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Ford Mustang (2005 & newer) Problems and Solutions
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Comments
But as far as the 200-2004 Mustangs go, they are by far the best design since the 1969-1970 Mustang design. They are also decent in quality if compared to the 2005/2006 Mustang. The 2000-2004 Mustangs have fewer problems and minor problems than the 2005/2006 Mustang. You will be doing yourself a big favor by keeping away from the 2005/2006 Mustang and instead buying yourself a 2000-2004 Mustang with very low miles on it. There are many out there.
Its your V6 loaded?
As far as the other comments about the 00-04 models. They are far from the most reliable mustang built. Do a search in google and pull up some articles.
Also, I do not believe that the problems with the 05/06 are with the majority of them. Not to mention, I don't consider the problems such as fuel tank filling, front end noise, etc as major problems. They are all small fixes that can we done relativly quickly.
Not to mention, back on terms of quality...did you know the 05/06 models have 8 knock censors, thats right 8, one per cyclinder. Man if anything goes wrong with the engine, or something ain't quite right, the car will throw out a code before anything serious happens. Ford did their homework with this engine.
A smaller Pony car, which is lighter would be a hit. Better on gas and a V6 would be fast enough.
-Loren
MSN Auto: Reliability excellent.
JD Powers mechanical looks like an excellent rating as well.
The 2005 is rated lower on JD Powers for mechanical than the 2004.
The 2005 and 2006 overall is a pretty good rating. And I would imagine compared to other Ford and GM cars of the past is pretty darn good for the first year. That said, it looks like some new car issues have come up. Not being able to fill the tank with gas is no small issue. Weird noises can drive one mad, as in crazy. Perhaps the 2007 cars will not have the problems that should have been taken care of last year.
The current and past model Mustang is something I will consider for a next car. Do they match Japan or Korean car reliability, that is another question?
-Loren
My girlfriend bought a NEW 2000 328 coupe, and we had things that had to be fixed on that car, (ie c/d player, outside door handles, bad battery that had to be replaced after 3 weeks), but I don't think it is a piece of crap because of those things. It is a fine automobile. I cannot think of any of my Mustangs that didn't have to have something fixed under warrantee.
Ford does stand behind these cars, maybe a few dealers try to get away without honoring the warrantee, but all you have to do is find another dealer. ALL of my problems were fixed by a dealer that I DID NOT buy the car from, and were taken care of with the upmost courtesy and professionalism.
If these cars are as bad as you think, why do they hold their value so well? A check of the KBB will show that my GT is worth, (even on a trade-in), every penny I paid for it new. Why are used GT's on dealer lots, still bringing close to their original prices?
And no, the car is NOT crap, and I do know of people having no problems. The problems you had on your car however seem to be had by quite a few people. And the JD Powers shows this in comparison to 2004 model year. And once again, no it is not a terrible rating or an awful car. It is pretty solid. Wish they had other coupes too. Maybe the Fairlane 500 RWD coupe would be cool. No not the SUV thing they had a shows - a real Fairlane 500, with an inline 6 and the V8.
Should be interesting to see if the V6 changes in the Stang. My guess is that the 25MPG with an automatic is not going to cut it when gas hits $3.50 a gallon this summer. The 28 MPG with a stick ain't too bad, but I imagine lots of Mustangs have the automatic matched to the V6. Wish they had an inline 6, with gas mileage around 30 MPG. That would make a cool 2007 model.
-Loren
You may or may not realize that the 2005 Mustang was a near completely NEW car, with a new platform. Nearly all NEW models in any car line will have "teething problems", and why are we talking about Japan or Korean cars, this is a Mustang forum.
By the way, what is it YOU drine??????
What is it YOU drive???????
car is trouble free, if it doesn't have troubles to begin with.
I have owned the '65 year Mustang, as well as, the '85 model year. Maybe consider the '04 used, or perhaps the '07, while now shying away from the current year due to teething problems, as you put it.
I have owned lots of different makes. The Ford Mustang ranks somewhere in the middle for reliability, of those I have owned.
-Loren
Oh heavens, they decommissioned the boats years ago. Yes, the car! The m1miata user name dates back to when I had a model 1st generation 1996 Miata, thus m1 class or miata, or m1miata. True sports cars, though a skosh small.
-Loren
Again, 2004 and below models do not compare to 05/06. Handling, build quality, chassis, power, etc all ranked better. The 05/06 has even been said to handle better then the 03/04 Cobras with IRS!! Not to mention I can attest to that fact since I own a 2003 Cobra.
