2021 Ford Mustang Mach E: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Jul 17, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · OH

While driving my 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E, the front electric drive unit failed suddenly with no warning signs, warning lights, unusual noises, or any prior indication of a problem. During the failure, multiple fault messages appeared on the instrument cluster, including warnings that disabled adaptive cruise control and indicated the all-wheel-drive system was no longer functioning. The vehicle began to vibrate severely, feeling as though it was driving over rumble strips. As I slowed down, the front of the vehicle became extremely clunky and exhibited abnormal drivetrain behavior. Shortly afterward, the vehicle became undrivable and could no longer be operated under its own power. It had to be towed to a Ford dealership, where I was informed that the front electric drive assembly had failed and required replacement. This is the second time this exact component has failed on the same vehicle. The first front electric drive assembly failed at approximately 33,000 miles and was replaced under warranty. The second failure occurred at approximately 102,000 miles with no warning. I believe this repeated and sudden failure of a critical drivetrain component presents a significant safety concern because it can leave drivers stranded without warning and results in an unexpected loss of propulsion while operating the vehicle in traffic.

Filed Jul 17, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · OH

While driving my 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E, the front electric drive unit failed suddenly with no warning signs, warning lights, unusual noises, or any prior indication of a problem. During the failure, multiple fault messages appeared on the instrument cluster, including warnings that disabled adaptive cruise control and indicated the all-wheel-drive system was no longer functioning. The vehicle began to vibrate severely, feeling as though it was driving over rumble strips. As I slowed down, the front of the vehicle became extremely clunky and exhibited abnormal drivetrain behavior. Shortly afterward, the vehicle became undrivable and could no longer be operated under its own power. It had to be towed to a Ford dealership, where I was informed that the front electric drive assembly had failed and required replacement. This is the second time this exact component has failed on the same vehicle. The first front electric drive assembly failed at approximately 33,000 miles and was replaced under warranty. The second failure occurred at approximately 102,000 miles with no warning. I believe this repeated and sudden failure of a critical drivetrain component presents a significant safety concern because it can leave drivers stranded without warning and results in an unexpected loss of propulsion while operating the vehicle in traffic.

Filed Jun 17, 2026 · Driver assistance · CA

The front camera system does not function which causes all forward collision safety features to become unavailable, as well as any cruise control or automatic high beam lights. Seems to be a common issues and is related to faulty fiber optic cables.

Filed May 7, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · AZ

The car gives two messages, "Front Camera Fault Service Required" and "Pre-Collision assist not available." The cruise control does not work, however, the front camera does work. I had the vehicle scan done at the Ford dealer and was told it needs a 7 hour software update, after which it may need cables replaced. I do not understand how software goes bad. I do understand something may have happened to cables but that would not be checked until they had charged me $ 1,400 for a software update. This is a safety issue and, from what I read on the Mach E forum, is not where near unique to my vehicle.

Filed Apr 29, 2026 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · CA

Vehicle: 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Component: Image Processing Module A (IPMA) / Front Camera / Forward Collision Avoidance System The IPMA and front camera system have failed, disabling Pre-Collision Assist, AEB, forward collision warning, and adaptive cruise control while driving. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Warning messages "Front Camera Fault Service Required" and "Pre-Collision Assist Not Available" first appeared August 24, 2022 and have recurred consistently over nearly four years. No accident, physical damage, or obstruction was present at any occurrence. This failure puts safety at risk by silently disabling AEB and forward collision warning during normal driving — systems a driver may depend on in an emergency braking situation with no advance notice they are unavailable. The problem was confirmed by a Ford dealership in February 2026. Their repair order documents: "RAN IPMA SELF TEST AND FOUND DTC SET U3000-49... HARDWARE TEST FAILED... FOUND TSB RELATED REC REPLACE MODULE." The dealer contacted Ford, who authorized 50% off the module replacement only, characterizing it as a "loyal customer discount" rather than a warranty or goodwill repair. I declined to pay for the fix. the federal safety agency Campaign 11028164 (superseding TSB 25-2156) covers this exact failure. Ford's own TSB acknowledges the defect and the dealer confirmed it applies to my vehicle, yet owners are being quoted up to $8,000 for a known safety system failure. I'm requesting the federal safety agency investigate whether this warrants a recall. First occurrence: August 24, 2022 (mileage not recorded) Service visit: February 17-18, 2026 at 80,029 miles Current mileage: 83,988 Attachments: photos of both fault messages, dealer invoice

