Ford Mustang (2005 & newer) Problems and Solutions

hot_rod

I had the same problem with the 2nd radio Ford installed in my car. They couldn't fix the problem, so they installed another one.

Does anyone else seem to think that this is funny? I have 21K miles on my car and have had it for 9 months. I took it Saturday to have the oil changed and have the multi-point inspection done. After waiting 3 hours, they tell me that my front 2 tires are choppy/chopped, fuel and air filter need replacing, coolant needs to be flushed, and an alignment needs to be done. Total price for all of the above... $560.00.

I've looked and have had others look. All agree that tires aren't even worn (they've been rotated and balanced twice on scheduled maint.), coolant doesn't need to be flushed for a while, and alignment should've been done at 15K mile inspection, but never was. The only thing that I see that I could use is possibly the air and fuel filter. Any Suggestions?

graphicguy

Without seeing your tires, it's hard to say what's going on with them. I'd at least have them rotated.

At 21K miles, I'd replace the air and fuel filter. I'd also get the alignment if the tires are showing unusual wear. Coolant could go on for awhile. I flush and fill my rariator every 30K miles.

1panky

hot-rod, you have come across the new way for local repair chains or some local shops to make easy money. From your mileage, I would check the air filter and brush off any loose debris and vacuum hoses, etc. with a power-vac if available. These filters are good for 1 year to 18 months in my opinion including the brushing I described earlier. I change the fuel filter once ever 18-24 months of normal driving, as long as you are not buying gas from a lonely desert (Sam Peckenpaugh) type station. Coolant flushing once every two years if it looks clean during your periodic checks and wheel alignment 1 year to 18 months unless abnormal tire wear or handling is noticed earlier. I had a new vehicle once that was about 9 months old and all I wanted from a national repair chain was their discount wheel alignment. I received an estimate for over $600 derived from their bumper-to-bumper free inspection. Needless to day, I left with only the alignment and followed up with a visit to my regular mechanic. After his inspection, he concluded I did not need the additional work. Always take those free offers of a complete vehicle check especially by a national repair chain with a "BIG" grain of salt.

sweetmustang05

Hi I wanted my mustang to sound alot louder like a muscle car what exhaust system do you prefer flowmaster or magnaflow? headers? or x-pipe?

pumpkinfish

All of the following assumes you have the 8. If you have a 6 I can't help you.

X-pipe will sound more like an exotic or tuned sound than muscle. I would stay with an H-pipe and pick an axle-back system that sounds good to your ears. If you can get to a Mustang gathering or some place to hear different exhausts in person is the best way to do it. I have the Bassani x-pipe and axle-backs. It does not sound muscle at all and I know the X-pipe has a lot to do with it (it is loud though). From what I have heard, the Flowmasters, Borlas (Ford Racing Parts is the same as Borla), Magnaflow and Hooker's mufflers will get you close to what I think you are looking for.

I have the Ford Racing high flow headers and they added maybe 3hp if I was lucky They did change the sound, but in my opinion I would put on long tube headers if I was to do it all over again. The long tubes give you greater gains in hp and torque than any set of shorties could. Also, adding a CAI like C&L or one of the others whose names escape me will make more noise too. I was surprised how much more visceral the car sounds under acceleration.

I think the best thing to do is join one of the Mustang message boards and do a search for sound clips. Mind you that a recording will never sound as good as the real thing and you should try and find someone local to hear their setup so you are not disappointed when you do make a purchase.

sweetmustang05

thanks again you were very helpful

liveoakie

I was goin up to Reno for hot august nights a couple of weeks ago when a gravel truck goin the opposite direction was dumping a bunch of gravel on the hiway and all over my sonic blue GT. I turned around and got him stopped and showed him the damage. He was very apologetic and gave me the pertinent info. I got a check finally today for 3,997.00 It busted my windsheild in three spots broke my left foglight and left headlight and numerous chips and dings in the hood, fenders,roof, and front bumper cover.I hope the body shop can make it all look right.Oh by the way pumpkinfish, what is CAI?

skiutahbob

Has anyone seen the new 18" wheels in person. I ordered a GT today with the 64E wheels, but I would like to see a pic of the 64W due in early October. I got the xplan price and was told a delivery in late Oct so I still have time to switch wheels and take a later delivery.

Any feedback is appreciated...Maybe I should take the std wheels and buy aftermarket 18's or 19's.