Have fun, and calm down, we are just talking about a cars problem areas, and solutions, nothing to get hot and bothered about. Enjoy your old car - new car, or whatever. I am sure the '06 will be just fine for many people. Some have a different view. Personally, I would wait for the '07. It is not a life or death decision one way or another. It is a car. I do appreciate Ford and Chevy for keeping the Pony Car and America's Sports Car in the car line-up for so many years. Some years have been better than others.
Your '03 Cobra is a good car. Certainly would not knock the Mustang overall.
-Loren
I own a 05 Mustang GT also. Hence the forum name cobragt.
I understand what we are talking about, I guess I just get a little heated when it seems like people who don't own a car, or don't know much about it (not saying you don't, just in general) start bashing, or what seems like it, a certain car.
I mean, go look at the Infiniti G35. (Nissan 350Z) There are forums about people who are having like 50 rust spots all of a sudden come through their paint on their car. They took it to dealerships and it appears to be something with the bonding procedure on that car. Now thats a BIG problem. If I paid over $30k for a car, I wouldn't want my paint to be rusting away.
Every car is gonna have its problems. Its the severity of those problems that need to be looked at.
Consumer Reports states that the reliability of the V8 is average, but the V6 is below average. Any clue as to what they are referring to? I was thinking of possibly getting a V6 some day, and the 4.0 is an old tried and true engine used in the Explorer, unless I am wrong. The only thing I can think of was the issue, I won't bring up again, or the way the owners view their car. By that, maybe the V8 = GT owners are not as nit picky about the little items and thus under-report some things compared to V6 owners.
Or maybe another strange report from Consumer Reports. I mean to say, I can not figure out some times how they come to some conclusions.
People here on this board are pretty adamant about the merits of buying todays Stang vs. say the 2004, and I appreciate that. They have been convincing enough,that I will now be considering New Stang over previous models.
Really would love to once again own a V8. My last V8 was the 289 in my '65 Mustang I traded in in 1973 on an Opel Manta Rallye. Seem the dang gas prices are always getting in the way, as is insurance. Current Mustang V8 vs. V6 gas mileage looks pretty close though.
Do you think the V8 is more reliable than is the V6?
Out of curiosity, did you consider the Corvette before buying the Cobra? Has your experience with Ford product been better than with GM? My last Stang was a 4 banger one bought in 1985 model year. Yes, I must have had sunstroke that day, or something, and was dazed and confused. It was so inexpensive, yet so stupid a buy when I should have bought the V8 that year. Would have kept it longer. I really wasn't thinking straight - gas mileage wasn't worth it.
-Loren
It is true that the gas mileage on the sticker is not much of a difference but in reality it is more then it seems. The V6 diffidently has better mileage overall. Maybe the GT is more conducive towards having a lead foot but none the less I am thourghly in love with my 06 GT and it would be my pick. Just a thought
D
Taking it in the shop on saturday for oil change, but going to have that stuff looked at. The car only has 12200- miles on it. Good thing it has a warranty I guess. :confuse:
I may trade it in on a Mustang, or some other car. Was also looking at the Tiburon.
The Mustang warranty is just three years, but that is only one factor in a buying decision. Overall, the car looks like a pretty fair price, and I see some building up on the lots. My bet is that $2ooo discounts may be coming. Maybe I will be in one in a year or two.
Wonder if there is any noticeable difference on the interior or exterior for 2007?
-Loren
great but after reading these posts and thinking back to 2000 when I thought the Durango R/T looked great and it turned out to be a piece, I don't want to go through that again. I travel for a living and currently have a Scion Xb, mileage is great, it has had no problems at all but the road noise and the motor turning 4000rpm at highway speed are driving me nuts. The mustang I drove seemed smooth and comfortable and only turned 2000rpm at highway speeds but I can't afford to have something that is in the shop all of the time
I suggest you get someone to take a look at your alternator. If your alternator is bad, then that would explain why your car doesn't start even when its a new battery. If it is bad, then a new battery will quickly loose its charge, and you won't be able to start the car.
key in the switch.
Are you parking yours with the key in the switch?
The dealer discovered this and thought
there was a serious problem.
He said all ford cars stay "alive" for 45 minutes
before going to standby except the Mustang. It's
alive if the key is in the switch and never goes
to standy by even if there is no activity.
Since the dealer appears to be baffled, I thought that I would ask if anyone else has had this problem and if they had any success at repair. What was the cause?
