The Ford Mustang has fifteen model years on record and only 3,134 owner complaints between them, so the year-to-year differences matter more than the totals. The year to avoid is the 2015, the first of the sixth generation, which scores 51 on 436 complaints and 39.6 complaints for every year on the road, the highest rate on the record, with eleven recall campaigns of which six are safety-critical. The years to buy are the 2018, which scores 83 on 187 complaints and four recalls, and the 2013 and 2017, which score 75 and 74. The 2011, 2012 and 2016 are CAUTION at 67, 63 and 67, the 2020 to 2022 cars are BUY on thin evidence, the 2024 is CAUTION at 56, and the 2019 and 2023 have no complaints on file and cannot be scored.
2011 to 2014: the transmission and the air bags
The fifth-generation cars have two components at the top of every year. Power Train leads the 2011 at 200 of its 466 complaints and the 2012 at 177 of 469, and the recall campaigns say which transmission: 12V190000 (3 May 2012) covers 2012 and 2013 cars for the shift lever sequence standard, and 16V248000 (27 April 2016) covers 2012 automatics that may unexpectedly downshift to first gear. Air Bags is second in 2011 (125) and 2012 (158), then first in 2013 (145) and 2014 (245, the largest single-component count for any Mustang year). Behind that is a run of frontal inflator campaigns: 15V319000 (28 May 2015) for the driver's side on 2005 to 2014 cars, 16V384000 (31 May 2016) for the passenger side on the 2011, 17V024000 (10 January 2017) for the 2012, 18V046000 (11 January 2018) for the 2013, 19V001000 (7 January 2019) for the 2014, and 21V081000 with 21E013000 (both 16 February 2021) for all of 2005 to 2014. Every one of the 2011's five recall campaigns and the 2014's four is safety-critical; the 2012 has seven, five of them safety-critical.
Set the air bags aside and the 2013 and 2014 are quiet cars: Power Train falls to 48 and 30, and nothing else reaches 25. That is why the site scores them 75 and 71, BUY, where the 2011 and 2012 are CAUTION. The condition on the BUY is that the inflator campaigns have been done, which is a VIN check rather than an inspection.
2015: the first year of the sixth generation
The redesigned car has no single dominant component, and that is the point. Unknown Or Other leads at 75, then Electrical System 66, Engine 51, Service Brakes 51 and Structure 45, on a total of 436. What the record does have is recalls, eleven of them, more than any year before 2024. 14V774000 (5 December 2014, safety-critical) is for a fuel pressure sensor that may not be seated; 15V339000 (2 June 2015, safety-critical) is for a fuel tank on 2.3-litre cars that can degrade under underbody heat; 14V649000 (17 October 2014, safety-critical) is for a passenger seat belt tension sensor that misclassifies the occupant; 16V643000 (6 September 2016) and 20V331000 (8 June 2020) are for door latches that can break, the second covering cars already recalled once; 22V011000 (13 January 2022, safety-critical) is for a brake pedal on cars sold in ten listed states; 16V779000 (26 October 2016) is for an oil cooler hose that can separate, 22V082000 (16 February 2022) for rearview camera wiring and 25V614000 (12 September 2025, safety-critical) for front seat belt pretensioner cables that corrode, all three on 2015 to 2017 cars. A 2015 with every campaign completed is a different car from one with none.
2016 to 2018: the settling
The 2016 scores 67 on 373 complaints: Engine 74, Electrical System 72, Unknown Or Other 68, Back Over Prevention 52. The camera category is the 22V082000 campaign showing up in the complaint record, and it leads the 2017 outright at 63, with Latches/Locks/Linkages at 29 matching 17V168000 (13 March 2017), for a driver's door handle return spring that can let the door unlatch in a side impact. The 2017 also has 17V529000 (28 August 2017, safety-critical), a passenger inflator campaign. Its total is 264 and its score 74.
The 2018 is the best year with high evidence. Engine (54) and Power Train (45) lead a total of 187, at 23.4 complaints per year on the road. It has four recall campaigns and one is safety-critical: 17V814000 (18 December 2017), a cluster software fault on automatic cars with the 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster, which may not show that the transmission is out of Park. 18V213000 (4 April 2018) covers 2018 cars with the ten-speed automatic for a roll pin that may not have been installed. 18E035000 (24 May 2018) is for an aftermarket Roush supercharger kit, not the factory car.
