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2008 Ford Mustang airbags problems

240 complaints (69% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 40,000. 11 crashes reported.

owner complaints
240
of this car's complaints
69%
typical mileage
40,000
crashes
11
recalls
5

Which part fails

  • Side/window
    4
  • On-off switch assembly
    1
  • Frontal
    1

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+

Ford Mustang airbags problems in other years

19901995200020052010201520202024

Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Ford Mustang airbags

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Airbag light 6No deployment 5

Related recalls

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported February 16, 2021 · 1,067 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Risk
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.

Recall number 21V081000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported January 10, 2017 · 654,695 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Risk
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.

Recall number 17V024000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported May 31, 2016 · 1,892,343 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles and 2005-2008 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Any vehicle not included in "Zone A", or "Zone B" is not included in the safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Risk
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Ford mailed interim letters informing owners that parts are not yet available on July 15, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.

Recall number 16V384000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator moduleReported May 28, 2015 · 1,018,622 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2014 Mustang vehicles manufactured April 6, 2004, to June 21, 2014, and 2005-2006 GT vehicles manufactured February 20, 2004, to September 22, 2006. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on June 10, 2016. Even if interim repairs were performed under safety recall 14V‑802, owners must bring their vehicles in for the final remedy. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S21. Note: This recall supersedes safety recall 14V‑802.

Recall number 15V319000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontalReported February 25, 2008 · 434,593 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Ford is recalling 434,593 my 2008 mustang vehicles for failing to comply with one of the neck injury requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection," for an unbelted 5th percentile female sitting in the passenger seat while it is in the full forward position.
Risk
During an air bag deployment, if a small female in the front passenger seat is not wearing the safety belt, and has the seat in the full forward position, there may be an increased potential for a neck injury.
Remedy
Dealers will reprogram the restraint control module free of charge. The recall began on march 3, 2008. Owners may contact ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332 or through email to www.ownerconnection.com.

Recall number 08V082000 · Recall details

Related investigations

Air Bag Inflator RuptureOpened February 24, 2015, still open

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity conditions exist, including the Gulf States and other coastal areas.Takata's testing of the passenger inflators to date continues to indicate this geographic area as having the highest risk, with no ruptures occurring from inflators returned from outside the expanded recall regions.During PE14-016 four additional passenger inflator field events occurred, all in vehicles from the same expanded geographic region.Also during PE14-016 four additional driver inflator field events occurred including two in vehicles from regions not known for high absolute humidity, specifically California and North Carolina.Accordingly, ODI requested all five of the affected vehicle manufacturers currently using the subject Takata driver inflators expand to nationwide recalls.Significantly, neither of the affected vehicle manufacturers or Takata provided any explanation to account for these two driver air bag inflator ruptures outside the area of high absolute humidity.Takata testing of returned driver inflators indicates a lower rupture frequency as compared to passenger inflator testing.All test ruptures reported by Takata to date have occurred on inflators returned from high absolute humidity areas.The investigation now includes all manufacturers and vehicles known to be affected at this time.ODI's investigation will focus on, among other things, root cause analysis, other potential defect consequences, identification of affected vehicles scope, and adequacy of the remedy.The five ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference under the following identification numbers: 10537899, 10568848, 10585224, 10605877, 10651492

EA15001

Air Bag Inflator RuptureOpened June 11, 2014, closed March 2, 2015

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with consistently high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly, ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity conditions exist, including the Gulf States and other coastal areas.Takata's testing of the passenger inflators to date continues to indicate this geographic area as having the highest risk, with no ruptures occurring from inflators returned from outside the expanded recall regions.During PE14-016, four additional passenger inflator field events occurred, all in vehicles from the same expanded geographic region.Also during PE14-016, four additional driver inflator field events occurred including two in vehicles from regions not known for high absolute humidity, specifically California and North Carolina.Accordingly, ODI requested all five of the affected vehicle manufacturers currently using the subject Takata driver inflators expand to nationwide recalls.Significantly, neither of the affected vehicle manufacturers or Takata provided any explanation to account for these two driver air bag inflator ruptures outside the area of high absolute humidity.Takata testing of returned driver inflators indicates a lower rupture frequency as compared to passenger inflator testing.All test ruptures reported by Takata to date have occurred on inflators returned from high absolute humidity areas.The PE is now closed/upgraded to an Engineering Evaluation (EA15-001) to include all manufacturersand vehicles known to be affected at this time.ODI's EA investigation will focus on, among other things, root cause analysis, other potential defect consequences, identification of affected vehicles scope, and adequacy of the remedy.The recalls related to this PE are: 14V343, 14V344, 14V348, 14V351, 14V353, 14V655, 14V700, 14V701, 14V752, 14V763, 14V770, 14V773, 14V787, 14V802 and 14V817.The number of vehicles affected are an estimate since some vehicles may have both the driver and passenger side inflators recalled. The five ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference under the following identification numbers: 10537899, 10568848, 10585224, 10605877, 10651492

PE14016

What 2008 Ford Mustang owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed May 11, 2026 · Airbags, Seat belts · FL · 1 injury

Driving approximately 20 mph, on a smooth road, in a retirement community, the drivers seat airbag explosively inflated without warning. The seatbelts are locked and unusable, the seat bolster is shredded, the driver door panel is disconnected as is the exterior rocker cover. I am afraid to drive the car in fear of the other air bags exploding while driving.

