Ford Mustang (2005 & newer) Problems and Solutions

mustang6

I hadn't even read the entire manual yet and it is with the car in the dealership but in every other car I have owned the parking brake is designed to be used as I did. Which is why I don't understand what happened, obviously something didn't work. It wasn't ford corporate that said that it was the dealership. Just getting the run around and worried they are going to give me the car back and say all better without doing anything with a brake that doesn't seem to hold. I wasn't parked on a 45 degree angle.

I have heard of other ford cars doing that as well. One of the guys at the dealership said it happened to his son's ford focus, but his car was in neutral with the brake pulled tight. Another was in his driveway with his son in the car.

Mr_Shiftright

If it's a steep hill, then no, the E-brake isn't designed to hold a car without locking it in gear or curbing the wheels. The problem is with disk brakes the e-brake shoes are these tiny little suckers.

But the e-brake should hold on a slight downhill grade.

jb_turner

Something does not sound right about this. But we are only hearing one side of the story.

graphicguy

I agree with Shifty. Those little disks aren't goint to hold a car on a steep incline or decline on any car.

What's confusing me is someone heard a "pop" that witnessed this debacle. If the car did indeed pop out of gear, then the next tooth in the gear set should have "caught" it. If it was driveable, and you didn't notice any problems with the tranny, then it's more likely that you "thought" you had it in 1st when parked, but maybe not?

Mr_Shiftright

Sometimes folks don't yank HARD enough on the lever. Sounds like this might have happened. It's not "natural" to yank it to the extreme tightness, as people feel this will damage it somehow, but to be safe and sure you have to really lock that sucker.

I would say (and really this is just idle speculation) that if, after the accident, someone could have walked up to the e-brake lever and gotten two or three more clicks out of it, then that's the driver's bitter pill to swallow. But if it was cranked up as tight as it would go, and IF the hill was not too extreme, it should have held.

I guess now that the car is damaged iit's kind of a moot point and we'll never know who was at fault. I suppose you could hire onen of those $500 an hour accident reconstruction guys, but if your car is insured, maybe the best you can do is fix it up and write it off to back luck.

mustang6

When the cop was there we yanked the brake up as hard as we could and it we could, it only went up one click. I know this seems very unlikely, I could hardly believe it myself. I am just unsatisfied and a little afraid it will happen again and this time hurt people. Then I am on notice of the defect and can be held liable for big time money if I get sued.

Hill wasn't too bad, it was on the flat part before the descent. I am irish and know all about bad luck, but this seems ridiculous that they wouldn't replace the brake out of goodwill for someone who recently purchased their first ford.

canddmeyer

Research the NHTSA for similar issues. Make a complaint online if you are sure of your circumstances. I also say it should have held the hill unless it was out of adjustment, in which case you shoulda had that fixed before 'testing' it on the hill. My new (at the time) 4Runner also wouldn't hold a hill in neutral til the parking brake was adjusted. That was my test. I always park in gear, but tested it in neutral to insure the integrity and usefulness of the parking brake, found it to be out of adjustment, and had the dealer rectify the issue. I've always used the parking brake, but found my auto-tranny (PARK) was holding the hill with virtually no assist from the parking brake and rolling when in neutral, so I had it taken care of immediately. Sorry to hear about your Stang. I'd be mortified.

lateralg

I question this.

How about a couple of you conducting a test?

Firmly apply the PARKING brake, then try to drive away.

Mr_Shiftright

yes, but do it in REVERSE as if you were rolling backwards...that's part of the problem I think.

heatho

Without knowing it, I tested this yesterday... My E-brake holds fine. I parked on a VERY steep hill in neutral and the car held fine. Also this afternoon I tried going in reverse with the e-brake on and the car didn't move.

Mr_Shiftright

I tried it on mine, too. I could move in reverse but only after a lot of commotion (I have a V8 car). But I did crank up on that handle very hard and I do keep the brake adjusted as part of maintenance.

I guess there's a fine line here between success and failure. If the brake isn't on tight or the cable is too slack then those tiny shoes just don't have quite the grip they need.

canddmeyer

Be careful y'all.....your testing could break something while driving with the e-brake on, especially if you have rear drum brakes....It's $200 to the dealer if you blow it....drum brakes have a pin holding the shoes...it'll bend bend if you try this for any measurable distance killing the e-brake function. I did this once myself, then loaned my Z71 to my dad who did it again. I don't recommend pushing your luck in drive. Just thot you'd like to know. It's better tested in neutral.