Any input will be greatly appreciated
D
This has been a well covered problem by myself as well as other in this thread. I own a GT and I am not 100% sure if it applies to your V6, but it may give you some insight for the dealer to look at.
At both 1200-1300 RPM and again at 3100-3200 RPM there is a vibration due to a faulty exhuast hanger, which happens to be attached at the crossmember.
Here is a picture.
The piece that is right in the front of where the guys hands are...it attaches to both sides of the exhaust, thats the crossmember. You should have something similar in the V6. Look into it.
It was terrible at 72mph. It resonated in the body and
was like a drum inside the car. Mine is an 06 GT Automatic.
It ended up being the rear end housing. The mount holes
are off enough to cause a pinion angle problem.
It took three weeks to figure it out. They could have
fixed it if it had an adjustable pinion angle from the
factory but, it doesn't.
They can only do Factory fixes for these problems.
Here's what they did to solve my vibrating drivetrain problem.
Replaced driveshaft. This changed it but didn't stop it.
Put driveshaft from a new car on lot that was not vibrating. No change.
Replaced ring and pinion gear. It had a small whine that
was fixed but still had vibration.
Called Ford Tech.
Swapped out transmission. no change.
put old one back in.
Swapped out rear end with another from the factory.
This made it 75% better. If it had been this good i
wouldn't have taken it to the dealer in the first place.
FORD tech wanted to put it on a vibration analysis tool
to determine what was off it's know baseline vibration.
But couldn't for three weeks.
FORD tech told the dealer to drive a car on the lot and
find one with no vibration and put the rear end from it
in my car. That's what they did and the problem is gone.
The service manager actually called me up after the first
rear end and told me they factory wanted him to swap it
again. Could i bring it at my convenience. It to two days
for the second swap.
This dealer service dept. was excellent. They gave me a
near new car to drive during this and bent over backwards
to get this problem solved.
HORNE FORD Florence SC was the dealer.
If the car is in Park or Neutral, there is no vibration at any RPM. Only when in gear (any gear) and the tach reaches 1500, you can feel a vibration on your feet, the pedals, and the seat of your pants. It seems to get worse once the torque converter locks up under light acceleration, but it goes away at about 1750RPM (breaking Ohio speed limits).
After reading your posts about the cross member problem with the GT, I thought that that might be the problem and put the car up on a rack to take a look. Everything looks good; the hangar support doesn't seem to be bad.
I still think that the vibration is somehow tied to the exhaust and will take another look. I'll also give the dealer the tip.
I agree with you as to the earnest effort of the dealer service departments. Several held my hand last year when I had major problems with an 05 Mustang that broke on an extended trip (Ohio to San Antonio,TX). They suggested that I return the car to Ford for a replacement and cheerfully supplied the documentation that I needed.
Come home, look at the invoice, and what do I see? "5W-30." Not the right oil.
Well, I go right back to the dealer. They try to convince me that the right oil was put in. One chief dufus actually points to the oil spout on the engine, which plainly states "5W-20," telling me "That's what it says, that's what we put in." Screw that, screw them -- I'm not going to chance voiding my warrantee and ruining my engine merely on the word of mouth of cretins. I insist they drain the oil again and put in the right oil, there and then, no questions asked. I even offer to pay for another oil change (what's $16 of oil compared to a voided warrantee and ruined engine?)
Hey, no one even apologized for the inconvenience (an oil change ate up 4 hours of my life).
Nagging afterthought: Did they actually put in the right oil? Should I go to Jiffy Lube and get another oil change?
Why can't Ford learn proper customer service from Honda?
Here is a link to some known problems that Ford has released TSBs on. Though for the GT, some problems have been known in the V6 also.
Ford TSB
First, I would have the oil changed immediately. The wrong weight "could" damage things like bearings because of the tight tolerances, although it is not likely.
Second, do what I do at oil change time. I have found a "trustable" mechanic, by asking friends and such, then I checked with him to see if it would be acceptable if, at oil change time, I brought my own oil. I use Mobile 1 and I take 6 qts with me, (that I buy at the local parts store), and that is what he uses. If you keep the receipts for the oil change and lubes, that is all that is required to keep the warrantee in effect should something happen.
PS: I'm loving this car so far!!!
There is always going to be a little play in the driveline. In fact, when I use to have a manual neon it did it too ha.
PS. I've come to sense the engine, how hard it's working and when to shift, without looking at the tach, by the vibrations coming through the shift knob to my hand.
Depending on your state, a trigger for the lemon law is more that 30 days out of service for repairs. Maybe you should take a look at this.
:mad: