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Ford Mustang (2005 & newer) Problems and Solutions

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Comments

  • smeadows1978smeadows1978 Member Posts: 10
    After following the postings on this site for a few months now I would like to (again) point out that not all of the 05/06 Mustangs have problems. This is a site where people come to complain so its not a representative sample! Think of the tens of thousands of 05/06 Mustang owners who haven't had any problems and never will. Yes, lemons exist, but that's true of any make and model. I've had a few headaches with my 05 V6 (fueling issue at some stations, the CD player sometimes spits CDs out at me, sometimes the transmission does weird things, driver's side door handle is loose, etc.). But when I paid less than $25,000 for a completely redesigned car I knew what I was getting into. If I had spent twice that on a BMW or Lexus I wouldn't have expected ANY problems (even though I know they're bound to happen). Problems or not, I would not trade my 'Stang for any other car out there (but clearly that's my own opinion). :)

    So to others who are reading this site and considering purchasing a Mustang please remember that not all of the cars have problems.
  • macatowamacatowa Member Posts: 69
    Mine is fine too,

    06 GT, manual 5 spd.
  • 40yearswaiting40yearswaiting Member Posts: 17
    Appreciate your comments and agree that the number of lemons will be a small percentage based on the number of Mustangs sold. Despite the headaches some of us have, Ford still must be doing something right after 40 years for people to still have a love affair with the Mustang.

    I'm a middle-aged lady from NJ and want everyone to see me coming down the road. Have the '06 screaming yellow with black racing stripes, pony package, stick shift.
  • pony_piratepony_pirate Member Posts: 317
    Go, mama, go! :shades:
  • manarakimanaraki Member Posts: 40
    I have had mine only three days, but I love it so far as does my wife. I intend on keeping this car a long time. It gets a lot of looks and mechanically, all seems fine. I have no reason not to recommend this car.
  • riverronriverron Member Posts: 26
    I agree with you. Most Mustang owners are happy. All the griping on this forum is a very small percentage of owners. I bought an 05, GT, manual, in Feb 05, (Jan 05 build), and I had the usual problems, (gas tank, c/d skipping, front susp creaking), but the dealer was VERY good, fixed everything, was VERY professional, and everything works. I LOVE my Mustang. I installed a CAI, with computer flash, and get 24.2mpg at a steady 80mph. How can you beat a car that has those looks, handles like a slot car, is that fast, sounds that good, and gets 24.2mpg??????
    If your dealer can't or won't fix the problems FIND ANOTHER dealer.
  • gzgtpgzgtp Member Posts: 83
    My 06 GT 5 speed is fine as well. Sorry to hear about others' problems.
  • cobragtcobragt Member Posts: 95
    I too LOVE my 05 GT. As I said before, and I see others have made the comment as well, people come here to complain about their problems, so its only common sense that there is going to seem like there is a lot of problems.
    After the 2005 release, in just 1 year Ford has sold over 400,000 of the 05 Mustangs. How many here are complaining? A dozen or so?

    On a side note...
    Tuesday I got back from a performance shop, did more work, retuned..I out down an impressive 473rwhp.
    Unfortunatly, on Wednsday, I blew my motor. Put a hole right through the block. :cry::cry::cry::cry:

    Now I'm putting in a new short block 100% forged internals
    a Spec Stage II racing clutch, and probably a new tranny. When done, she will have a over 500rwhp.
  • topoffgttopoffgt Member Posts: 14
    This forum is entitled "Ford Mustang (2005+)", not "Ford Mustang (01 & 02)" so why are you even posting messages here? Many people (me included) are VERY happy with their 05-06 Mustangs. Others have unfortunately had problems that they share under this problems/solutions board.

    You can't be having any problems with your 2005+ Stang since you don't OWN one, so why bother posting?

    By the way, I wouldn't touch a 01 or 02 Stang with a 15 foot pole! LOL
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    with other members, you can both contact me by e-mail. Please DON'T get into a beef online and please don't derail the board with personal comments.

