As I was making a left hand turn on the highway at approx. 15mph, I heard a loud pop/crack coming from the front of the vehicle. At this time the car started to drift off to the right and onto the side of the road. I tried to turn the steering wheel left to compensate for the change and the steering wheel continued to turn in a 360 degree rotation with no control of the tires. At this time I felt something hit my shoe from above the gas pedal and I realized that something had broke causing me to have absolute no control over the vehicle. After inspecting the steering column, it was evident that the shaft had completely separated from the column that goes into the floor board and into the firewall to the engine. No broken/shard parts of metal nor any broken pieces that could have fallen off were laying underneath. It was as if the shaft was "pulled" out of the column hole. After further inspection at a body shop, it was noted that the vehicle had never been into an accident (just like the carfax report had indicated) because there are no structural damages. The technicians had never seen an issue such as this and have no explanation as to how/why the shaft would just separate with such ease. I've spoken to several mechanics and dealerships and they have never seen/heard of an issue such as this. I bought the mustang from a local used car dealership and they have not disclosed any information regarding steering issues/if there is any to disclose. I am having the body shop completely replace the shaft because I do not feel safe operating the vehicle, if this issue is to happen again with such ease and I loose total control of steering capabilities, who is to say it won't happen on the freeway with children in the car?
The worst 1997 Ford Mustang GT problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Engine16
- Acceleration2
- Brakes2
- Body1
- Fuel system1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine16
- Acceleration2
- Brakes2
- Body1
- Fuel system1
- Steering1
- Transmission1
Recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Defect investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
Technical service bulletins for the 1997 Ford Mustang GT 5
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Some vehicles with manual transmission or with automatic transmission may exhibit a front end accessory...
- Some vehicles equipped with manual transmission and with automatic transmission may exhibit a front end...
- Some vehicles with manual and automatic transmissions may exhibit a front end accessory drive (FEAD) belt...
- Some vehicles with a T-45 transmission may shift from 4TH to neutral (pop out) when the clutch is released
What 1997 Ford Mustang GT owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Engine was using coolant/took to ford dealer & they advised it's coming from crack in top of the intake manifold and there had been a recall on these due to class action lawsuit, but time to file ended 4 mos. Ago & we'd have to pay out of pocket.
My intake manifold has cracked.
The plastic intake manifold cracked while driving my 1997 mustang with 4.6l. Cost $1020 plus towing, to repair at local ford dealership. Ford refused to provide any financial assistance, citing the chamberlain settlement's exclusions.
Took car to garage to check for reason for loss of coolant. They found that the intake manifold on the ford 4.6 l engine was leaking and stated that this was a known problem. Cost to repair was almost $1000 and ford has refused claim on the grounds that this car was not included in the class action lawsuit that ford recently agreed to settle.
Original owner of a 1997 mustang gt. Car had 124,289 miles on it at the time of this incident. I was at a stop light with one car in front of me. Light turned green and we preceded through the intersection. I was still in first gear, car let out a loud bang. It honestly sounded like a gun had fired. I was through the intersection so I turned off the engine and coasted to the shoulder. I had the car towed to ford. They told me that the spark plug had exploded and cracked the head. Repairs by ford totaled $2956.91 and it took them a week to fix the car. I have the receipt from ford showing a detailed list of parts replaced, which included replacing the right cylinder head, 8 new spark plugs and gaskets, oil change, engine coolant flushed.
I purchased a 1997 ford mustang. The 1st intake manifold was replaced on may 19, 2000 and handled under warranty. The 2nd intake manifold failed on september 30, 2005. Ford refused to handle this under warranty and I paid 1187.07. I believe this should be covered under warranty. Please help me. Thank you.
My emergency brake fails when enganged and the brakes are properly adjusted.the e-brake pops loose causing the car to roll even in 1st gear.I have been ran over by the failure and the car was sold to me by duval ford and they told me they wouldn't fix beacause of the 131,000 miles but they certified the car as perfect for sale.not to include the rear end needed rebuilt the intake was cracked and leaked into the cylinder causing the rod to spin a bearing.
Was informed by the garage I took my car to that my master brake cylinder and hydroboost were leaking. I was talking this over with a lawyer friend of mine and she informed me of a recall on federal vehicles, police, etc. But this was not a general recall. But if you had under 100,000 miles on your vehicle it would be fixed through ford. I called ford and they told me there was no such recall even after I told them I could furnish them with case law numbers in florida. I am not sure what I should do and hope you can help.
The vehicle had steam coming out of engine, which could cause over heating. Owner was informed by the dealer that the intake manifold need to be replaced. Dealer would repair at owner's expense.
Compare the 1997 Ford Mustang GT
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Questions about the 1997 Ford Mustang GT
Is the 1997 Ford Mustang GT reliable?
Owners have filed 23 complaints about the 1997 Ford Mustang GT, fewer than a typical Mustang GT model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1997 Ford Mustang GT?
Engine and cooling, with 16 complaints, typically around 85,584 miles. Next is acceleration (2).
How many recalls does the 1997 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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