Bob

vppreacher

Cold Air Intake = CAI.

pos05gt

okay I thought that i"d share my experience with my wonderful car. I really do love this car and it is a lot of fun to drive however,...it is becoming more of a head ache. When I first purchased the car i had the issue with the cut off when filling the car up. I read that I should twist the nozzle upside down, slant the nozzle etc. I did all this but really should someone have to go through this when trying to pump gas. I let that slide. about a week ago I was driving down the free way and my car went to way below empty and my gaslight indicator came on. I had filled up the car two hours before so unless my car was leaking gas it was highly unlikely. I took it to the dealership and i mentioned the problem with the gas tank and not being able to pump gas into it and the whole issue with the car going to empty. They changed out my whole gas tank and said they put in a fuel cleaner and that it should take care of the issue. three days after i got it out of the service department I leave for lunch and the wrench light indicator turns on. The car is sluggish, jerking and after further reading I found thecar went into "limp home" mode. I was a little low on gas and decided that maybe i needed gas even though it was unlikely that was the issue. I filled the car up turned it on drove about 5 feet the wrench turn on and in addition to it the service engine light turned on. at which point I became rather angry because I didn't even know if the car would be able to get me back to work. I take it back into the shop and here I am day three without my car and the replies I am getitng are "we're not sure what is wrong and why the service engine light is coming on but we have our best tech's working on this issue." I can appreciate this because after reading this board it seems like no one really knows what is going on. I purchased the car in march so i'm pretty sure it was one of the earlier models that were made. I've become fed upw ith this car and am counting the days and the times that i take the care into the shop to be fixed. I went through a similar situation with a past car and i let that go up to 9 times. I refuse to go through this againw ith a car that I paid a good amount of money for. According to the lemon law its 30 days or 4 or more attempts to fix the issue. I'm at two right now. I love this car but I'm not sure i'm willing to be patient maybe I'd feel better if i was n' stuck driving around in a stock bear bones neon. Its quite a let down.

pumpkinfish

As vppreacher said, it is Cold Air Intake. It is a misnomer, because it is more like a bigger, less restrictive air filter :P A true CAI would reroute the air intake to an area that gets cold air from outside the engine compartment, i.e. the lower front fascia. The bottom line is the Ford designed air intake system is restrictive and needs to be replaced for optimum air flow. If you go this route, I highly recommend a tune to avoid the car running too lean. The CAI I purchased, came with the Diablosport tuner with a canned tune specifically for the CAI setup. It was worth it :shades:

pumpkinfish

I had the gas gauge problem once. It got me worried, but it stopped and hasn't returned. I have a car built in November and haven't had any of these "early production" problems.

Have you tried another Ford dealer? I had another brand of car where the dealer I bought from was useless. I asked around and found another dealer had a better reputation and went there and was happy. Maybe you should try this approach. You might want to call a couple local Ford dealers and talk to their service reps and see if they have encountered these issues with other 05 Mustangs. If any of them have, maybe they will be better at diagnosing and fixing the problem. Remember the car is still new and some of these dealers have only seen them as new cars being sold, not repair/warranty issues.

graphicguy

As pumpkinfish mentioned, I'd find another dealer to service it.

Slow fuel fill had a TSB and your dealer did what they were supposed to do to fix it. Some of the earlier models needed the fix.

"Check Engine" light could be a number of things. Because the dealer replaced the fuel filter, I'd say you came across some bad gas. Did that take care of the issue?

munstang

Hi everyone -- I have been following this thread on the dead battery issue. My friend has an '05 Saleen that is experiencing the exact same problem. He's taken it back to the dealership 3 times, and they have given him the same exact "you can't expect a car like that to not go dead after a week..." routine. I am incensed just hearing about this and would like to know if any of you have been able to resolve this, or have made progress at all with contacting the right people. Thanks much in advance.

crobin

Im new to this forum thing so bear with me. I bought a 2005 Mustang in dec. I love it but after about 2 months the battery went dead. Dealer said they couldn't find a thing. Then after another 2 months again dead battery. I drive it about once a week. Lately it only takes a week for the battery to go dead.Any ideas???

mustangsally3

The same thing happened to my GT, and it was built in Jan. My gas hand fell below empty, an alarm went off, and then after about a couple of minutes it reset itself. The engine light also came on, but no sluggish or jerking of the engine. They replaced the fuel pump which had a bad "sender" in it and it fixed the problem. Good luck.

mustangsally3

My Sonic blue GT just got wet sanded, dusted with a layer of paint, and 3 coats of clear coat at my local Ford dealer, and it looks better than it did from the factory. I had alot of orange peel in the paint and micro-scratches. If your Ford body shop is on top of their game they can properly fix your Mustang and make it look SWEET again! I have had too many problems with my early built '05 stang but I still love it! I feel your pain...let us know how it goes!

