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Ford Mustang (2005 & newer) Problems and Solutions
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Comments
Loren
Ford had to work out the kinks in 2005 - if you notice, most of the problems with the cars here are with the 2005, not the 2006.
I am willing to bet that the 2006 will be improved. I hope so. I have one ordered!
Interesting, it takes 8-12 weeks to get a GT on order, 4 weeks to get a Vette C6 -- difference in price about $24k.
I have owned an '05 GT convertible since July, no problems with fueling, vibration, reliability, batteries, starting, or whatever. Over 5,000 trouble free miles.
With what; almost 200,000 cars built, I only see a few dozen different complaints on this thread. Look back to the beginning of this thread, and count the individual complaints. Not all that many, and 80% covered by TSB's. Does that make the Mustang unreliable? Any new model designed from the ground up is going to have first year bugs, and the Mustang was no exception. My personal experience is a good one, and that there are so few complaints in general bodes well for the Mustang, and hopefully for Ford as well. Are you better off waiting on ANY new car introduction? Of course! I couldn't wait, myself, and I would have put up with even a couple known issues to be the "First on the Block" this time around
I took it to the dealer and was told it is due to the MP3 software. Now, I am a dinausaur ... got rid of 8-tracks, but would have a turntable in the front seat if I could ... so I have no use to MP3's or iPods and the like. When I told them I wanted the MP3 software disabled, they claimed it could not be done. We are at war as I write this, my having demanded an adequate fix. My $1000 system has got to perform better than my 4 year old's $50 boombox, which plays Celebration of the Lizard quite well, thank you.
I will do the A/B test to see if that lends any clue to the possible fix.
Loren
They don't compare. I owned a '99 GT and, believe me, the differences are astronomical! After driving them, you will DEFINITELY want the '05. Not that the '04 is a bad car, because it isn't. It's just that the '05 feels (and is) so much better.
1) 1996 cobra
2) 2004 mach1
3) 2005 GT
of these cars, these are my thoughts...
the cobras are faster not to mention handle better than the mach1's, but ONLY if you put serious money into them, im not talking petty cash either, i mean SERIOUS money! i dropped around 15G's on that baby, and it was mean!
-out of the gate, the mach1 is a VERY well balanced sports car, the only downfall are the stock rims and tires, and a few miscalcuations on fords part with the suspension (all of which can be solved for under 1,500).
-the new 05 gt is nice... but thats about it... i wouldnt be racing it anytime soon though... out the gate, i have taken it to 130+ for a long enough distance that it has major issues, not to mention ONE VERY FATAL FLAW... something that I cant believe ford overlooked... and that is... with normal sports cars you have weight transfer from front to rear with your initial acceleration, and with that weight transfer you create a downdraft... that holds your car down... so you dont loose control... well... the 05 gt has uplift.... and yes that is super fatal flaw, i dont care how much money you put into the suspension making it tighter, faster, easier to control, you cant fix that flaw.
...these are my thoughts...
i compared my previous mach1 and cobra to the new gt ,i didnt own an old gt
BTW - why would one compare a stock '05 GT to a '99 Cobra (w/ $15k worth of mods) and a Mach I (with $1500 worth of suspension mods) and then complain about a perceived handling issue on the stock '05?
"with normal sports cars you have weight transfer from front to rear with your initial acceleration, and with that weight transfer you create a downdraft... that holds your car down... so you dont loose control... well... the 05 gt has uplift...."
:confuse:
I'm also curious to know how weight transfer on initial acceleration causes downdraft? (This sounds like an aerodynamic phenomenon).
Uplift due to weight transfer??? Are you complaining that the rear-end squats too much and the nose comes up when accelerating from a standstill? Or are you trying to describe front-end lift due to high speed (130mph) aero problems? Honestly, I can't picture what you are trying to describe. :confuse:
Thanks for the heads-up. Next time I drive my GT Premium to the mall at 130 mph, I'll be sure to put some bricks in the trunk.
Finally, the top shouldn't leak under ANY circumstances, so there is obviously something drastically wrong here
Good luck
I think what Zorbas is complaining about is front end lift at superlegal speeds. I haven't experienced any lift problems with mine, but I haven't run it up to 130MPH either, yet. And I've lowered my suspension.
Handling-wise, it's been printed in a few publications and official Ford press releases that the '05 Mustang handles BETTER than the outgoing Cobra. Why someone would compare a stock car's handling to one with $15K in suspension mods is beyond me. How do you spend $15K in suspension pieces on a Mustang, anyway?? :confuse: The supply of Mustang suspension parts is so plentiful that you can get a killer setup for under $3K, including installation.
I think Zorbas got ahold of some very erroneous information regarding vehicle dynamics and acceleration. No offense, Zorbas.
Thanks
Strut bearing replacements on Mustang built before 4/8/2005, some older builds need additional.
You should be able to find that TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) with a web search.
Quick easy fix, they may have to order the parts.
I am new here, I just came upon this forum and I think I could use some help...
I own a 2006 V6 pony package Mustang (it is a manual). I love this car! But it has one strange problem.