Mr_Shiftright

Thanks for the tip. I was hoping people wouldn't STAND on it, but.....

a gentle tap on the gas would do....

I need to replace my rear pads and rotors REAL soon anyway, so I'm okay with it.

Frightening thing when your car rolls away. I'm really sorry that happened and glad nobody was injured. I hope once the car is repaired that the e-brake system is given a good going over.

Digression---my friends MG broke loose, same kind of thing, no explanation. He lived on a slight hill near a classic car restoration shop, and his MG flew right past a Mercedes Gullwing into a flower bed. That could have been a $300,000 insurance claim and he's a carpenter. Can you say "Slave for Life"?

graphicguy

Thanks for the update. What can we derive from this.....?

Always have your car either in park or in gear when you stop. Always put the e-brake on firmly (even to the last click). If you do that, there should be no problem.

Good luck....as other's said, that's what you carry insurance for. Just consider it a lesson learned.

ambull

Mustang6 did what you suggest. More is needed:
1) turn wheels right for downhill or left for uphill
2) put in 1st for uphill or reverse for downhill
3) put wedges under tires
4)chain car to nearby large tree or fire hydrant
5)let air out of all tires

3-5 are optional

graphicguy

LOL! Not to make light of the situation, but it does sound like chaining the Mustang to a stationery object and letting the air out of the tires may be the best way to go here.

The Mustang wants to run.....even when parked.

In all seriousness though, I think Shifty has it right. The e-brake on any car won't hold on steeper inclines/declines. Also, it's smart to make absolutely certain that any car is in a gear or park (automatics) when parking it.

On a few occasions, I thought I had my car (not the Mustang) in gear, when in reality I didn't. Nothing bad came about, but I thought "boy, I'm lucky the car didn't roll away".

mustang6

THanks for all the advice, even though I am still baffled. Car was in gear, I thought -- we figured that was the loud pop that came from the car before it started to roll was it popping out of gear. I guess since the dealership repairing the body work says the brake is fine I will take it somewhere else. I am going to request a custom pair of blocks from Ford to put in front or behind when I park.
I have been parking on that slight incline for five years in a dodge stealth (boy i miss that ride) and recently an acura. Never had a problem, always drove a manual transmission. Thank god for insurance, never thought I would say that.

chris72

I'm PO'd guys... Just got back from getting my 5000 mile service from the dealer on my '05 Stang, and have a problem with a loud "humming" or "whine" from the rear on 40mph and above. Turns out to be a problem with the rear axel assembly. They're ordering part and will replace under warranty. Also have problem with power windows on both sides disappearing in to the door at times.... There should be a very small portion of the window still visible when windows are fully down... They're replacing the regulators (found out they are defective) under warranty. I've got the gas tank problem as I've read from many in the forum... Gotta mention that when I go back to the dealer... I love the '05 Stang but don't like these problems early in the game. Do you all think these are glitches of a "new" redesigned model? I know that some new models have their kinks to work out, but at 5000 miles, it's a bit ridiculous, huh?!?!

snow3

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/
I found the tsb's on this website....This wasn't anything familiar at our particular dealership..or with Ford from what they said....That is why Ford requested the rearend be shipped directly back to them...

snow3

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums
If you can't find your answer hear you might be able to find something here...I jump back and forth to find out information. Good Luck. I am getting my replacement shaker 500 this week....My dealership just ordered it when I told them off my problems...

alexworden

Hi,

Next time you're in you '05 GT, please try revving the engine to 3200 / 3300 rpm or there abouts and check if there is a significant vibration that shakes the whole car - it feels like you are driving over those bumps on the side of the freeway that are designed to tell you that you're drifting out of your lane. My new Mustang does this in neutral (when stationary) and when driving in any gear. It's clearly an engine vibration.

I took it to the dealer and they're telling me that it's "perfectly normal" and that thay have another '05 GT that does the same thing.

I need to know if other mustangs do this to decide what my next action is. I hope that it is just my car so that the dealer will fix it somehow. Otherwise, if they all do it, I guess we're all stuck with a bad design that's going to significantly shorten the engine life - and Ford should do something about it.

So please - give this a try and post back a.s.a.p.

Thanks,

Alex

lateralg

Please confirm that it does it in any gear at that RPM.