mustangsally3

graphicguy,
Just an up-date on my sonic blue stang orange peel and micro-scratches....I left my beloved GT with our local Ford body shop while I was in the Bahamas. They disassembled the windshield, lights, etc., wet sanded the paint for over a week, dusted a coat of paint, and applied 3 layers of clear coat and it looks SWEET! It took them 3 entire weeks to complete but it looks good. They even took pictures for me along the way since I was out of the country. The paint guy restores old mustangs and took pride in this job. He may have stretched the truth a bit, but he said this was a $20,000 paint job (if I had went some where else). I've been without my car over 30 days now, but I hope it's the end of the problems. I love my stang!
mustangsally3

mustangsally3

dverespey,
Not sure I can answer your question about the "dusting with paint" comment. I am just repeating what I was told from the body shop...they explained that when they wet sand the clear coat to remove the orange peel they are sure to get down to the paint. So they said they would lightly apply a sonic blue coat of paint before the 3 coats of clear coat are sealed on. I have pictures of the whole process but I haven't taken the time to look at them. And it did take the whole 3 weeks to complete, in fact I went to pick it up on the agreed date and I had to come back at 5p.m. that day. They wanted to polish out the hood a little more. Hope I've answered your question. And thanks to whomever suggested I write down the mileage, it was just as I had left it. The Ford body shop did a good job and they said the Dupont finish has a life time warrenty (which I need to get in writting). Thanks for your interest. mustangsally3

mustangsally3

snakerbill,
Wow $26,015 for a GT conv. '06. I talked my salesman down to only $25,600 for my '05 GT (not a conv.)with leather, interior upgrade, side airbags and machined 17 inch wheels. If you don't mind me asking, what state are you in and how long before you take delivery.
mustangsally3

graphicguy

Sally....That's great to hear. I'm glad they went the extra mile for you.

Wet sanding and then "dusting" (probably put a thin coat of color on it and called it "dusting") takes a lot of time. Reapplying the clear coat (3 coats, no less) sure tells me they've got a top notch body guy) will take time, too as they have to let each coat dry before applying the next.

I agree with the dealership personnel. You got what I consider a "custome" paint job. I wonder how much they'll charge Ford for the warranty work?

All that matters is you're happy with the job.

Now go out and drive...... :shades:

tsimms

Hello, I have a 95 Mustang GT and over the past year my car has experienced a major decrease in mileage, it is getting about 13 to 15 mpg more than a third less than it had previously gotten. I took it to the dealership and they ran every test imaginable and could find no mechanical problems. The car runs completely fine. I'm pretty meticulous about maintainence and have no other problems with it. Any ideas about what might be wrong and how to fix it. Thanks

Mr_Shiftright

Please tell us:

type of engine
miles on car
where (roughly) do you live

snakerbill

I ordered a GT COUPE, not a conv. It seems to me that you got a better deal than I did, as you got leather and air bags for less than my deal. I am going to try to re nego my price if other dealers are offering the price you stated. THe equipment on my car is: Auto trans, l7 Machined wheels, interior upgrade and spoiler delete. Th e dealer told me that the price he gave me is $500 over invoice, but now I am thinking that his INVOICE number is made up. I live in Texas, where do you live?

mustangsally3

snakerbill,
I live in Virginia. I misunderstood you and thought you had a '06 GT convert. on order for less than I paid for my '05 GT Prem. Drive a hard bargain and they will work with you, if not go to another dealer. I ordered mine as listed below, hope this helps:
Sonic Blue GT Prem
Leather/dark charcoal
int upgrade package (add $401)
seat side airbags (add $ 370)
17 in. bright machined wheels (add $ 195)
environ. package ($400)
Tax, tags, title DRIVE OUT THE DOOR $27,063
The price I quoted earlier didn't have the enviro. package added or the tax, tags, title....pleased with the price. Good luck on yours!
mustangsally3

mustangsally3

graphicguy,
I'd like to know what the charged Ford too, just out of curiosity. He said he worked on it for 3 weeks.

Question: Is their any way to tell if they actually applied 3 coats (or any coats) of clear coat?

I noticed tiny bug chip marks on the front lip of the hood that I could have swore were their before I took it to them. And there is "wax" residue inside the little chips that I wouldn't have expected to still be there. Put it this way, whatever they did, it looks much better than before. They also say the Dupont finish is guaranteed for life. Thanks for your interest and time in responding.
mustangsally3

tsimms

My car is a V8 engine, there are only about 60,000 miles on it and I live in OK.