Filed Mar 21, 2026 · Driver assistance · MD

An error message intermittently pops up on my vehicle that says, "Front Camera Fault", causing collision assistance and adaptive cruise control to suddenly stop working. This is a major safety issue, as a failure of adaptive cruise control while under operation may lead to a risk of an accident. Ford is aware of this issue and has issued TSB 23-2155, but they are treating it like a standard repair and not covering vehicles out of warranty. This should be a safety recall. See here for many others with the same issue: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Oct 22, 2025 · Driver assistance · CA

The car would intermittently give an error saying pre-collision assist not available and now this error is permanent. There is a technical service bulletin for it 23-2155 Lots of people have been complaining about this in the mach e forum https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/front-camera-fault-pre-collision-assist-not-available-errors.18710/page-69#post-1026803 This causes people to drop out from the automatic driving bluecruise without notice and adaptive cruise control becomes unusable.

Filed Oct 14, 2025 · Driver assistance · KS · crash

There are many reports of the Mustang Mach E "accelerating unexpectedly." This usually happens in parking lots or other situations involving low speed and a rapid turn of the wheel. I know exactly what the problem is, because it happened to me this morning. While parking in my parking garage, my car rapidly accelerated uphill and I only narrowly avoided hitting a wall. Here is why: There are two interconnected problems. The first is that the "cruise control on/off" button is located on the far left of the interior of the steering wheel, which makes it easy to accidentally press when doing a sharp, quick one-handed turn of the wheel (like when parking). When this happens, CC engages while in the act of parking. This is exactly what happened to me. I accidentally hit the button while doing a sharp twist of the wheel, I saw the CC engage, the car rapidly accelerated uphill without my foot on the gas pedal, and I would have hit the wall in front of me if I had been a split-second slower in hitting the brake. The second problem is that there is supposed to be a failsafe for accidentally activating CC at low speed, BUT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK. Page 224 of my manual says "Press the button to activate system. When the system activates, the set speed is equal to whichever is greater, the current vehicle speed, or 15 mph...." This part is true, and this is how the unexpected acceleration to 15mph occurs when parking. But the manual continues: "If the speed is too low, or other conditions are not correct for adaptive cruise control activation, the system enters standby mode. When you are below 15 mph ... adaptive cruise control does not activate unless you are following another vehicle." This is FALSE. This did not work. Clearly the CC mistook the wall in front of me for "following another vehicle." And so, when I accidentally activated CC while parking, it lurched forward UPHILL to 15mph toward a wall a few feet away. Ford needs to move the button and/or fix the failsafe.

Filed Oct 4, 2025 · Driver assistance · CO

Camera system that allows hands free driving, lane departure warning, collision warning and adaptive cruise control fails and all system offline. Extremely widespread on the 2021 models. Looks to be a cable route to the camera that was installed incorrectly. Went to dealership, they said they see this in almost all of the Mach E vehicles. Usually begins failing when hitting bumps -- system goes in/out. After a while, system drops out completely and all safety systems relying on them fail.

Filed Sep 25, 2025 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · NY

When in cruise control, any speed, car suddenly accelerates This happens while driving, or sometimes after stopping and then resuming previous set speed. For example I was driving in cruise control at 38 mph, when the car suddenly sped to 50mph. Or when on a highway, driving at 55mph, the car suddenly accelerated to 70mph. Started about 3 weeks ago.

Filed Sep 23, 2025 · Driver assistance · WA

Going over any bump in the road greater than 2 inches in heigth causes the following: - Front Camera Fault Service Required message - Pre-collision Assist inoperative - Adaptive cruise control inoperative

Filed Aug 18, 2025 · Driver assistance · CA

I was driving on the highway when the car gave me an error saying that the front camera is faulty and the collision warning system was giving an error. This stopped my cruise control and lane departure settings. I had just got my car back from Ford for this issue where they replaced a $7000 computer part and said it was fixed. This issue has been happening since I purchased the car in Dec 2024.