Problems · NHTSA complaints
2008 Ford Mustang problems
Owners filed 347 complaints about the 2008 Ford Mustang with NHTSA between Dec 2007 and May 2026. The most-cited component is air bags (240).
Complaints
347
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
21
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
14
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Air bags240
- Power train30
- Vehicle speed control19
- Electrical system15
- Structure15
- Service brakes9
- Seat belts6
- Engine6
- Steering6
- Fuel/propulsion system5
- Tires5
- Service brakes, hydraulic4
- Engine and engine cooling2
- Wheels2
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 11, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
1
18
11
8
8
5
10
11
29
57
126
41
6
4
3
2
3
0
3
1
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 1 |
| 2008 | 18 |
| 2009 | 11 |
| 2010 | 8 |
| 2011 | 8 |
| 2012 | 5 |
| 2013 | 10 |
| 2014 | 11 |
| 2015 | 29 |
| 2016 | 57 |
| 2017 | 126 |
| 2018 | 41 |
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 3 |
| 2026 | 1 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Air bags
240 reports10 crashes6 related recalls
“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.”
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.”
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.”
Electrical system
15 reports
“Battery goes dead when sitting for a week when not driven. When I charge the battery and hook up the terminals and turn on the ignition with key the radio comes on and I know it was shut off before shutting car down.I always shut off radio before shutting off the car.I have seen reports of shutting radio off first then car ignition.Any idea what to look for.”
Structure
15 reports
“WHILE DRIVING MY FORD MUSTANG GT PREMIUM WITH THE BULLITT PACKAGE AT HIGHWAY SPEED THE HOOD SUDDENLY OPENED AND WAS CAUGHT BY THE SAFETY LATCH. I REPORTED THIS INCIDENT TO JARRETT-GORDON FORD WINTER HAVEN AND THEY ADJUSTED THE HOOD LATCH. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM AND I HAD ANOTHER OCCURRENCE OF THE HOOD OPENING AT HIGHWAY SPEED IN WHICH THE SAFETY LATCH PREVENTED A POTENTIALLY SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I AGAIN TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE SAME DEALER - JARRETT-GORDON FORD WINTER HAVEN AND THIS TIME THEY REPLACED THE HOOD LATCH MECHANISM. THIS CORRECTED THE PROBLEM AND NO FURTHER INCIDENTS OCCURRED.”
Service brakes
9 reports4 crashes
“I have a 2008 Ford Mustang with a V-6 engine. Recently I had to jump start it twice in a week's time to get it started and decided to take it to my dealer to have the battery checked. On the way there, I had to stop for a line of line of traffic at a red light. The instant I applied the brakes the engine started racing. I stood on the brakes as hard as I could, but could not bring the car to a complete stop. I got it slowed down to about three MPH, steered it into a parking lot that was next to me, and shoved it into park. I was afraid to drive it, so I called AAA and had it towed to my dealer. I told them how the engine started to race when I applied the brakes, and that I couldn't bring the car to a complete stop. They wrote it up that the engine started running rough when I applied the brakes. That is not what I told them. They made no written reference to the unintended acceleration. This struck me as odd. Their analysis of the vehicle showed that the master cylinder and brake power booster had failed. They told me that sometimes when these components fail they can cause the engine to rev. My engine more than revved, it sounded like it was racing at full…”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 11, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.