Ford Mustang: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Ford Mustang model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 469 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 43.5 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2013 | 271 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 54.6 Medium | AIR BAGS |
| 2014 | 356 | 4 | 29 | 1 | 83.7 Medium | AIR BAGS |
| 2015 | 434 | 11 | 26 | 7 | 68.7 Medium | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2016 | 367 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 69.8 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2017 | 262 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 68.7 Medium | BACK OVER PREVENTION |
| 2018 | 184 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 42.4 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2019 | 141 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 18.4 Low | ENGINE |
| 2020 | 115 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 127.0 High | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2021 | 55 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 58.2 Medium | FUEL SYSTEM |
| 2022 | 48 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 70.8 Medium | FUEL SYSTEM |
| 2024 | 72 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 72.2 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2025 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 30.8 Low | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
Across 13 model years, the 2020 Ford Mustang carries the highest severity index (127.0, driven by electrical system), while the 2019 is the cleanest at 18.4.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.