Mr_Shiftright

Tell you what...for one or two tanks...inflate your tires to maximum recommended, and run just one type of gas----let's say shell---and see what happens.

Actually 17 mpg is within EPA specs for your car.

pos05gt

well here is the update. After i took my car back into the shop I got it back two days later on Wednesday. It was running great but past experience didn't allow me to get to excited. so I drove the car wednesday and thursday. By Friday the Wrench had turned on and the gas dropped to empty again and the gas light indicator came on. back to the shop yesterday. They told me to call them on monday. I was discussing this issue with the service manager and he stated there was another car that was having similar issues and i asked him what the resolution was with that car and he said they had to buy the car back after they had an engineer come out and he didn't know how to fix the problem. The code that its been reading is p0463. They told me they were going to put a fuel cleaner in the tank. I mentioned that this had already been done but i was told that according to the oasis message it recommends that it be repeated a second time. The service manager didn't seem like he had much hope for fixing this issue but mentioned that ford was supposed to be creating some new input sensors that should fix the issue. I think he is just going through the issues until they buy it back. :lemon:

tsimms

I always use Phillips 66 because I have their card, The car used to get about 330 miles on a full tank of gas in mixed driving, and now gets about 200. Prior to noticing the gas mileage I was only driving in the city and not really venturing onto the highway for about 6 months, during this time the car got about 230 miles in city driving. As soon as I started going on the highway a lot more I noticed the mileage was about the same in mixed driving and within a few weeks it had gone down to 200 miles per tank. Any ideas? Thanks.

Mr_Shiftright

Well all I can say is you may have to run it on a dynomometer and see if its running way rich at part or full throttle or what's going on with it. There's so much than can affect fuel mileage, from tire pressure to faulty injectors to head winds to driver habits to differential ratios....it's really hard to say what's going on with your car.

tsimms

Thanks anyway. My car drove the dealership crazy because they couldn't find anything wrong with the car. Every test they ran checked out fine, so if they couldn't find anything maybe it's just a fluke thing. It's really rough considering the rise in gas prices, but the car runs absolutely fine otherwise. It's really baffling.

jagsowner

She loves the ca - Redfire - and the spoiler so I didnt need to be worried about it. Smooth and throaty just like the old 1967 289 but with 2005 technology. What a beautiful car; the family van is now gathering dust. She loves it!.

paige3764

Welcome to my world. I have a 2005 Mustang GT Premium and I have had to have the rear axle assembly replaced three times now and the car has been in the shop for a total of 21 days. And it only has 7,000 miles on it!

I agree, I too love the car, but having these problems so early in the game is very scary. It hate to think what is going to happen at 30,000.

All in all, don't forget... after all, the stang is still a FORD.

golde

I think I may have the same issue with my 05 GT . It really runs lousy at low speeds and is difficult to drive and shift because of it.
What is the TSB for this issue so that I don't have to take my stang back for the 3rd time?

hughes200

Ever since the front end suspension was fixed for the popping sound, I now get a sound coming from the steering column. When I turn the wheel, it sounds like a spring is being wound up in the steering column or like it's filled with marbles. It's very annoying and occurs whenever the wheel is turned. Has anyone else experienced this?

jhipster

Hi chris 72
on my 05 gt mustang i had the crown and pinion replaced for a howling noise.
but it still is howling the same as the day i bought it.
be sure they add the frictionator modifier to the gear lube, they forgot to add it when the differential was replaced and what a shuttering i had then.
please let me know the details of what they replaced on your rear axel assembly to fix your problems.
thanks jhipster

hot_rod

I had something similar happen last week. I haven't had any popping noises though. It had been raining and a friend told me that my car was making an awful noise. When I stopped and opened the door to listen, I didn't hear anything unusual. I left my window rolled down and as soon as I took off, I heard this god-awful noise. It sounded like metal dragging the ground and it was even making the noise when I was driving 60 mph. There wasn't anything hanging that I could see, but driving it for a few miles with the window down helped me to hear it better. The noise only happened when I made right turns. If I turned left, I wouldn't hear it except when the wheel was straightening up. It stopped making the noise after driving it for about 20 miles at 60 mph. I took it to ford the next morning for them to look at. The service writer told me "If it isn't making the noise, then it will be hard for us to diagnose." Needless to say, they couldn't find anything wrong with it and it hasn't made that kind of noise since. I just assumed that road debris or something was stuck somewhere and then came out on my way home that night.