If it does it only in neutra, then I believe what you're experiencing is the rev-limiter activating and either shutting off fuel, or interrupting the ignition.

If I'm right, you should experience smooth operation as you gradually increase engine speed from ~1000 RPM. It will then abruptly get very rough as the limiter activates.

This IS normal. Try it on any car produced in the last few years.

This is a GOOD design that prevents scattering the engine at no-load, high RPM.

graphicguy

Just parked mine back in the garage. Had it from 3200 rpms-3300 rpms several times. No problem here. Even tried it while parked in the garage....still no problems.

5twenty

I have 16,000 miles on my manual 05 GT and have never experience any kind of vibrations, especially of the magnatude that you describe. Maybe it's time to try a different dealer?

5twenty

When you have your Shaker replaced make sure the technician READS THE TSB and does the proper programming or the lights on your buttons won't work when they're done.

alexworden

Hi,

It does it in any gear and in neutral, whether the engine is under load or not. You only really have to keep it at those rpm to feel the vibrations for about 1/2 a second but if you're accellerating through those rpm's you could miss it. We first noticed it when driving at those RPMs on the freeway - it's the kind of rpm when you're deciding if you're going to overtake or not. Like I say - it's pretty bad and feel like you're driving with your tires on the outside of a lane.

I'll have to try taking it to another dealer I guess. I just had a very bad experience with Ford customer service. They basically agree with the dealer and are telling me it is normal for the car and every GT vibrates badly at those RPM's. This is based upon the dealer claiming to test *one* other GT they had in stock and it doing the same thing. I said - errr... so based on 2 cars doing this, you claim it's normal. She said yes. What is the deal with all these total morons that work in garages these days. What happened to the guys that cared about cars. There's clearly something wrong with it but all they do is look for excuses not to fix the problem.

Personally I think they're lying about testing another GT since they didn't have any others in stock that morning but conveniently did have that afternoon. Either way, the Ford hotline have never heard of this problem. Aparently the 'computer' doesn't report any faults, so 'it is normal'. I said - if the car had square wheels, the computer wouldn't report a fault - and which point the nice customer service lady got a bit stroppy and informed me she basically didn't want to know and I was within my rights to seek legal advice etc etc etc...

If dealers won't do anything that the Ford hotline doesn't already know about, how does the Ford hotline ever learn about these faults. It's catch 22 lunacy!

Get this... They told me I shouldn't drive it at those RPMs and should change gear sooner... They litterally said that it's acceptible because not everyone would drive it at those RPMs. I can't believe what I'm hearing here. I sold my SVT Cobra to buy this car. It never had a problem like this. No car I've EVER DRIVEN has had a problem like this. So guys - the REAL RED LINE of a Mustang GT is 3100 rpm. That's official from the Ford hotline. GREAT!

I asked her what my options were and she basically said I had none. I'm stuck with the car. :lemon: I asked if I could return the car and get my money back - aparently I can't. Does anyone know where I can get good legal advice on this. The car only has 600 miles on it. I don't want it if it drives like this. I know it will not last long before something horrible goes wrong with the engine - probably just when my warranty runs out.

If anyone from Ford is reading this - YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS!

pumpkinfish

I tried it in my auto tranny and it is smooth up the the rev limiter. I think you should try a different dealer.

Good luck!

graphicguy

Have your service tech go with you on a test drive and point out to them what you're hearing/feeling. IT would be very tough to notice if it only occurs for 1/2 second.

I don't think you are going to have much luck with the lemon law here. But, talk to a lawyer, if that's your inclination.

lateralg

I now think you have a valid complaint. I would politely request that you evaluate another car, along with the service writer. Then, the two of you evaluate your car. Take notes with names, who said what, time, date & findings at every step.

If they don't honor this reasonable request, contact the dealership owner.

Check on the internet for the lemon law for your state.

bummed2

I just got my GT Convertible. It drives great, but I noticed a greasy/oily odor, then a stripe across my shirt where the seat belt goes. At first I thought maybe the mechanism had been over oiled at the factory, but it got steadily worse. Turns out there was a hydraulic seal for the convertible top that was broken, and had soaked the cloth part of the seat belt with fluid. They are "having problems" according to my dealer, and the part is on back order. Anyone having the same problem? It's not bad if you don't mind smelling like you bath in WD-40.

alexworden

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. It seem like nobody else has this issue so It's just my car. In answer to other posts..