Filed Apr 8, 2023 · Airbags, Brakes · NV · crash · 1 injury

Accident after side swiping cattle guard, flew off the road at 70mph, landing roughly, and bouncing off desert terrain, trying to control crash outcome, realign no brakes, and no way to slow down vehicle, except no acceleration, and turned away from homes and power poles, to eventually slam into a a higher terrain, until complete stop. My repaired airbags didn't deploy, and at that speed, my passenger side wheels were shattered, tires flat, face hit the steering wheel and windshield, my knees hit dashboard, arms bounced off off everything the seat belt couldn't protect me from. Because of airbag failure to deploy, I ended up with 2 fractures, T9 and L1, 6 lose teeth making front teeth unable to use, and 2 cervical discs pushing into spinal column. I have Medicaid for insurance, and they will not do the surgery on my neck, so I have permanent nerve damage to my arms and hands, and the rest of my life to avoid any falls, or sudden injury to these areas so I can exist as a cripple, all because the safety equipment mandated by you, failed or was non existent. I had basic motor insurance coverage and no medical for me. What do you propose I do, with what's left of my car and my body parts, to continue existing in this life? Why have safety regulations when the equipment is knowingly defective, and costly, with no recourse in case something happens, before you as owner, are aware of it. I'm so pissed off to discover I own a vehicle, or paid for vehicle, that tried to kill me.

Filed Feb 9, 2020 · Airbags · SC

I've tried numerous time to make appointment to get the fixed no call back and put on hold every time I notified my love ones and lawyer to take immediate action if something happens to me or anyone in my vehicle for years this has gone on it's sad to go through this with nothing done. A civil suite is my next option

Filed Mar 8, 2019 · Airbags · WA

Takata recall air bags need to be replaced. I received a letter saying I need my air bags replaced.

Filed Dec 10, 2018 · Airbags · 67,000 miles · FL

Takata recall - I have tried on several occasions to have the passenger side airbag recall performed at autonation ford, sanford, fl. They keep telling me that they have to order the part. I keep checking back and they keep telling me that they still have to order the part. Most times no one answers the service line at autonation ford. Now I'm receiving several airbag recall notices from ford each week. I tried their 1-866-(xxxx) help line but can never get through. I tried the chat on their www.fordowner.com website but cannot get through. This has been an extremely frustrating situation, especially since I'm told I should not have someone sit in the passenger seat until the recall is performed. I want to know how soon I can get this recall performed on my vehicle and stop being hounded by all of these mailings. There is no way to send ford an e-mail complaint about this issue. Very frustrating! Now I understand why people don't bother to get a safety recall performed on their vehicles! I used to work for the federal safety agency in the office of defects investigation so I understand how the safety recall process is supposed to work. This is "broken" at ford and autonation ford of sanford florida

Filed Nov 16, 2018 · Airbags · SC

Takata recall. Have called for 6 months to classic ford lincoln of columbia and been unable to get the part serviced. Called with the ford customer care team on the line and they hung up and would not pick up when the agent redialed this morning. She instead called dick smith ford of columbia who is also unable to schedule and says it's first come first server at the top of every month. The fact you are not supposed to drive the car, but are unable to actually get the issue addressed is ridiculous.

Filed Oct 29, 2018 · Airbags · 120,000 miles · TX

Takata recall

Filed Oct 7, 2018 · Airbags · CA

Takata recall. Ford refuses to fix the recalled drivers side airbag until we fix the malfunctioning airbag clock spring at a cost of $400.

Filed Oct 1, 2018 · Airbags · GA

Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 ford mustang. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 16v384000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer (gerald jones ford lincoln, 3480 wrightsboro rd, augusta, ga 30909, (706)-738-8000) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Sep 7, 2018 · Airbags · VA

Takata recall. I have received notices regarding this recall (dated 6/1/16) that applies to my vehicle over the past couple years. When I have contacted my ford dealer, they have said that they do not have the parts to complete this recall. I do not understand why anyone should wait years to have the airbag replaced on a vehicle when the airbag currently in the vehicle is dangerous.

Questions about the 2008 Ford Mustang airbags

Does the 2008 Ford Mustang have airbags problems?

Owners have filed 240 complaints about the airbags of the 2008 Ford Mustang, 69% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.

At what mileage do 2008 Ford Mustang airbags problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 40,000 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2008 Ford Mustang airbags?

Yes, 5 recalls: 21V081000, 17V024000, 16V384000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.

What year does the Ford Mustang have bad airbags?

The Ford Mustang model years with the most airbags complaints are 2007 (348 complaints), 2014 (245 complaints) and 2008 (240 complaints).

Other 2008 Ford Mustang problems

Transmission 30Acceleration 19Body 15Electrical 15Brakes 13Engine 8Seat belts 6Steering 6Fuel system 5Tires 5Visibility 3Driver assistance 2Suspension 2Wheels 2Lights 1Seats 1

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