    Thank you for maintaining full courtesy at all times.

    MrShiftright
    Host
  • macatowamacatowa Member Posts: 69
    When I received my new 06 GT back in Feb. 06 the dip stick read only half way on it when I checked it ( I figured the factory shorted me a little oil). I just had my first oil change, Motorcraft filter and 6 quarts of MC premium blend motor oil, the tech comes to me and say's I put in 6 qts but it only reads half way on the dip stick.

    Anyone else notice this? could be important so you don't overfill it!
  • buckeyebeautybuckeyebeauty Member Posts: 4
    Did you get your rattle fixed??? I have a similar problem (see posting 1049 dated March 31). Were they able to fix it? Mine still rattles at low speeds. I would love to have a quiet ride (the engine purr is fine!!). Please tell me if they fixed it, and how.
    Thanks.
  • buckeyebeautybuckeyebeauty Member Posts: 4
    Did you get this fixed?? I have the same issue, maybe. I have a rattle somewhere...it is so painful to go to my dealership over and over!! Anyway, if you got yours fixed, how did they do it??
    Thanks.
  • buckeyebeautybuckeyebeauty Member Posts: 4
    Wow, thanks for all your ideas. I have to say that the weather got sunny, the convertible top went down, and I decided to ignore the rattle. It has been raining for at least 6 days here, and the rattle is making me sad again!! OK, so...
    #1 The rattle is noticable every morning when I pull out of my driveway, and throughout the day, at the low RPMs. I read your posting #1100 with the picture of the underside of the car--could this sound like it is in the front of the car? I saw another posting about a bracket behind the passenger air bag (#1220)--do you know more about this?
    #2 How do you check up on a transmission leak? Do I just mention it to the dealership when I bring it in? Is it something I can see?
    #3 This problem seems to be eliminated when I open the tank before I get the pump ready, then I do not put the hose in all the way. Sometimes the gas splashed out at me toward the end of the fueling, so I hold a few paper towels under the gas tank opening as I fuel. Yes, this is a hassle, but it works.

    #4 I will ask the dealership about the stripe.

    Thanks for your help.
  • tayl0rdtayl0rd Member Posts: 1,926
    No, I haven't had it fixed. It is a metal bracket behind the passenger airbag. Quite a few of us have that rattle, but I need a TSB for it if there is one, otherwise I'll have to keep hearing "we couldn't hear anything" every time I take it to the dealer. :mad:
  • lmmlmm Member Posts: 70
    some people have taken a small folded piece of paper and wedge it down between the A-pillar and the dash on the side of the dash rattle.
  • cobragtcobragt Member Posts: 95
    #1, If this is more of a rattle and not a vibration, then you may want to look into what others have suggested just to test and see if the rattle stops. Take a thin piece of cardboard and put it between the A-pillar and the dash, wherever the rattle sounds the worst. If could be something loose. If its more of the vibration issue that I spoke of, then yes, it can sound or feel like its coming from in front of you, I know mine did. When I found out it was that picture that you saw in my other post, I was shocked that it was actually the cause of it.

    #2 Transmission leak I would take no chances with really. You could 1, park on cement or pavement, somewhere you can see if anything was leaking out of your car. 2, Have the dealer check it out again when you take it to them. and 3, Honestly, if the dealership seems to be getting irritated, if it was me, I'd even pay to have it looked at my another mechanic shop. The peace of mind would be worth it to me.