This doesn't happen for just 1/2 a second. If you stick at those rpms, it is constant. This happens while driving at constant speed in any gear in those rpms. It also happens in neutral with the car stationary at those same RPMS

We went for a test drive with the service manager. He did feel the vibration. He immediately tried to fob us off with a 'That's totally normal and within operation specifications'.

I'm going to test drive a brand new GT at 12:30 today. The fleet manager who sold me the car is really taking care of me and seems to be the *only* person from Ford that's on my side with this issue. He's coming with me to the holding area and allowing me to 'unofficially' check out the GT to see if it has the same problem.

Thanks again for checking this out. If any other GT owners would check for bad vibrations at around 3300 rpms I'd be very grateful of your feedback.

Thanks,

Alex

houstonsmaug

3100 RPM is cruising speed in fifth. No problems with vibration.

airman23

Got my 05 GT in January, built in Nov of 04... Taking it to the shop because I am hearing a clicking noise when I am driving slowly in places like parking lots. I am also having problems with my Shaker 1000 ... the radio seems to be turning up and down by itself... i know that there is a speed control for the volume but i turned it off. I have a friend with an 05 gt as well ... he was hearing the same clicking noise as I am hearing and he said that it caused him to get into a car accident. He told me that the strut went out and he couldn't control the steering. It is at the dealership right now... i saw it and the rims are even bent back. I hope that none of us experienence the same thing, thats why I am getting mine checked before it happens to me. I really love my Stang, so I hope that the dealer can fix the problems I am having with it.

5twenty

There is a TSB available for the clicking/popping noise coming from the front end. The dealer will replace major front suspension components. I have had my GT since November and have 16,000 miles. The front end noise has been a problem since about 3000 miles. It's taken this long to get a fix for this widespread problem. Take it straight in to your dealer and tell them to look for the front end popping noise TSB.

alexworden

Hi,

In case anyone is interested.. I did go check out a brand new 05 GT mustang yesterday and it does have the same problem between 3100-3300 rpms. There is noticable vibration from the engine - but it was not as severe as in my car. I took the fleet manager over to try my car and he agreed it is much worse. I picked up my car anyway and drove it home. It bug me that it vibrates every time I coast and the revs pass back through those rpms.

The good news is that they finally contacted somebody at Ford and their engineers are not investigating the issue and may issue a TSB. Stay tuned...

howieheels

Just got my Stang and I too have a thunk sound when shifting from park to reverse. I was told that this was a known Ford problem for years. I have a friend with one and his is smooth shifting with no sounds. Was wondering if you got yours fixed?

lavrishevo

Hey guys and gals:
I was just screwing around on the net and found this forum and honestly I almost wish I didn't....lol I just got my V6 Auto two days ago and it only has 170 miles on it and I notice the thunk in changing between R and D, seems not to be so bad going from P to D. It did not come off as being a serious problem to me but maybe others have had some issue's with this. I looked at my build date (driver side door sticker) and it's 11/04 and I have the shaker 500 A as well. I did notice that it skipped once on a burned cd I put it but it did this only on one track for about 1-2 seconds. Has not done it with any other CD's I have put in. With any of you who have had this skipping problem does it do it all the time, what are the symptoms? Have not had any problems with popping sounds from front end or noise from the rear end but maybe cause the thing has such low miles. I don't have the gas tank issue either but most likely that is because of the build date. Another question is where do you guys get the TSB's from? Are they posted on the net somewhere or maybe there are some ford tech's who are sharing with us? I have a good friend who is a very qualified mechanic at the dealership where I purchased my car and I am wondering if I should show him these TSB's and maybe do preventive maintance? I don't know if that is even possible but I am hoping I did not make a mistake in buying this car, I need something reliable and I do hope it will be. Appreciate any help or advice you guys might share.

Daniel

graphicguy

Drive your Mustang. It's build on reliable stock. Aside from a few small problems here and there (none of which I've experienced with my GT), it will prove to be mucho fun and reliable for years to come.

5twenty

The 05 Mustang is the first ever Mustang to be designed from a clean sheet of paper, from the ground up. Even the very first 1964-1/2 Mustang was built on a Falcon chassis. With a completely new design you should expect some growing pains. It's part of the price of having the newest, coolest car in town.