Ford Mustang: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 81 | BUY | 17 | 6 |
| 2024 | 53 | CAUTION | 80 | 12 |
| 2023 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 72 | BUY | 49 | 9 |
| 2021 | 77 | BUY | 55 | 6 |
| 2020 | 79 | BUY | 120 | 8 |
| 2019 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 83 | BUY | 187 | 4 |
| 2017 | 74 | BUY | 265 | 6 |
| 2016 | 68 | CAUTION | 373 | 5 |
| 2015 | 51 | CAUTION | 436 | 11 |
| 2014 | 71 | BUY | 359 | 4 |
| 2013 | 75 | BUY | 271 | 6 |
| 2012 | 63 | CAUTION | 469 | 7 |
| 2011 | 67 | CAUTION | 466 | 5 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Ford Mustang model page.
2019 to 2025: the years the record is still filling in
The 2019 has no complaints on file and is DATA PENDING. The 2020 scores 79 on 118 complaints with medium evidence, and its eight recall campaigns are the most of any year since 2015: 20V573000 (23 September 2020, safety-critical) for a brake pedal bracket that may fracture on automatics, 20V263000 (8 May 2020) for a "not in Park" warning that chimes for too short a time, 20V306000 (27 May 2020) and 20V575000 (23 September 2020) for the forward and rearview cameras, 22V382000 (27 May 2022) for a powertrain control module fault on 5.0-litre manual cars, and 23V727000 (27 October 2023, safety-critical) for a brake fluid level sensor that may not light the warning on 2020 to 2023 cars. The 2021 and 2022 score 77 and 72 on 55 and 49 complaints, with Fuel System and Gasoline at 10 and 8 the top categories; 25V455000 (7 July 2025, safety-critical) is for a low-pressure fuel pump that may fail on 2021 and 2022 cars. The 2021 has six campaigns, five safety-critical, including 21V980000 (16 December 2021) for curtain inflators with the wrong gas charge and 22V083000 (16 February 2022) for a knee air bag weld; the 2022 has nine, six safety-critical, including 23V070000 (10 February 2023) for a loose transmission bolt.
The 2023 is DATA PENDING. The 2024, the first of the seventh generation, is CAUTION at 56 on 73 complaints and 36.5 per year, with Electrical System at 32 and eleven recall campaigns, six safety-critical; the evidence is medium and the pattern is the one the 2015 showed, a new generation with many campaigns in its first year. The 2025 scores 84 on 14 complaints and five campaigns, none safety-critical, with low evidence.
What to check before you buy
- On any 2011 to 2014 car, run the VIN against the frontal inflator campaigns (15V319000, 16V384000, 17V024000, 18V046000, 19V001000, 21V081000) and do not accept the car until they are closed.
- On a 2012 or 2013 automatic, ask for 12V190000 and 16V248000 and drive the car through a full set of gears at speed; Power Train is the leading component on the 2011 and 2012.
- On a 2015, ask for the complete recall history and check the eleven campaigns one by one, in particular 15V339000 (fuel tank, 2.3-litre), 14V774000 (fuel pressure sensor) and 22V011000 (brake pedal).
- On any 2015 to 2017 car, ask for 16V779000 (oil cooler hose) and look for oil at the cooler lines, then put the car in reverse and confirm the camera image appears (22V082000).
- On a 2018 automatic, ask for 18V213000 (roll pin) and 17V814000 (cluster software).
- On a 2020 to 2023 car, ask for 23V727000 and, on a 2021 to 2023, 25V689000, the re-repair campaign for cars fixed incorrectly the first time.
- On a 2021 or 2022, ask for 25V455000 (fuel pump).
Summary
Avoid the 2015 Mustang, which scores 51 on 436 complaints with eleven recall campaigns, and treat the 2024 as CAUTION at 56 until its record fills in. The 2011 and 2012 are CAUTION at 67 and 63 because of Power Train and the inflator campaigns; the 2013 and 2014 are BUY at 75 and 71 once the inflators are done. Buy a 2018, which scores 83 on 187 complaints, or a 2017 at 74. The 2020 to 2022 cars score 79, 77 and 72 on small counts, and the 2019 and 2023 have no record to judge.