When I have more than one or two people in the car it will make a strange noise... almost like a higher pitched grinding noise. It sounds like it comes from the just below the shifter. Passengers in the back also claim to hear a similar sound coming from the back of the car. It is an intermident sound that happens most frequently when there is over 100lbs. of wehight in the back of the car. I swear it had something to do with the suspension but what could it be?
has anyone encountered this? I am just hoping to have more information when I take her back in to the dealership. This noise is so embarrassing when I have people in the car and they think it is all new and Bad A** till it makes this silly noise like it is grinding on something? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I had kinda hoped that use of the car would eventually "break in" but it has been 6000 miles now? However... those 6000 miles have mostly been with just me and my wife? Who knows. This noise is just so weird that I doubt this is the way it should perform normally. Had I heard this on the test drive, I would have broke my heart and made me re-consider the purchase. I just love this car so much it kills me to even think ill of it.
off sticker when i began reading of all the problems the
this car has been having-fuel nozzle,dashboard rattles,
etc.I decided to drive a Solara convertible and was amazed
at the quality of this car,esp. the interior.I am not crazy about the style but i am seriously considering this
car along with the Mustang.The prices are similar and the
Mustang is faster.The Solaro has more std eqpt.Any help i could get on making the right choice would be appreciated.
The gas tank issue was on the early production '05s. There have been a small few with the '06 that claim to have the gas fill issue, but I wonder... A dashboard rattle is not a "problem." There has been only one "problem" with the new Mustang. The gas fill issue, it's more an "inconvenience" than a problem. And of course you're going to read about problems with the car in the "Problems & Solutions" board. That's what it's for. You need to go over to the regular board and read all the comments from the other 97% of us who are ecstatic about our Mustangs. :shades:
Take it to another dealer.
1mack
The response for ongoing problems with Ford is like a chain of command thing. If the local "district" office doesn't do it, go to the next level. Everyone you've talked to so far reports to someone, and you keep climbing the ladder you will eventually get to someone who won't blow smoke.
You said in your original post that when you put the top up there is metal exposed around the windows? Take a picture, e-mail it to Bill Ford Jr, and ask him if he would like it passed around the 'net. Of course, that's over the top, but you get my drift.
You're dealership's comment about 4 other convertibles with the same problems is the oldest one in the book. "Oh yeah, they all do that, you're the only one complaining, so YOU must have the problem!" They're feeding you a lie, sorry to say
But it gets worse;
As far as car wash water pressure getting in the car, B**l S**T !! If a car wash can force water into a car (convertible or not) what will driving down a rain soaked road at 60 or 70 do? I've washed my '05 convertible numerous times and never seen a drop go inside!
Tell your dealer's service manager I said he's a liar, and would be glad to say it to his face.
OK,OK, so I'm a little angry. I get pissed when a good product is maligned by the very dealers who are supposed to support and market the product. There's a Group on Edmunds titled "What will it take for consumers to buy American Brands?" What do you suppose the question posed here and the response by this dealer do to the prospective buyer trying to decide between a Mustang and [enter brand and make here]?
I drove my V6 pony back to the dealership today... I forced the service manager to ride shotgun and made him put another employee in the back seat. I demanded that I drive them for however long it was going to take for them to hear the noise. It didn't take more than 2 minutes before the manager agreed that it was not normal!
Here is the great news! It was a brake brace / bracket that was installed at a funny angle. As a result it would rub a little against the drive line. It took them all of 2 minutes to make the repair! The noise is now TOTALLY gone!
The noise is noticable during accelleration (the nose of the car comes up and the [non-permissible content removed] part of the car goes down just enough to put pressure on the frame and grind during accelleration. It goes away once the car levels out.
Then the noise is more constant and much louder if 3 or 4 people add weight to the frame. due to the constant pressure on the frame.
If ths sounds familar to you, make your dealership check the Brake brace / bracket for any grinding of the drive line. (at first my dealership also suspected heat shields, but this turned nout not to be the case... for me anyway)
Now I am back to full enjoyment of my Mustang! That sound sucked all the enjoyment from my early ownership days! Now it's back to me and the open road!
As far as other problems with the 2005 Mustang, that is the reason I looked for this site to see if anyone else has had problems like Ive had.
My car hasnt even hit 12,000 yet and Ive already had the front end repaired and it in as we speak having the motor mounts replaced. I love Mustangs (this is my 5th) but Im ready to lemon it. The service department isnt any help either being they are as slow as molasses which adds to my stress. Hopefully this is the last I see of problems because I really do love my car. Anyone else have These problems? :confuse:
While I sold my Mustang (for no other reason than I made money on it), let me see if I can tackle some of these issues.
--Where's the overspray? If it's under the hood or trunk, then that will be normal. If it's on the exterior body somewhere, then maybe it had previous body damage??????
--The tranny getting stuck in neutral doesn't make much sense. Are you saying that you can't put in the clutch and put it into a gear? Does it grind when you try to put it into gear? Why do you have it in neutral when you're rolling? You should only do that when it's stopped.
--Door glass is flawed? How?
--Why did the arbitration party deny your claim?
--Consumer reports already has ratings out for '06 cars? They're just hitting the market. They have no data on them. How can they know what the ratings would be?
Nay, that was probably another hit-n-run flame post. :mad:
Overall Quality – 4
Mechanical Quality – 3
Body & Interior Quality – 5
Feature & Accessory Quality – 4
Overall Appeal – 5
Performance – 5
What I am noticing is that when I set my vent setting for the air flow to floor mode I still get a good amount of air flow coming out of the windshield defrost vents above the dash. This is not a big thing but it bugs me that it does this and it should not be doing this.
Second is when the vent setting is on floor/defrost or defrost mode with the A/C set to OFF I still seem to hear the compressor engaging for a good 10 sec. or so and then disengaging. What I hear is a click sound and I can hear the engine sound lower as well as see my tach drop just a tad until I hear the click again and it goes back to "normal". It will do this over and over again with a short pause between "cycles". Of course I can only hear this when sitting at a light, or just not moving but seems like it is not supposed to be doing this. Any advice or help would be much appreciated
Daniel