I've experienced many of the problems stated on this board BUT in spite of that I love the Mustang and you will, too. Just remember the car hasn't had years of production to work out all of the bugs. Just be patient, make your dealer service department fix the problems and you'll love your Mustang as much as I do.

Everywhere I go people say my 05 Mustang GT is the coolest car on the road today. I hear that from everyone from little kids to grandparents, from BMW guys to EVEN a Corvette guy or two.

You didn't make a mistake, you're just ahead of the curve. Or is that, throwing your muscle car into the curve.

5twenty

Are you talking about an automatic tranny? 3100 RPM and 5th gear in my manual equals over 100 MPH. Oh, right, cruising speed.

brushbandit

It's not designed from a "clean sheet of paper". It's a spin off of the Lincoln LS platform, the same as the " Retro" T-bird that had it's share off creaks and thuds.

lavrishevo

Hey Guys:
I recently chatted with the people who make the Xcalibrator, a well know tuning device for the 05 GT and he told me he is currently working on a tune for the V6. I think this is great news. I have already found shorty headers and a few other basic mods for the V6 but there seems to be a whole lot less then the GT, but this is not to surprising. If anyone comes across an intake system for the 05 V6 not just the stock K&N filter please post it and let me know. I think if more people are interested and let the manufactures know that the V6 crowd wants these parts as well we will get them.

graphicguy

There's not much that's the same between a Mustang and T-Bird platform. In Mustang guise, it's very highly modified. I think in convertible form, I've yet to hear anyone who has been disappointed in the Mustang. Whereas, the T-Bird WAS creaky, underpowered, smallish, etc for the amount of money they wanted for one.

5twenty

If you want to split hairs, the new Mustang uses 31% of of the DEW98 chassis that is on the Lincoln LS and Jaguar S-Type. None of which involves suspension or anything else that affects the handling of the car. It is significantly stiffer than the afformentioned cars and has none of the creaks or thuds of those cars either. I know because I've driven my Mustang GT more miles than just about anyone anywhere, over 18,000 as of today.

graphicguy

18,000 miles? Yowza!

I don't think you can fault either the Jag nor the LS with the way they drive/handle. Good platform to start with.

5twenty....you should know more about the new Mustang than any of us with as much experience as you've had.

suspen

I own an 05 GT, Just wanted to post my car is being repaired at the dealer for a popping noise coming from the front suspension. What they are repairing are the upper strut bearings which enables the spring to turn when the spring is compressed and sleeves are being put on the ends of the spring for friction lub/ to reduce friction. I have also had the cd player replaced.

tha1

Hey guys - help me out

I got my 05 GT Mustang - Auto transmission last Friday. Since I have gotten it I have noticed a few things:
1.) Hesitation is bad in low speed shifting - really notice it when stepping off the gas and then reapplying or from rolling stop to a start. Almost feels like it is misfiring or that the engine starts to rev a little and then the car goes.
2.) Today I put it in reverse and the engine reved but I did not go in reverse, tried a second time - same thing - third time then it reversed.
3.) After driving for a while - when I get out of the car I smell sort of a burning smell - thinking this may be the rear brakes or possibly the exhaust - since it seems to be coming from the rear.

I am bringing it in for service, but I am very concerned because when I talked to the service manager - he said that this is the first he has heard of those things happening on the mustang. I love the car, but have a bittersweet time driving it right now with the problems. Call me a pessimist, but I just hear the "we could not produce the problem" coming at me tomorrow.

Let me know what you guys think and any suggestions on what to do?

Thanks

brushbandit

I'm not splittng hairs. It's commen knowledge that Ford has a TSB out for creaking, popping, thud, whatever on the '05 Mustang. Read through the threads, it's a problem. You're lucky you don't have it. And using a previous platform isn't a "clean sheet of paper".

graphicguy

Go to a different dealer service dept. I've got a manual tranny and can't comment about those with an automatic.

New cars will have some of that "smell" since parts and their coatings burn off. Nothing to be alarmed about. It should go away as you put more miles on it.

gt9

i just tried mine and on vibration. any where. it dont take a genius to figure out that you have a problem. any vibration is bad. if your dealer is telling you this they just dont want to fix it. go to another dealer and tell them about the vibration. see what they tell you. if you dont like that then call detroit. that will help. if you are sitting still with the motor at 3100r's push in on the clutch if it still vibrates its the motor if not its the transmission.