2018 Ford Mustang: engine stalls while driving

Filed Jun 25, 2026 · Engine · 56,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine sputtered with the check engine warning light illuminated. There was heavy white smoke coming from the tailpipe. Upon arriving at the destination, the vehicle hesitated to restart, and the contact observed a significant loss of coolant. The vehicle stalled while driving at various speeds. Upon inspection, the dealer confirmed coolant intrusion in cylinders #2 and #3, resulting in total engine failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the VIN was not under recall, and there was no warranty associated with the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired out-of-pocket by the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

Filed May 20, 2026 · Engine · GA

1. Component failed and availability for inspection: The engine assembly block failed due to a manufacturing defect known as "coolant intrusion into the cylinders." The vehicle and the defective engine are currently located at my residence and remain fully available for federal or manufacturer inspection upon request. 2. Safety risk: The safety of myself and others was severely compromised. Coolant entering the combustion chambers causes sudden, severe engine misfires across all cylinders, erratic power loss, and instantaneous stalling. Operating a vehicle where the engine can suddenly lose all power on high-speed roads creates an immediate risk of rear-end collisions and catastrophic traffic accidents. Furthermore, high-pressure internal coolant leaks pose an inherent risk of engine fires. 3. Problem confirmed by a dealer: Yes. The problem has been officially diagnosed and confirmed by an authorized Ford dealership service center, which documented internal coolant intrusion. 4. Inspected by manufacturer, police, or insurance: The component was inspected and verified by the vehicle manufacturer's authorized dealership technicians. It has not been inspected by the police or insurance representatives, as no crash has occurred yet. 5. Warning lamps, messages, or symptoms prior to failure: Prior to the diagnosis, the vehicle exhibited a "Check Engine Light." Currently, the vehicle is suffering from critical failure symptoms: the Check Engine Light is flashing constantly, the engine misfire codes are actively showing on all 4 cylinders, and the vehicle shakes violently at low RPMs (rough idling). These severe symptoms first appeared approximately 2 moths ago and have progressively worsened due to the coolant intrusion.

Filed Nov 28, 2025 · Engine · TX

My 2018 Ford Mustang EcoBoost experienced sudden engine failure at 70,915 miles. The dealership documented misfire codes P0300, P0301, and P0316, which match the known 2.3L EcoBoost coolant-intrusion defect. This defect causes loss of power, rough operation, misfires, and potential stalling, creating a safety risk during driving. Ford Customer Relationship Center instructed me that the dealership must escalate the defect to the Regional Field Service Engineer. However, the dealer refused to do so, leaving the failure unresolved. This appears to be part of a widespread safety-related defect involving 2.3L EcoBoost engines, with risk of sudden loss of power, stalling, and internal engine failure

Filed May 20, 2023 · Transmission · MI

2018 Ford Mustang with 10R80 10 speed transmission. Bronco like action when slowing almost whiplash like , stalls when stopping sometime, very hard shift jerking, hard downshifting when slowing, clunking into reverse, loss of power suddenly on the FREEWAY!!!!!!!!!, very hot transmission temperatures (230+), limp mode, Very unsafe if in any FORD or other vehicles have the 10R80. Immediate recall is needed, immediate acknowledgement by FORD MOTOR COMPANY is needed here so all the multiple lawsuits can stop and safety can / should be the top priority here. SAFETY 1ST.

Filed May 10, 2023 · Transmission · 35,000 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while at stop light the rear end of the vehicle would began to shake before the vehicle would stall and shut off and the message "shift to park" had displayed. The contact indicated the failure was intermittent. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The contact was informed the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency Recall Campaign number: 18V213000(Power Train). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced that same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 35,000.

Filed Jan 27, 2020 · Transmission · 5,000 miles · CA

Intermittently, the clutch pedal will be stuck to the floor after pressing it to switch gears. It happened to me when I was going from neutral to 1st gear and from 1st gear to second gear which is a huge safety concern as the car stalled and I almost hit someone and someone almost hit me. It has only happened to me 2 times in the last month because I found the source of the problem. The clutch return line is at fault because it seems to be very short. Because of it being short, it has a lot of tension on it. Because of the car having a flat plane crank, I believe the excessive vibrations that the engine creates might make this line back off over time. My car only had 5,000 miles when this happened and it was very frightening. The line is an interference fit on the fluid reservoir and its cause the line to slowly leak every time you touch the line because the seal isn't good enough. To temperately remedy this issue, I have just been pushing the line back on. This isn't a good fix and ford needs to recall these cars because it can cause a bad accident especially at speed. The picture attached is a picture of the line that is in question. In the picture, the line was fitted correctly on the fluid reservoir. This is just to show the faulty line in question. I hope ford can recall these cars asap because I'm scared to drive it really.

