Research · Subcompact Cars

2010 Ford MustangRecalls, problems, MPG & safety

NHTSA lists 6 safety recalls and 261 owner complaints for the 2010 Ford Mustang. Most complaints involve air bags (179) and structure (17). The EPA rates it 17–21 mpg combined.

Combined MPG
17–21mpg
EPA · 5 versions
NHTSA overall
—
Not rated by NCAP
Safety recalls
6campaigns
Latest Feb 2021
Owner complaints
261
Top: air bags
Fuel cost / yr
$3,050est.
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 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. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles and 2011-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or 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 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2010-2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, and 2010-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY 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 7, 2019NHTSA 19V001000

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 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 Oct 27, 2026 · All recall detailsNHTSA vehicle page
02 —Complaints

Owner complaints by component

261 complaints filed with NHTSA · Aug 2009 – Sep 2026
  1. Air bags179
  2. Structure17
  3. Power train13
  4. Electrical system11
  5. Vehicle speed control10
  6. Engine8
  7. Service brakes8
  8. Suspension5
  9. Fuel/propulsion system5

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
13
Fires reported
2
Injuries reported
11
Deaths reported
2
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

179 reports7 crashes1 fire
“I was on my way to go do a clients hair on dec 1 2022 I was tragically hit by the airbag at a 2,000 force pressure My left side of my jaw is in pain As well as my skull I also have a condition on my chest musculoskeletal”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 21, 2023Suspension, Air bags, EngineODI 11502903

Structure

17 reports1 crash
“WATER POOLING BEHIND DRIVER SEAT ON FLOORBOARD. VERY STRONG CHEMICAL SMELL IN CAR. CONDENSATION INSIDE ALL WINDOWS EVERYDAY. CAR PARKED ON DRIVEWAY NEXT TO HOUSE. INITIALLY TAKEN TO DEALER ~1 YEAR AGO FOR ODOR (NO WATER YET). COULD NOT IDENTIFY PROBLEM, NOTHING DONE. TECHNICIAN DOING INSPECTION LAST WEEK THOUGHT IT WAS MOLD CAUSING THE OVERWHELMING SMELL AND THERE MUST BE A LEAK. TOOK TO DEALER FOLLOWING MONDAY. DEALER DETERMINED A SEAM IN THE BODY NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED TO STOP THE WATER LEAK. DRIED AND CLEANED INTERIOR TO GET RID OF SMELL. UNKNOWN HOW LONG DEODORIZING WILL LAST THOUGH. CONCERNED ABOUT CONTACT WITH MOLD.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 9, 2020StructureODI 11298214

Power train

13 reports1 crash
“When vehicle is placed in park while on, vehicle rolls forward . Put vehicle in park on the side of the road to answer a phone call. Was pulled up behind another vehicle and car rolled forward, and rear ended vehicle in front of me. The police were notified but no citation was given Another time vehicle was in park and running and ran over somebodies foot. very unacceptable”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 14, 2022Power trainCrash reportedODI 11497506
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
182621$3,050423
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
172319$3,400468
Mustang
Man 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
162419$3,400468
Mustang
Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Sup Charg · Rear-Wheel Drive
142217$4,700523
  • Mustang
    Man 5-spd, 6 cyl, 4.0 L
    18 city · 26 hwy · $3,050/yr
    21
    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
    17 city · 23 hwy · $3,400/yr
    19
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 5-spd, 8 cyl, 4.6 L
    16 city · 24 hwy · $3,400/yr
    19
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Sup Charg
    14 city · 22 hwy · $4,700/yr
    17
    mpg comb.
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

3 tested variants
NHTSA has not published 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2010 Ford Mustang as of Oct 27, 2026.
Data from NHTSA NCAP Safety Ratings API · synced Oct 27, 2026Vehicle 5870Vehicle 5450Vehicle 5449
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

2010 Mustang questions

How many recalls does the 2010 Ford Mustang have?

6 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 2010 Ford Mustang problems?

Owners filed 261 complaints with NHTSA. The most-cited components are air bags (179), structure (17), power train (13). Complaints are unverified owner reports and aren't adjusted for how many cars were sold.

What MPG does the 2010 Ford Mustang get?

The EPA rates the 2010 Ford Mustang at 17–21 mpg combined, depending on engine and drivetrain (5 versions rated).

Data from NHTSA & EPA · synced Oct 27, 2026