    #3-The gas tank. Well, do you notice this at only certain pumps, or does it do it at all of them? Believe it or not, the station's pump could have a lot to do with it. Some I go to, if the hose is in all the way, it will occascionally give me a problem, sometimes they have to slide it out just a little. A lot of these station have special nozzels for fumes to escape and whatnot, and it causes pressure to build up in some newer gas tanks and it causes the tank to stop filling.
  • hondaowner1hondaowner1 Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever resolve this? I am having a similar problem and I'm being told it is because the newer cars don't have felt rollers in the door panels...I don't know what to do, mine is bad!
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    No not yet, I have not had time with my work taking me out of town. It's weird though, on my 06 GT it only scratches the tint on the passenger side. My ex 05 V6 did not scratch at all. I hope they have a fix for it.
  • bgrrnrrbgrrnrr Member Posts: 1
    I bought my 05 Mustang through the PX here in Germany. It has the problem with the gas tank fill. I found out that I'm not the only one. There was an article in today's Stars and Stripes about this problem and the Ford representative said to the reporter that there were only 7 cars that had this problem out of 208 sold....well fella....make that 8. The Ford dealers in Germany don't sell these cars so I'm wondering how I'll get them to fix this. Other than that.....I love the hell out of this car....and it apparently just makes the Germans eat their hearts out. It gets a lot of stares.
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    Do you know about turning the gas pump upside down? People have said this helps. I feel for you not being able to take it to a dealer and get a new tank.

    D
  • gringomexgringomex Member Posts: 6
    Nope. The vibration and rattle are still there in spite of the dealer's best efforts to fix it. They did the work prescribed on a couple of TSB's but no luck.

    I was concerned that the problem is with the transmission but have been assured that nothing is wrong there. I can only hope that the shop is right. I saw a TSB that related a vibration with a transmission problem.

    I tend to agree with Cobragt; the problem lies with the cross member and exhaust hanger. When I get a burst of energy, I'll take a good look there.
  • davidros11davidros11 Member Posts: 13
    did you ever get this resolved? i have the same issue. almost sounds like it is comingt from the metal area behind the reasr seat on drivers side. drivingt me nuts, please email me at davidros@comcast.net and let me know.
  • cobragtcobragt Member Posts: 95
    Let me know who you make out alright...gringomex?

    I'm curious to see if someone else has the identical problem.
  • genet1genet1 Member Posts: 1
    The only complaint I've got about my 06 is that the throttle by wire does not seem to let the revs drop "naturally" between gear changes. I am NOT leaving my foot accidentally on the gas pedal. When I shift up from, say, 2nd to 3rd, at about 2800 RPM or so (yeah, low RPMS - just cruising), and take my foot off the gas while simultaneously putting in the clutch, the revs seem to take forever to drop. When I shift normally, the next gear gets engaged when the revs are still about 500 RPM higher than they should be, and the engine will then drop revs suddenly as I let the clutch back out. I had the dealer look at it and got the dreaded "no problem found." I have read complaints - mostly about older 'stangs with the same motor from 02 to 04, some about the 05 and 06s doing it. I love the car, but this bugs me. I know I need to hassle the dealer more (or switch dealers, more like it). Anyone else notice this problem on 05 or 06 Manual V8's? :confuse:
  • tayl0rdtayl0rd Member Posts: 1,926
    It's normal. It's called "emissions control." You can't have the engine just dropping off and sending raw fuel into the exhaust and atmosphere. Just be a little faster on the shifts and you won't even notice it.
  • wrekramblerwrekrambler Member Posts: 8
    The V-6's also do this trick of revving the engine when the car is coasting with the transmission is in neutral. It is really annoying; depending on the car's speed, the thing may rev to over 2000 RPM. My ford dealer claims it is a carryover in the engine computer's software for the automatic transmission version, where the computer tries to match the engine speed to the car speed, to minimize the RPM difference across the overrunning clutch in the torque converter. I have not previously heard that it is related to emissions control, and in fact it seems counter to good emissions control.

    Disengaging the clutch (holding the pedal down) will stop this bad behavior and let the engine idle normally while you're coasting... you oughta see my left quadriceps muscle after owning my '05 for a year now.

