Research · Subcompact Cars

2012 Ford MustangRecalls, problems, MPG & safety

NHTSA lists 7 safety recalls and 469 owner complaints for the 2012 Ford Mustang. Most complaints involve power train (177) and air bags (158). The EPA rates it 18–23 mpg combined, and NHTSA gives it 4 stars overall.

Combined MPG
18–23mpg
EPA · 6 versions
NHTSA overall
4of 5 stars
NCAP crash tests
Safety recalls
7campaigns
Latest Feb 2021
Owner complaints
469
Top: power train
Fuel cost / yr
$2,800est.
EPA estimate, best version
01 —Recalls

Safety recalls

7 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 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 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
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Nov 4, 2026 · All recall detailsNHTSA vehicle page
02 —Complaints

Owner complaints by component

469 complaints filed with NHTSA · Mar 2011 – Apr 2026
  1. Power train177
  2. Air bags158
  3. Vehicle speed control35
  4. Engine30
  5. Structure23
  6. Electrical system21
  7. Fuel/propulsion system18
  8. Suspension16
  9. Steering16

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
20
Fires reported
2
Injuries reported
9
Deaths reported
1
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 4, 2026 · Full problem breakdownNHTSA vehicle page
03 —Common problems

What owners report most

Verbatim excerpts from NHTSA complaints, by component

Power train

177 reports8 crashes
“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 doesn’t work but that doesn’t 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 “falling flat” 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 didn’t 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 didn’t have enough power to get to my lane before it fell flat! Fortunately I could back up before getting hit by oncoming traffic.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 16, 2024Power train, Electrical systemODI 11620253

Air bags

158 reports9 crashes
“I am the owner of a 2012 Ford Mustang GT currently located in Kuwait. My vehicle has an open Takata airbag safety recall, which is a life-threatening defect. I contacted the authorized Ford dealer in Kuwait and Ford Middle East, but both refused to perform the recall repair, stating that the vehicle is a “gray market import” and not eligible. They also attempted to condition the repair on paid service, which is unrelated to safety recalls. Additionally, the authorized dealer informed me that my vehicle has a total of four open recalls, not just the Takata airbag recall. Despite this, they still refused to perform any of the recall repairs due to the vehicle being a “gray market import.” This refusal leaves me driving an unsafe vehicle with no official repair solution. Safety recalls should not be denied based on geographic location, as they are a manufacturer responsibility tied to the vehicle. I am requesting investigation into this issue.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 29, 2026Air bagsODI 11734459

Vehicle speed control

35 reports3 crashes
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 8, 2025Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, Unknown or otherODI 11641506
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 4, 2026
04 —Key specs

Engines, transmissions & drive

6 versions rated by the EPA
EPA class
Subcompact Cars
Engines
3.7L 6-cyl · 5.0L 8-cyl · 5.4L 8-cyl supercharged
Transmissions
Automatic 6-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 4, 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
Auto 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.7 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
193023$2,800386
Mustang Convertible
Auto 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.7 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
192923$2,800386
Mustang
Man 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.7 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
192822$2,900404
Mustang
Auto 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.0 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
182520$3,200444
Mustang
Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.0 L · Rear-Wheel Drive
172620$3,200444
Mustang
Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Sup Charg · Rear-Wheel Drive
152318$4,400494
  • Mustang
    Auto 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.7 L
    19 city · 30 hwy · $2,800/yr
    23
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang Convertible
    Auto 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.7 L
    19 city · 29 hwy · $2,800/yr
    23
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 6-spd, 6 cyl, 3.7 L
    19 city · 28 hwy · $2,900/yr
    22
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Auto 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.0 L
    18 city · 25 hwy · $3,200/yr
    20
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.0 L
    17 city · 26 hwy · $3,200/yr
    20
    mpg comb.
  • Mustang
    Man 6-spd, 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Sup Charg
    15 city · 23 hwy · $4,400/yr
    18
    mpg comb.
Data from EPA fueleconomy.gov · synced Nov 4, 2026 · Fuel cost is EPA’s annual estimate (15,000 mi, 55% city)
06 —Safety

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings

2 tested variants
Overall rating
—/ 5
Not rated
Ford Mustang C RWD
Frontal crash
Not rated
Side crash
Not rated
Side pole
Not rated
Rollover
5 of 5
Rollover risk
8.7%
Overall
4 / 5
Ford Mustang 2 DR RWD
Frontal crash
4 of 5
Side crash
4 of 5
Side pole
4 of 5
Rollover
5 of 5
Rollover risk
8.7%
Data from NHTSA NCAP Safety Ratings API · synced Nov 4, 2026Vehicle 6425Vehicle 6424
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

2012 Mustang questions

How many recalls does the 2012 Ford Mustang have?

7 safety recalls as of Nov 4, 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 2012 Ford Mustang problems?

Owners filed 469 complaints with NHTSA. The most-cited components are power train (177), air bags (158), vehicle speed control (35). Complaints are unverified owner reports and aren't adjusted for how many cars were sold.

What MPG does the 2012 Ford Mustang get?

The EPA rates the 2012 Ford Mustang at 18–23 mpg combined, depending on engine and drivetrain (6 versions rated).

How safe is the 2012 Ford Mustang?

NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gives the 2012 Ford Mustang 4 out of 5 stars overall.

Data from NHTSA & EPA · synced Nov 4, 2026