otterway

I have an intermitant problem that I hope someone can help me with. I have an Automatic GT '05 and find that in full throttle acceleration from 0 to 130 MPH I get a hesitation between gear shifts. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does it is a noticeable delay before the next gear is selected and allowed to roar on to the next.
Ive never had an Auto tranny before so is this expected :confuse: Most gear changes are smooth and unnoticeable. It only happens when I am ragging it.
Thanks

vppreacher

I have a manual, but I seem to remember in my readings that the Autos have a programming "delay" made to protect the car when you are ripping it up. I would suggest talking with a good tuner and see if they can use a Diablosport or SCT tune to remove the delay. I've heard resetting the programmer does wonders for the shift points and also can give you significant horsepower gains. Combine the tune with a CAI and you have a nice bump in hp/torque.

juster

I have an 05 Mustang Sonic Blue v6 and the rear emblem fills up with water when I wash the car or it rains. Has anyone else had this problem? You may have it and not realize it. Best to check, I could see a problem with future rust under the emblem. To see if yours holds water, after you wash your car, open the trunk and water will come down each side of the trunk lid. I just took mine to the dealership and they said they were going to order another emblem, we will see if that fixs the problem? I love my Stang, but this is just the latest problem...

snakerbill

I cancelled my order for the GT Coupe. These cars are junk and they use too much three dollar per gallon gas. My friend said his gets l3MPG overall, and it has been in the shop six times in two months. Goodby Ford.

pos05gt

Another update about my car problem. Ford has had my car now for approximately 5 days since my last update. I have a conference call scheduled with a Ford engineer and a district manager tomorrow (1Sep05), if any of you have any concerns/problems/questions that you'd like me to mention to the engineer please post it here. I do apologize for the short notice, I found out just a few hours ago this will be taking place early tomorrow morning, so please post up tonight.

Others that are experiencing simliliar problems, please include the build date and location/plant the car was built. Ford believes this problem only pertains to those of us in the South West due to the quality of the gasoline. Specifically high amounts of sulphur in the gas found locally in South Western states.

vppreacher

Your friend should check into his local state's lemon law policies. I have a drastically different experience with a GT coupe. You have a right to your opinion, but your opinion just isn't supported by the facts. The Mustang is a great car....and that's coming from a longtime Honda/Toyota buyer.

graphicguy

snaker....I didn't know you were still in the market for a Mustang. As I mentioned before, the Mustang is going to be nothing like your Accord....aside from the fact both have 4-wheels. I believe I relayed my story to you about the lady who had a Solara (which she thought was a "sports car"), and traded it in on a Mustang GT. She didn't like the rumble it made or the firm ride. Therefore, she was claiming it was defective.

IIRC, you had test drove the Mustang GT and thought it rode too stiff anyway. So again, I'm surprised you ordered one.

Calling Mustangs "junk" is out of line, in my humble estimation. Based on your past posts about your Accord problems and your perception of the Mustang, I suggested you look elsewhere.

As a side note, I just returned from a 700 mile trip in my Mustang. Got 24-26 MPG on every fill-up. Great trip! Great ride!

May I suggest a Camry? Or maybe a Solara?

Mr_Shiftright

Thanks for mentioning that. This forum isn't for "brand-bashing". Constructive criticism is okay but the forum is primarily for owners looking for solutions or potential buyers looking for sound advice. There are plenty of comparo forums here at Edmunds if you want to compare Mustangs to other cars.

thank you

Shifty the Host

dogone

Does anyone have a recommendation for the 2005 GT between the Diablosport or the SCT? Also, what CAI do people suggest? I hear the combination of a tuner and a CAI not only adds horsepower, but increases MPG. Is that truth or fiction?

bbuddy214

I have a 2005 Mustang V6 with 1600 miles on it. Tonight I filled the gas tank and after about 15 miles the fuel tank gauge went to empty. The low fuel indicator light then came on. Then the check engine light came on. Within a minute the fuel tank indicator went back to full and the fuel light went out. The check engine light stayed on. The car seems to be running fine. Anyone have any ideas on what is wrong??? Thank!

cigarmanblue

I've put about 250 miles on my 06' GT since I picked it up 1 1/2 weeks ago, no problems until friday night i started hearing a sound coming from under the car, possibly the rear. It sounds like "pssst", maybe air shooting out of somewhere I cant tell, its quick and only happens when I'm driving forward. Any ideas ?

graphicguy

Did you pick up a piece of metal or glass that would cause a leak in one of the tires? That's the only thing I could think of that would cause that sound.