    FYI, my older '02 V6 5 spd does NOT exhibit this behavior. Except that occasionally in traffic in hot weather it will briefly kick the idle to around 1200 RPM to manage engine temperature and emissions.)
  • paulctpaulct Member Posts: 16
    You can add my name to the growing list of GT owners with dead battery problems. The first time the battery was dead was in March of this year and the dealer replaced the battery. I was told that stuff happens. This week the battery went dead again!!! The car is at the dealer again. They said there is a drain on the battery when the ignition is off. No kidding! Anyway, I noticed that this problem is growing and seems to be with GT's. Check out some other mustang forums and you will notice the number of problems. I have a Shaker 500 system so I'm not sure there is a correlation. If I had to guess, there is something in the GT wiring scheme that is causing a drain, especially noticeable when the car is left for a week. Very strange.
  • pony_piratepony_pirate Member Posts: 317
    Again and again and again, my GT Premium is running fine, like a dream. :shades:
  • bobcathbobcath Member Posts: 13
    Are you sure you have nothing plugged in to any of the two power ports in the car? I found out the hard way that they are "live" all the time
  • gzgtpgzgtp Member Posts: 83
    Add my name to the list of GT owners whos GT is runnin' like a dream. ;)
  • rmackowskyrmackowsky Member Posts: 19
    Just left my 06 GT at home for 10 days while on vacation. Thought about the dead battery issue when I went to start for the first time after returning. Turned the key, and lo and behold - started right up.
  • pony_piratepony_pirate Member Posts: 317
    My GT Premium w/ manual sits in the garage for 7-9 days all the time. Always starts with a vengence, as if to say, "Let's go, let me out!"

    (My Honda Accord Ex, on the other hand, loses all juice if left for more than 7-8 days, and this with a brand new Die Hard and after being "checked out" by the dealer.)
  • paulctpaulct Member Posts: 16
    Nothing is plugged in or turned on. I'm well versed in electronics and my first thought that something had been left connected. But nothing has been left on. The service dealer admitted today (for the first time)that Ford has received calls on this problem and there is evidence that the Shaker radio may be causing the problem. They advised me to turn the radio off before turning the car off. They also noted a current drainon the battery when the car was off but then it disappeared! Apparently it will be another month or two before a service bulletin is issued. The car is still at the dealer and I will pick it up on Friday. They are still in the dark and guessing! For anyone else with this problem it may be important to note which factory options were installed or build date.
  • idamay27idamay27 Member Posts: 7
    We are having the very same problem. We have a 2005 GT also with the Shaker 1000. The dealer replaced the battery for us the first time also. Then we let the car sit a week and the battery was dead again. The dealer told us we have to start the car every three days. This is such bull! Please keep us posted. When we want to take it for a ride, the battery is dead. We don't use it as an everyday driver. Thanks again. :mad:
  • 40yearswaiting40yearswaiting Member Posts: 17
    I have the 2006 V6. Took delivery in December and the car sat most of the winter in the garage. Only took her out on an occasional weekend when there was no snow. Have not had any problems. I do not use it as a daily driver and when I start her up, no problems.

    Perhaps you are just getting some bad batteries. We had a new car a while back that turned out to have a bad cell in the battery. Once it was replaced, no problem
  • idamay27idamay27 Member Posts: 7
    I think it is a problem with the 2005 GT model only.
  • allcarsrcoolallcarsrcool Member Posts: 113
    I Love the new ford mustang convertable, but, I've heard about some engine issues with other fords in the past. I have heard that they spend more time in the "shop" than in the driveway and that they are constantly breaking down... Is this true? Does it carry over to the new Mustang?
  • stuwstuw Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2006 auto mustang and since day there has been a horrible dashboard rattle. I have had the dealer look at the airbag bracket on the passenger side, they say everything is tight.

    Any suggestions from anyone, the rattles are driving me crazy it sound like its coming from inside the dash.

    helpppppp :mad: :mad:
  • trantitranti Member Posts: 51
    I bought A V6 4 months ago. It was made in Mar 05. The engine roars at 1500 rpm. The dealer added a damper to the exhaust 2 weeks ago It is a little better. Now, the car has vibration at speed over 60 mph. Anyone knows what causes the problem. I will go to the dealer in 4 days.
  • lmmlmm Member Posts: 70
    ran my up to 100mph yesterday on the hwy. ran like melted butter.

    i also had the damper put on, and yes a little better but it still there. did you have vibration before? If no, then tell them to redo it.
  • palehorse06palehorse06 Member Posts: 2
    I've had my V6 up to and over 100mph. Never had any vibration problems.
  • trantitranti Member Posts: 51
    Thank you for your response. I did not have vibration before. I removed the damper and attached it to many locations, sometimes it was better, sometimes it was worse. I will tell them redo it.
  • trantitranti Member Posts: 51
    I test drove my car this morning. It has vibration between 60 and 70 mph. Outside that range, it run smoothly, even up to 95 mph. Is it a problem? I think something is wrong with transmission or differential.
  • lmmlmm Member Posts: 70
    So, you had the vibration between 60-70mph with and without the damper?

    I had the damper for the 1500rpm vibration. I also noticed that the vibration diminishes if not using overdrive during city driving. Maybe you are better off without the damper.

    The vibration could be from the stock muffler. Some people have reported when they changed muffler configurations the vibrations disppeared.
  • dan1dan1 Member Posts: 76
    Anyone getting accesive tire wear with the Pirelli P Zero's? I put them on my 01 Bullitt and after about 10k they are down to about 4/32's. I have never done any burn outs and never raced it. They supposed to have a 400 tread wear rating but they have no tread life warrenty.
  • gtgtcobragtgtcobra Member Posts: 268
    I am surprised that the 05 & 06 Mustangs all have vibrations. I own a 2001 Mustang GT and a 2002 V6 Mustang and I never had any vibration problems. Ford needs to get the bugs out of the new Mustang. It's been over 2 years now since the new 05 body style came out and Ford STILL hasn't worked out the bugs on these cars. I would never buy a 05 & an 06 Mustang with all these problems that they have. I am lucky to own the older body style which has been problem free to me.
    The new Mustangs are :lemon: 's.
  • harleyhog1200harleyhog1200 Member Posts: 1
    I have read the latest posts with interest becuause my '06 GT runs like a bandit and so, so smooth......I have replaced the exhaust with a Magnaflow w/ MagnaPack Cat Back system and the air filter with a C&L TrueFlow Cold Air system. Ran smooth (no vibrations)prior to the changes as well......I'm purely satisfied with mine... ;)
  • 4pointo4pointo Member Posts: 2
    OK, I bought a 05 a couple of weeks ago and I have the "unknown source" dash rattle too! Of course the rattle disappeared when the dealer looked at it, so it's up to me to find it and fix it. Have you had any luck with wedging the paper between the dash and the A-pillar? :confuse:
  • 4pointo4pointo Member Posts: 2
    I found this reply on another site:
    "Well I got my car back from the dealer ship a few hours ago. I had taken it in cause the brakes started to make noise again. I had it there for the same problem before, they turned the rotors and it went away for a little now its back[:@] So I went back and they did the 05-10-10 TSB.

    I also asked them to check the rattling that I hear when driving on certain roads in the passenger compartment (like the air bag was loose I told them basically) They said this...

    Dash Rattle
    Oasis#311 173 734
    Road test-verify concern-perform niose diagnosis-traced noise to far right area-r+r 'A' Pillar trim for access- Isolate rattling dash sections with foam tape-road test and isolate sections until noise gone- road test & verify noise gone.

    I didn't hear any rattling on the road that I hear it on all the time.

    The tranny rattle that I heard when the car would start up after sitting happen to be a tsb I never heard of...
    Ran SSMS - Install clamps to noisy ehaust hangers as per TSB # 06-04-01
    We'll see how that goes in the morning before work. It usually would rattle a little bit in the morning for a second or two.

    Just wanted to let you guys know cause I remember some others having Dash rattles and so called tranny rattles. Get em check up, get the 05's to par lol"

    Hope this helps...
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