2013 Ford Mustang: problems, recalls and reliability
6 recalls and 271 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (54% 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 271 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2013 Ford Mustang. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 15V319000 (Air Bags) and 19V001000 (Air Bags). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer declined to perform the recall repairs. The contact was informed that, because of the installation of an aftermarket steering wheel, the recall repairs could not be performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.”Owner report · Air Bags · Aug 2025
“Car has delayed shifting and is still down shifting when the car has already stopped. 2011-2012 mustangs have some extended coverage for this problem. 16N02. My 2013 was manufactured at flat rock in 2012 but not covered.”Owner report · Power Train · Jul 2025
“Unexpected downshift to first while driving between 40 mph to 65 mph can lead to complete loss of cruise control, accompanied by a wrench symbol and an error code. Additionally, the speedometer fails to display a reading and may abruptly drop to first gear without any prior warning. signaling low fuel levels”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Nov 2024
Show 7 more owner reports
“2013 Mustang V6, 6R80 Automatic Transmission. Lead frame is failing, I am getting code P0720. My vin falls outside of the recall, so I have to spend $850 to get lead frame fixed. Airbag light turns on, dashes through my odometer, and car stays stuck in 5th gear until I cycle key.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Nov 2024
“The coolant reservoir on my vehicle has been replaced now 4 times with the first time being under 5000 on vehicle. The vehicle now has 96000. The same issue happens each time with a crack in the reservoir.”Owner report · Engine · Apr 2024
“While driving on the interstate the steering control module stopped working resulting in total loss of no power steering assist. Vehicle only has 1,4711 miles. Second time this incident has occurred. Major hazardous malfunction of control module possible resulting in a accident. No warning was give on dashboard indicator. This vehicle is a hazard on roadways and putting other drivers and citizens at risk of serious bodily injury. Vehicle should not this problem with the current miles. Contacted Ford Motors Corp. refuse to acknowledge my safety concerns and refuse reimbursement for repairs. This will happen to other Ford and will result in possible injuries or deaths.”Owner report · Electrical System · Mar 2024
“When starting the vehicle when cold, power steering assist fault appears on the gauge cluster. There is no power steering at this point. Once the vehicle is warmed up, and the engine is turned off and restarted, the problem goes away. The problem has been reproduced by an independent service center. The service center inspected the steering components and found no obvious visible fault with the components.”Owner report · Steering · Nov 2023
“The contact owns a 2013 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving at high speeds, the vehicle downshifted unintendedly. The transmission warning light, the check engine warning light and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module (TCM) and the lead frame control module were defective. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.”Owner report · Power Train · Oct 2023
“Was going 25mph on a straight dry road, 2 traction control lights popped up and an alert saying Advancetrac is off, which is a feature you have to be in park with your foot on the brake and hold the traction control button for 8 seconds to turn off, when the light turned on the car downshift and turned sideways causing me to go into a barrier, steering wheel airbag and passenger airbag both only broke out of the trim and did not inflate fully.”Owner report · Air Bags · Sep 2023
“2013 Ford mustang stalls and completely shuts down losing all power. Recall was not issued for my vin [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”Owner report · Electrical System · Mar 2023
When filing, owners marked a crash in 16 of these complaints and injuries in 9 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 6 campaigns
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 IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 FORD F-150, 2012 EXPEDITION AND LINCOLN NAVIGATOR, AND 2012-2013 MUSTANG VEHICLES, FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NOS. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE, STARTER INTERLOCK, AND TRANSMISSION BRAKING EFFECT" AND 108 "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE A TRANSMISSION RANGE SENSOR (TRS) THAT WAS CALIBRATED OUT OF SPECIFICATION FOR REVERSE GEAR.
Remedy: FORD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE TRS AS NECESSARY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD MOTOR COMPANY CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP CENTER AT 1-866-436-7332.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 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 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles and 2011-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or 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 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2010-2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, and 2010-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY 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. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall 19S01.
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 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.
Trouble codes owners mention
OBD-II codes that appear in NHTSA complaints about this car.
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 2013 Ford Mustang reliable?
NHTSA has 271 owner complaints and 6 recall campaigns on record for the 2013 Ford Mustang. The most complained-about area is air bags (54% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2013 Ford Mustang problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 43,500 miles or less.
Does the 2013 Ford Mustang have open recalls?
6 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:frontal:driver 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.