2005 Ford Mustang: engine overheating

Filed Mar 24, 2025 · Engine · 123,000 miles · AZ

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. While driving at approximately 25-35 MPH for approximately two miles, the engine started overheating. The oil pan gasket was leaking. The contact stated that the failure was related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V779000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). There were several hoses that were split. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the radiator and engine were cracked, and the pistons were loose. There was air in the oil. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 123,000.

Filed Jul 12, 2023 · Electrical · CA

I've own a 2005 Mustang GT since the year 2012. Throughout the years I've encountered problems where the cooling fan would abruptly shut off and cause the engine to overheat. The first time this happened I had to pull over to the side of the road countless of times just to let my car get cool enough to get back home. I brought the Mustang GT in to a mechanic who suggested to replace the radiator fan. After replacing it, the fan would work for a few weeks only for it to randomly shut off, but turn back on. Just recently I found oil in my spark plugs and found the following OBD II error codes: P0480 Fan 1 Control Circuit & P0481 Fan 2 Control Circuit. I am convinced the valve seals and maybe the piston rings were worn out due to excessive heat caused by the Mustang's electrical issues with the radiator fan. After searching online, I found countless amounts of threads and videos of other Mustang owners experiencing the same issue. Most of them are caused by a faulty relay connection inside the Mustang's fuse box that is causing the radiator fan to fail. The faulty relay would get burnt and cause a short thus not providing power to the radiator fan which left many owners stranded on the road and caused over thousands of dollars in damages to their engine. The part that gets burnt is not easily available and would require owners to pay an additional thousands of dollars to reconnect the relays. Some owners had no choice but to create a makeshift wired connection from their radiator fan to the dashboard so that their vehicle's engine can remain under normal operating temperatures while driving. I've attached a video of someone explaining this issue at the 8:00 Minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAs6uf3VV68

Filed Nov 13, 2017 · Airbags · 88,000 miles · MO

Takata recall I am complaining today about sarasota ford. My car windshield wipers would not work and it had something to do with electrical. I had my friend take my car there because I had to return back to the midwest. I did not want to drive 19 hours without wipers. I figured since it was there I would call and have them take care of this airbag recall. I was told everything was taken care of and I paid them over the phone and was going to fly and pick it up that week. Hurricane irma made that impossible by the time I did pick up my car I never spoke to any of the service department. I wanted to make sure everything was safe to drive 19 hours home. I had to even walk in the back parking lot because the secretary who did help get my keys couldn't drive a stick. There was a bag of food left in my backseat and maggots was in my backseat . I knew they were swamped so I didn't even complain. I was on my way back to kc and my car won't start when I was in the middle of nowhere. I immediately call sarasota ford and they put me on hold for a long time. I finally hung up and some locals helped me pop start my clutch. I drove two more hours and my car started overheating. I pull over and its steaming. I had to get a hotel room in alabama somewhere and a tow truck. It ended up being the thermostat housing. I thought that sarasota would of gave my car a full diagnostic to figure out what was the problem. I just went to the airbagrecall.com because I got another reminder to fix recall this week and it my still has a airbag recall. I am just lucky my car only broke down after getting fixed at sarasota ford. I could of wrecked and the airbag would of been faulty.

Filed May 22, 2014 · Electrical · 109,000 miles · IL

The instrument cluster on my 2005 mustang is failing. The RPM (tach) does not work at all. My temperature gauge does not work at all. My speedometer is starting to fail. I have researched and found this is a common problem w/ the 2005 mustangs, yet there is no recall. If my car overheats, I will never know it. When my speedometer finally fails, I will not know how fast I am going.

Filed Aug 7, 2013 · Electrical · 137,000 miles · CA

My engine overheated when it cooled down I checked the cooling fan connectors and discovered they have melted now the fan won't operate.

