2009 Ford Mustang: problems, recalls and reliability
6 recalls and 181 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (73% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall Feb 2021
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 181 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2009 Ford Mustang. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V319000 (Air Bags) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.”Owner report · Air Bags · Jul 2022
“The contact owned a 2009 Ford Mustang. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V081000 (Air Bags) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list as he no longer owns the vehicle. The local dealer and the manufacturer were contacted. The VIN was unavailable.”Owner report · Air Bags · Jun 2022
“When it rains, water is leaking under the windshield into the duct work and onto the passenger side floor. Heavy rains have caused as much as 5 inches of water to lay on passenger floor. This problem has caused the smart junction box to malfunction and car is not drivable. I now have to purchase a new box and have it programmed, which is very expensive. I have read articles about this happening to other 2009 mustangs. Ford has no recall on this issue. Not only is it expensive to fix, it also is a safety concern because it can cause an electrical fire to ignite within the car. This issue happens when the car is in motion and stationary.”Owner report · Electrical System · Feb 2020
Show 7 more owner reports
“My son was driving his 2009 mustang and after stopping at a stop sign in a residential neighborhood, he slowly accelerated and the car suddenly accelerated quickly on its own. He said the gas pedal went to the floor, he tried pushing brake and it was not stopping the car. It sent him through another intersection, he engaged emergency brake to no avail. Luckily his car went through an area of soggy grass that helped slow the car down, and came to a stop by running into hedges and resting next to a brick church. He described hearing the rpm's revving up along with the sudden acceleration. He also described the steering wheel as "locking up".”Owner report · Steering · Nov 2019
“Pulled up a driveway and put my 2009 ford mustang in park, started accelerating on it's own. Would decelerate after pressing and releasing the gas pedal but would start accelerating again on it's own. Turned the car off and when restarted acted and drove fine. Have read that this is a common problem that has not been addressed by ford. Very unsafe problem.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Jun 2019
“Random acceleration. Backed out of parking space , put car in drive and pressed accelerator to move forward. Acceleration increased on its own. Removed foot from accelerator, pressed the brake. Acceleration continued to increase, hit the brake pedal hard.. Accelerator continued to increase on its own. (couldn't stop vehicle) hit a curb and flipped the vehicle.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Jun 2019
“Servo on transmission pushed snap out of retaining groove causing loss of transmission fluid while driving at speed.servo pushed out of trans,car acted like it was in neutral than lurched ahead almost caused an accident.”Owner report · Power Train · Mar 2019
“Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2009 ford mustang. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17v024000 (air bags); however, the parts were not available. The dealer (academy ford, 13401 baltimore ave, laurel, md 20707, 877-894-4901) was contacted and confirmed that parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact to continue to call the dealer. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.”Owner report · Air Bags · Dec 2018
“Received urgent airbag safety recall notice in the mail- tried calling to set up appointment at dealership. They said it was a branded title and cannot repair it.”Owner report · Air Bags · Nov 2018
“Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford mustang. While driving approximately 65 mph, the contact's vehicle was involved in a side impact collision. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired in april per NHTSA campaign number: 18v046000 (air bags) at galpin ford (located at 1000 sandretto dr, prescott, az 86305, (877) 826-2935). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.”Owner report · Air Bags · Sep 2018
When filing, owners marked a crash in 17 of these complaints and injuries in 7 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 6 campaigns
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles and 2005-2008 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Any vehicle not included in "Zone A", or "Zone B" is not included in the safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Ford mailed interim letters informing owners that parts are not yet available on July 15, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2014 Mustang vehicles manufactured April 6, 2004, to June 21, 2014, and 2005-2006 GT vehicles manufactured February 20, 2004, to September 22, 2006. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on June 10, 2016. Even if interim repairs were performed under safety recall 14V-802, owners must bring their vehicles in for the final remedy. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S21. Note: This recall supersedes safety recall 14V-802.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge, Fusion, Mustang and Ranger, Lincoln MKX and Zephyr/MKZ, and Mercury Milan vehicles ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Ford is also recalling certain 2009 Ford Edge, Fusion, Mustang and Ranger, Lincoln MKX and Zephyr/MKZ, and Mercury Milan vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain air bag inflator and/or module replacement service parts that may have been used as part of a collision repair. The parts include certain driver-side air bag inflators and/or modules, designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang and Mustang GT500. It also includes certain passenger-side air bag inflators and/or modules designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang, 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion, 2010-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2011 Ford Ranger, and 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX vehicles. Please see Ford's recall report for the specific part numbers. These parts may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify dealers that purchased the affected parts, and dealers will provide replacement parts to purchasers, free of charge. The recall began March 18, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
How other years compare
Check your exact Mustang by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2009 Ford Mustang reliable?
NHTSA has 181 owner complaints and 6 recall campaigns on record for the 2009 Ford Mustang. The most complained-about area is air bags (73% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2009 Ford Mustang problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 40,000 miles or less.
Does the 2009 Ford Mustang have open recalls?
6 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.