Filed Sep 26, 2019 · Engine · 11,000 miles · OR

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 ford mustang. While the vehicle was coming to a stop with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle shook violently and stalled. The contact had to shift into park and turn off the vehicle. When the vehicle was restarted, it resumed normal operation. The contact called three dealers: landmark ford (located at 12000 sw 66th avenue, tigard, or 97223, 503‑639‑1131), dick's mackenzie ford (located at 4151 se tualatin valley hwy, hillsboro, or 97123, 844‑424‑8102), and skyline ford (located at 2510 commercial st se, salem, or 97302, 503‑581‑2411). None of the dealers could diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened case number: cas24128956. The approximate failure mileage was 11,000.

Filed Feb 10, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 3,000 miles · CA

My check engine light came on while on cruise control on the interstate going 80mph on a 75 and a few seconds after the check engine light came on , the car shut off and locked up and caused me to lose control. Car was taken to a dealership , and the entire bottom end was torn apart and a few engine components were replaced. After receiving the vehicle back from the dealership the vehicle continues to have electrical and engine problems. The car will at random times shut off while driving , main times is the freeway. Second issue is the car has loud knocking to the engine , sounds like a lifted knock , the car was taken to a dealership, and my car was next to a same year mustang to compare sound and mine was definitely knocking compared to the other mustang. Third issue is there is a constant squealing sound like a lose belt coming from the back side of the engine (this recently started) and the fourth issue is when I'm coming down to a stop or slowing down even without touching the breaks there is a metal clinging sound that doesn't stop until the car comes to a complete stop. The car only has 17k miles and is never abused , and has always been properly maintained.

Filed Sep 3, 2018 · Transmission · 1,800 miles · NC

Engine stalls while driving (3) incidents: engine stalls, battery indicator/then dash board message; 'put in neutral to start engine.' so far has always re-started while driving at highway speeds: 1.june 25, estimated miles: 800, I-77 on-ramp exit 19, 55 MPH, decelerating around turn, 10 minutes after startup (no service appointment scheduled) 2.july 11, estimated miles: 1200, south tryon approaching canton, straight, steady 45 MPH, 5 minutes after startup (service scheduled) 3.august 8, 1800 miles: 1-77 on-ramp exit 19, 50 MPH, decelerating around turn, 10 minutes after startup (service scheduled). Service representative: town & country ford, charlotte, nc 'service 1: june 18: out mileage: 1393 miles, installed missing back seat bracket. Checked for stall fix: no codes/ no fix determined for stalls. No codes/no service. 'service 2: august 13: re-check stall issue: tbd. Suggested on line checks/remedies for mustang stalls issues: no codes found / no service performed. Issue unresolved. Service representative: huntersville ford, huntersville nc 'service 3: august 27: tech test drives, no issues detected. Check codes/no codes/no service. Dealers could not find error codes or replicate stalling therefore no service was attempted.

Filed Apr 30, 2018 · Engine · 20 miles · MI

2018 mustang gt with manual transmission. Engine stalls when shifting into neutral (manual trans) at higher engine speeds. For example, coming up to a red light (was traveling approx 50mph) or while exiting the freeway (was traveling 65mph and then was turning around an off-ramp). Has occured at any driving speed (if revving engine at full stop, or while traveling). Stalling does not occur if the transmission remains engaged while slowing down. If I shift to neutral when the engine is near it's normal idle speed (500 RPM after warm-up), it will not stall. The problem only occurs when shifting to neutral above ~2,000 RPM, and only after the engine is warmed up. The problem was present from the time the vehicle was brand new. At 1500 miles I returned to the dealer and was able to successfully reproduce the issue together with the service advisor. In some instances, the engine speed will drop below idle speed and then will recover and not stall. I made a recording of the can bus to try to diagnose the issue on my own, which is available upon request. It seems that the engine controller is requesting more torque from the engine when the speed drops, but the throttle will not respond to the request and the engine will stall. No dtcs or warning lights were given to indicate that there was an issue. No modifications were made to the car, and is in completely 'stock' condition.