Filed Sep 24, 2012 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 75,000 miles · AR

My speedometer started acting erratic. It does not work at all now. The needle is stuck past 120 miles. Now my oil, water & battery gauges do not work. Asked my ford technician during my regular oil change and checkup about the problem and they stated that is was a sign my alternator was going out. I had my alternator changed, but it did not correct the problem and after that is when my other gauges quit working. Since this is a problem with almost every one made during that year, you would believe that ford would not want to tarnish their name by not issuing a recall. I have always owned a ford, but my family has recently changed to different makes and I will definitely consider changing after this. This is a safety issue because if your gauges are not working, you could stall in traffic by running out of gas, overheating, engine lock up, etc. I need my car so I can make a living for my family and I do love my car, but I am considering getting rid of it because I am afraid something will happen while I am in traffic. This does not need to wait until people start having accidents or dying. With the economy the way it is today, most people cannot afford to get their car repaired or change cars so they are left with no choice but to take chances. If it was your family in the car and something happened in traffic, would a recall come any faster? I have noticed recalls in the news happening faster when someone dies, but I wonder how many complaints were received before that happened? I suppose it would happen faster if the news were to pick up the story of how many problems existed and were left unnoticed. Thanks for looking into the problem, but please don't wait too long.

Filed Dec 29, 2011 · Electrical · 48,000 miles · TN

The instrument panel in my 05 mustang has completely failed. In 2008, the gauges would become erratic at times. (tach, speedometer, etc) this has become more problematic over the last couple of years usually only occurring in colder weather. At this point, the gauges have completely failed. Case in point: during the summer of 2011 the car "actually" overheated due to a cracked thermostat housing and the gauge never displayed the issue before the failure. We were fortunate to have picked up on the issue (while driving the car at highway speed) before a fire or other unfortunate event occurred.... Or before the car was permanently damaged. When I've consulted with the local ford dealer ship, (cookeville, tn) they act as if this the instrument panel failure is something new. This issue is posted on every major mustang forum or support site. Heck, there are even businesses on the "web" that advertise their ability to replace the "stepper motors" that control the gauge functions. Apparently the stepper motors that ford opted to use in their instrument panels are the cause of the issue. Furthermore I receive customer complaint updates via the carfax web portal monthly. Each update contains dozens of new reports with this problem. So.....the excuse that ford doesn't know anything about this issue..... Doesn't hold water. If ford wants to offshore its components to 3rd world countries for cheaper labor and parts..... Fine. The least they could do is stand behind their products when / if they fail. After all, they should have extra $$$ in the coffers from the savings of offshoring their components. Any help you fellas could provide in pressuring ford to step up and take care of their problem would be greatly appreciated.

Filed Oct 29, 2011 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · CA

Instrument cluster: the RPM and temp gauges do not work. First the RPM gauge stopped working and 1 year later the temp gauge started jumping around to cold and then hot. I have had to pull over to check the engine numerous times and the engine was not hot. Now the temp gauge does not work at all and the gauge points downward as the RPM gauge. This is dangerous. I'm worried the engine may overheat and I will have no indication. I see there are many other 2005 mustang owners with the same problem. There should be a recall on this.

Filed Apr 20, 2009 · Engine · TX

On saturday april 18, 2009 my daughter called to say that her car was hard to steer. She pulled over and her main belt had come off, which in turn caused the car to overheat. Upon further investigation and turning the ignition over, the belt fell off again and so did the pulley on the harmonic balancer. We had to have the car towed to a shop. Upon arriving at the shop I was told that the harmonic balancer broke off the crank shaft. When the new part arrived you could clearly see that it has been redesigned. We paid $600 to have the necessary repairs done. I was told by our mechanic that he has never seen anything like this and there should be a recall on it. I hope this will make that happen.

Filed Feb 6, 2007 · Brakes · 88,323 miles · VA

Parking brake fails to release fully when temperatures are below 30 degree f. If your are not familiar if car, it could go unnoticed, causing overheating of the rear brakes and possible wheel bearings failure. Has not been repaired as of 2/6/07. Waiting for temperature rise before taking to dealer.

Filed Oct 12, 2005 · Engine · 6,500 miles · IL

Dt: on october 11, 2005 while driving the vehicle hit a rock. Then, the rock hit the condenser and radiator, causing a leak. This caused the engine to overheat. The vehicle had lost power steering and the brakes. The contact was able to pull safely to the curb. The rock caused a small dent in the radiator. The contact was concerned because there was nothing protecting the radiator from damage. The contact took vehicle to dealer for repairs. The dealership said that the radiator and the motor will have to be replaced. The vehicle was going to be repaired.