cabin air filter15,000–25,000 mi1–2 years
Brake fluid—2–3 yearsAbsorbs moisture over time
Coolant60,000–100,000 mi5–10 yearsLong-life coolants last longer
Spark plugs60,000–100,000 mi—Iridium/platinum plugs at the long end
12V battery—3–5 yearsHeat shortens battery life
  • Engine oil & filter5,000–10,000 mi
    6–12 months
  • Tire rotation5,000–7,500 mi
    Every oil change
  • Engine air filter15,000–30,000 mi
    1–2 years
  • Cabin air filter15,000–25,000 mi
    1–2 years
  • Brake fluid—
    2–3 years
  • Coolant60,000–100,000 mi
    5–10 years
  • Spark plugs60,000–100,000 mi
    —
  • 12V battery—
    3–5 years
Typical intervals for modern cars. Severe service (towing, short trips, extreme heat or cold) shortens them.
09 —FAQ

2008 Mustang questions

How many recalls does the 2008 Ford Mustang have?

8 safety recalls as of Oct 27, 2026, according to NHTSA. Recall repairs are free at a dealer. Check your VIN to see whether your car is included and whether the repair was done.

What are the most common 2008 Ford Mustang problems?

Owners filed 347 complaints with NHTSA. The most-cited components are air bags (240), power train (30), vehicle speed control (19). Complaints are unverified owner reports and aren't adjusted for how many cars were sold.

What MPG does the 2008 Ford Mustang get?

The EPA rates the 2008 Ford Mustang at 16–20 mpg combined, depending on engine and drivetrain (5 versions rated).

Data from NHTSA & EPA · synced Oct 27, 2026