Research · Subcompact Cars

2009 Ford MustangRecalls, problems, MPG & safety

NHTSA lists 6 safety recalls and 181 owner complaints for the 2009 Ford Mustang. Most complaints involve air bags (135) and vehicle speed control (22). The EPA rates it 16–20 mpg combined.

Combined MPG
16–20mpg
EPA · 5 versions
NHTSA overall
—
Not rated by NCAP
Safety recalls
6campaigns
Latest Feb 2021
Owner complaints
181
Top: air bags
Fuel cost / yr
$3,100est.
EPA estimate, best version
01 —Recalls

Safety recalls

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

Air bags: inflator module

Park It: do not driveFree remedy

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013 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. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge, Fusion, Mustang and Ranger, Lincoln MKX and Zephyr/MKZ, and Mercury Milan vehicles ever registered in the states of 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." Ford is also recalling certain 2009 Ford Edge, Fusion, Mustang and Ranger, Lincoln MKX and Zephyr/MKZ, and Mercury Milan vehicles 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 or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Air bagsReported Jan 11, 2018NHTSA 18V046000

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
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Nov 10, 2026 · All recall detailsNHTSA vehicle page
02 —Complaints

Owner complaints by component

181 complaints filed with NHTSA · Jan 2009 – Nov 2023
  1. Air bags135
  2. Vehicle speed control22
  3. Power train7
  4. Electrical system7
  5. Suspension6
  6. Structure6
  7. Service brakes5
  8. Engine3
  9. Steering3

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
17
Fires reported
2
Injuries reported
7
Deaths reported
0
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 10, 2026 · Full problem breakdownNHTSA vehicle page
03 —Common problems

What owners report most

Verbatim excerpts from NHTSA complaints, by component

Air bags

135 reports11 crashes1 fire
“The contact owns a 2009 Ford Mustang. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V319000 (Air Bags) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 6, 2022Air bagsODI 11472588

Vehicle speed control

22 reports9 crashes1 fire
“The clutch/flywheel/ and or other components of the drive train/engine/transmission connection are faulty and are known to fail for the 2007-2009 Shelby Ford Mustang GT 500 as documented in the numerous Ford Technical Service Bullitens (TSB). This vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Late this summer (2023), I was driving this vehicle with my kids in the car and attempting to merge on the entry ramp for the expressway. I experienced a sudden loss of acceleration and the RPMs immediately "redlined". I had to pull over to the shoulder of the expressway so I would not be rear-ended. I researched this issue and found hundreds of posts on Mustang forums documenting this known issue and the TSB issued by Ford. I have reached out to Ford directly and had my vehicle inspected at a Ford Dealership. The Ford Dealership indicated the issues were consistent with the known defective parts. There were zero warnings either by warning lights or symptoms and I am just fortunate to have been in an accident with my children. I only have approximately 27,000 miles on this vehicle and it is not modified in any way. I have the dealership documentation as well that I can…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 13, 2023Power train, Vehicle speed control, EngineODI 11554858

Power train

7 reports
“SERVO ON TRANSMISSION PUSHED SNAP OUT OF RETAINING GROOVE CAUSING LOSS OF TRANSMISSION FLUID WHILE DRIVING AT SPEED.SERVO PUSHED OUT OF TRANS,CAR ACTED LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL THAN LURCHED AHEAD ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 4, 2019Power trainODI 11278023
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 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 Nov 10, 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$3,100444
Mustang
Auto 5-spd, 6 cyl, 4.0 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
162419$3,300468
Mustang
Auto 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
152218$3,450494
Mustang
Man 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
152318$3,450494
Mustang
Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Sup Charg · Rear-Wheel Drive
142016$4,850555
  • Mustang
    Man 5-spd, 6 cyl, 4.0 L
    17 city · 26 hwy · $3,100/yr
    20
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Auto 5-spd, 6 cyl, 4.0 L
    16 city · 24 hwy · $3,300/yr
    19
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Auto 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L
    15 city · 22 hwy · $3,450/yr
    18
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L
    15 city · 23 hwy · $3,450/yr
    18
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Sup Charg
    14 city · 20 hwy · $4,850/yr
    16
    mpg comb.
Data from EPA fueleconomy.gov · synced Nov 10, 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 2009 Ford Mustang as of Nov 10, 2026.
Data from NHTSA NCAP Safety Ratings API · synced Nov 10, 2026Vehicle 5129Vehicle 5128
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

2009 Mustang questions

How many recalls does the 2009 Ford Mustang have?

6 safety recalls as of Nov 10, 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 2009 Ford Mustang problems?

Owners filed 181 complaints with NHTSA. The most-cited components are air bags (135), vehicle speed control (22), power train (7). Complaints are unverified owner reports and aren't adjusted for how many cars were sold.

What MPG does the 2009 Ford Mustang get?

The EPA rates the 2009 Ford Mustang at 16–20 mpg combined, depending on engine and drivetrain (5 versions rated).

Data from NHTSA & EPA · synced Nov 10, 2026