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1996 Ford Mustang GT problems

The most common problem on the 1996 Ford Mustang GT is engine and cooling, typically around 91,500 miles. It has fewer complaints than a typical Mustang GT model year.

Typical yearClose to a typical year
Owner complaints
32
Recalls
0
Service bulletins
4
Worst area
Engine

The worst 1996 Ford Mustang GT problems

Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.

  • Engine
    25
  • Seat belts
    3
  • Electrical
    1
  • Steering
    1
  • Suspension
    1

Problems by type

Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.

  • Engine
    25
  • Seat belts
    3
  • Electrical
    1
  • Steering
    1
  • Suspension
    1
  • Transmission
    1

Recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Technical service bulletins for the 1996 Ford Mustang GT 4

Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.

See all 4 bulletins for the 1996 Ford Mustang GT

What 1996 Ford Mustang GT owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Dec 4, 2012 · Engine · 102,000 miles · PA

Cracked intake manifold caused var to overheat.

Filed Sep 27, 2010 · Engine · 46,000 miles · LA

On my 1996 ford mustang gt with the 4.6l engine 3 spark plugs blew out of the engine. I took the car to the local ford dealer and they informed me that it was a problem that ford was aware of and that it would be $1,341.98 to repair the damage. I looked it up online and saw that ford blames the damage on improper torquing of the spark plugs. As the car only has 49,000 miles it has never had the plugs changed in any way. Three blew out and 2 more would not come out of the engine as the aluminum head and aluminum spark plugs had seized. Ford knows about the problem and refuses to fix it.

Filed Jan 16, 2010 · Transmission · 128,107 miles · CA

I had bought the car in 2008 and two months later the intake manifold(oem) developed a crack and has a result antifreeze was being burnt which caused a misfire on the 3rd cylinder and the check engine light then started to flash (indicated misfire) drove it home took it to the dealer and installed a new intake manifold which had updated features to prevent the incident from happening again the failure could have resulted in a blown up engine it was common in 1996-2001 ford 4.6l 2v v8 motors.

Filed Aug 7, 2007 · Engine · 152,000 miles · FL · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford mustang gt. While parked in the driveway, the vehicle caught fire underneath the hood. The front end of the vehicle up to the dashboard was destroyed. There were no injuries. Ford was notified and they stated that nothing could be done. The current and failure mileages were 152,000.

Filed Jul 5, 2006 · Steering · 83,000 miles · WA · crash · 2 injuries

On 4/12/06 I was going westbound toward tacoma, I made a left turn into a highway divide to cross traffic to go to the doctors office. Traffic was heavy because of the time of day. So I decided to make a left hand turn and go another direction. I waited for traffic so I could proceed. I made a left hand turn into traffic and it felt like my car 1996 mustang, fishtailed (sunny day dry pavement) so I tried to correct it and the steering wheel was locked and the car took off, so I proceeded to step on the brake as hard as I could but it made no difference. The car went approximately two city blocks, it went from my lane to the other right hand lane, we were headed for the light pole and all of a sudden (with the steering still locked) made a sharp left and through me across three lanes of traffic, over the cement divide (airborne) and into another car and he hit another car. On impact the air bags did not deploy. My car was totaled the other two cars that were involved were repaired.

Filed Apr 9, 2006 · Engine · 105,343 miles · FL

I bought a used 1996 ford mustang gt, soon after having the vehicle I noticed that the car ran hot and could sometimes smell coolant when exiting the car, after my husband changed many parts in the cooling system, which did not resolve the issue, we called a local ford dealership and explained the issue the parts department employee stated that he thought there was a recall so he sent us to talk to a service manager, after giving the VIN # to the service manager we were informed that our car did not have any recalls. A few days later my husband found a crack in the intake manifold we replaced it ourselves at our own expense only to find out through research that this is a known problem with these vehicles, I find it sad that an american car company can get away with knowingly selling defective vehicles and getting away with it. I will remember this next vehicle and buy a foreign car.

Filed Mar 6, 2006 · Engine · 180,000 miles · TX

This is regard to a 1996 ford mustang gt coup with a 4.6l with the now known faulty plastic intake manifold. I am the second owner of this car, it was purchased from car max in early 2000. So far the repair cost is just $1,000. I am aware of the just finished class action lawsuit but my case was not included due to it being outside the 7 year window. The car was serviced at ford dealerships well with in the 7 years but they never said a word. I feel this is unfair practices by ford and their affiliated dealerships. I want to make you and everyone else aware that I am prepared to join any subsequent litigation to help cover the many, many other intakes that were not handled in this class action suit. I am asking you to please encourage ford to make good on the right thing to do.

Filed Jan 19, 2006 · Engine · 48,753 miles · MD

The intake manifold on my 1996 ford mustang cracked with 48750 miles on the vehicle. This failue occured within a few miles of my home and I was able to limp the car back. This manifold is known by ford to be defective and was recalled in fleet cars and was also the subject of litigation (which ford lost). While the manifold on my car is no different than the manifolds on the recalled vehicles or the ones covered by the lawsuit, ford will not accept responsibility for this failure. While the lawsuit has been settled, and it appears that the lawsuit is costing ford money, I beg to differ. Their statisticians know the half life of this part. They also know that all cars with this engine will be affected sooner or later. If they make money on unnecessary repairs that are not covered (my parts cost was triple that of what I could have bought the part for online), then they can afford to cover their recalled parts and either break even or worse yet, make a profit off of a manufacturing defect. This sets a poor precidence. Additionally, the manifold leaked for approximately 3 years before the failure. The leak was small, requiring that I add about 2 quarts of antifreeze a year. Vapor from the antifreeze could be smelled inside the cabin of the vehicle from time to time and I'm not sure that this is great for the health of an individual riding in the cabin.

Filed Dec 17, 2005 · Engine · MO

I own a 96 mustang gt that has a cracked intake. Why is the 96 excluded from being replaced under the lawsuit, whenever the intakes are the same? There should not be so many cars excluded from this,that have the same intake as the ones included, if ford really cares about its buyers!

Filed Oct 3, 2005 · Engine · 91,500 miles · MI

We owned a 1996 ford mustang gt that had a plastic intake manifold that cracked and failed. The manifold cracked on the coolant crossover passage, directly behind the alternator. There was no crash or injuries. I replaced the manifold myself by purchasing a new one from auto zone on 8/16/05. The cost of the manifold was $264.94.

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Questions about the 1996 Ford Mustang GT

Is the 1996 Ford Mustang GT reliable?

Owners have filed 32 complaints about the 1996 Ford Mustang GT, fewer than a typical Mustang GT model year.

What is the most common problem with the 1996 Ford Mustang GT?

Engine and cooling, with 25 complaints, typically around 91,500 miles. Next is seat belts (3).

How many recalls does the 1996 Ford Mustang GT have?

No recalls on record.

What year does the Ford Mustang GT have bad engine?

The Ford Mustang GT model years with the most engine complaints are 1998 (44 complaints), 1996 (25 complaints) and 2000 (24 complaints).

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