Ford Mustang GT engine failure problems

Filed May 15, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 155,000 miles · CA

Driving on freeway suddenly car got hot so I slowed down got into slow lane then shifted to neutral car stalled and would not restart engine seized.

Filed Jul 8, 2013 · Engine · 55,000 miles · TX

Driving home form a trip I started hearing a slapping/ticking noise form under the hood. Investigated the problem and seems to be coming form timing chain cover/ valve cover area on passenger side. After doing research on this matter and a mechanic visit it is a timing chain guide/tensioner. Its a costly repair and seems to be a common problem on 05-09 mustangs form internet research. They use the timing chain cause they should last the life of the car, cause they wont break. I think the guides should also last, but they are made of plastic and can break at anytime. I think this is a ploy by ford or a defect that needs to be addressed as plastic contained inside of a major car part that can break easily, may cause chain to slip off and shut off engine causing blown engine, or worse while on highway causing an accident. They should be replaced by stainless or aluminum for strength and better support.

Filed Feb 2, 2012 · Engine · NV

The plastic intake manifold cracked and leaked coolant onto the engine and other related components. Car died on freeway. The plastic intake manifold cracks. The coolant will leak onto the top of the block and then down the back of the engine. This intake design is a known defect by ford. Below is an "owner notification letter" from ford: 97m91 april, 1999 ford motor company is providing a no-charge service program number 97m91, to owners of certain 1996 through 1998 crown victoria taxi, town car limo prep & delivery package, 1996 and 1997 thunderbird, cougar and mustang vehicles equipped with 4.6l sohc engines. This service program provides additional coverage for the intake manifold. Reason for this program fatigue cracks may develop in some of the composite intake manifolds used on the 4.6l sohc engines installed in the affected cars. This condition may result in engine coolant leakage which, if not detected or ignored, will cause engine overheating. Complete loss of coolant may result in engine damage or engine failure. What we will do if the engine of your car should develop a coolant leak at the intake manifold cross over coolant passage, located directly behind the alternator, your dealer will verify the condition. If the coolant leakage is from the location described above, your dealer will replace the engine intake manifold assembly free of charge. This no charge coverage is available for 7 years from the vehicle's warranty start date (no mileage limitation) and is automatically transferred to subsequent owners. My complaint is that my mustang did not leak at the given 7 years and now ford motor company will not do anything. Everyone who owns these defective vehicles should have a replacement made available to them regardless of when the failure occurred. It is a safety issue, as stated in above letter from ford.

Filed Jan 27, 2011 · Electrical · 55,166 miles · CA

Vehicle was entering freeway when all dash lights stopped functioning and went black. Within several seconds the vehicle lost power and began spluttering. Vehicle pulled onto the side of the freeway and the engine cut out. Vehicle was unable to restart once engine died. Vehicle was taken to dealership where the alternator was found to be defective.

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 Jul 14, 2009 · Engine · 40,000 miles · TX

My 2000 mustang gt blew out a sparkplug while on the highway going about 45 miles per hour. This engine has about 40,000 miles on it. It was bought directly from ford to replace more first engine after 160,000 miles. This is the 2nd engine ford sent to replace my old engine. The 1st replacement engine blew out a sparkplug on initial startup in the repair shop.

Filed Nov 9, 2008 · Electrical, Lights · 61,080 miles · AL

I recently purchased a 2005 model mustang gt from jim skinner honda in dothan alabama. The vehicle has a significant water leak into the passenger floorboard and into the smart junction box area. The water penetrates into the wiring harnesses and box itself. Being that most operations on this vehicle are electronically controlled it is my opinion (mechanic) that water intrusion into this area could cause an engine failure and has caused lighting malfunctions on the taillights of the vehicle. When raining the vehicle typically experiences electrical ghosts of various sorts. Also the vehicle would not start during some heavy water intrusion instants. But given time this problem can and will lead to a fire or a electrical malfunction causing a crash and/or death.

Filed Feb 15, 2007 · Engine, Fuel system · 48,000 miles · AZ · 3 injuries

2 weeks after I bought the car, I had reported problems with engine and trans and rear-end. They knew about it, but said they did not have the knowledge to work on a seleen, which that is what I was told I was buying at the time. Come to find out it is no. Big difference in price. On or about feb 15th 2006 the engine blew, I had parked it in their parking lot. They had my car for a total of 45 days. Still no trans work or rear-end, they said to bring it back in 30 days. Adding on the linkage was damaged when they had it. I had to pay other shop to fix. Along with engine problems, engine light was on. Since june of 2006 my car has been in the shop 10 times , totaling 55 more days. Rental car cost over 2500.00 and time and mental anguish . Luzzi refused me the 2nd time engine blew because the fact I am married to david harding. He is not on any contract with me. They refuse to do any warranty work on the engine they installed 9 months ago. I paid for a warranty with them for 1800.00 and I was cancelled because of the money already paid for the car. 10 months , where's the other 2 year prorated fees? The list goes on and on.

Filed Aug 22, 2006 · Engine · 89,500 miles · AZ

My 98 gt mustang plastic radiator intake has ruptured at 89,000 miles. It seems all of ford's equipped with ford's 4.6l v-8 contain an intake manifold that is prone to failure. Due to original design, this part has a tendency to crack resulting in sometimes over heating, engine failure and worse case damage to other parts of the car's engine. Ford recognizes this problem but will not recall most cars other than fleet vehicles and those listed in the tsb #97m91. 1. 1998 mustang was overheating while driving down the highway. 2. When car was taken to a repair shop the mechanic noticed a crack in the manifold and advised me to take it to my local dealer. It was brought to my attention that if this part was not corrected engine failure could occur due to coolant loss resulting in severe damage. 3. Car was taken to local ford dealership and I gave them the tsb #97m91 and told them to replace the part. 1998 mustang was not listed and the car and can't be fixed at dealer's cost only consumer's. I called ford motor company and have not had any luck talking to customer service about this problem. Ford owners be aware of this problem.

Filed Aug 20, 2005 · Engine · 64,224 miles · CA

Coming out of a red light, I heard the sound of compressed air being blown out. I immediately parked in a local store parking lot and got towed to a local pep-boys. Pep-boys indicated that one of my spark plugs had blown out and that the threading on the head was damaged. However, they indicated that they did not do that type of repair and recommended that I take it to a ford dealer. The first time I contacted ford was when I towed my car to the dealer for repair. After performing an inspection, they indicated that the one of my spark plugs had blown out and that the threading on the head was damaged. Ford indicated that there were two methods of fixing the problem: 1.) I could replace the engine head (and associated hardware) on the side that blew out. This option was estimated at approximately $3200.00. This option however only included 1 yr. Warranty on the side that would be replaced. In addition, ford would not guarantee that the same problem couldn't occur on the other side of the engine or to another spark plug. 2.) the other option ford recommended was to replace the entire engine. This option would cost approx. $4565.00. This option included 3-yr or 36,000 miles of warranty on the engine. This is the option that I chose. Prior to taking the car out of the dealer, I asked the service techinitian if there was anything that I could do to prevent this from happening again. He indicated that there was nothing that I could do. Furthermore, he indicated that they had seen this problem before. He explained that they had seen these types of failures on ford trucks like the f-150 and specially the f-250.