Your vehicle report
1998 Ford Mustang
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 236
- Received Dec 1997 to May 2021
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Seat belt fails to latch or retract18 complaints · 7.6% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Plastic intake manifold cracks and leaks coolant13 complaints · 5.5% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Airbags fail to deploy in crashes12 complaints · 5.1% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #00V349000Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. If a vehicle is parked with the parking brake not fully applied and not in first gear, as directed in the owner guide, and the self adjustment pawl subsequently skips one or two teeth, the vehicle could move on some grades.
- Recall #99V062001Vehicle description: certain 1997-1999 rhd explorer equipped with 4.0L ohv/sohc engines and cruise control built from may 29, 1996 through march 4, 1999; 1998-1999 explorer/mountaineers equipped with 4.0L ohv/sohc or 5.0L engines or 1998-1999 rangers equipped with 2.5L, 3.0L ffv/efi or 4.0L engines and cruise control built from january 5, 1998 through march 4, 1999; 1998-1999 mustangs equipped with 3.8L, 4.6L 2-VALVE or 4-VALVE engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999; 1999 F250/F350/F450/F550 (over 8,500 lbs.) trucks equipped with 5.4L or 6.8L engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999; and 1999 F-53 stripped chassis equipped with 5.4L or 6.8L engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999. A cruise control cable can interfere with the speed control servo pulley and not allow the throttle to return to idle when disengaging the cruise control.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 44 crashes, 12 fires, 31 people injured, 1 death.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 20 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
- Tires blow out or tread separates
- Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed
- Suspension clunking or rattling noise over bumps
1 more problem
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 1 |
| 1998 | 27 |
| 1999 | 66 |
| 2000 | 32 |
| 2001 | 39 |
| 2002 | 21 |
| 2003 | 9 |
| 2004 | 14 |
| 2005 | 7 |
| 2006 | 2 |
| 2007 | 1 |
| 2008 | 0 |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 1 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2013 | 0 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 236 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 18 | 7.6% | – | |
| Plastic intake manifold cracks and leaks coolant | 13 | 5.5% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 12 | 5.1% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 12 | 5.1% | – | |
| Vehicle rolls backward out of park | 12 | 5.1% | – | |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 11 | 4.7% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 9 | 3.8% | – | |
| Parking brake fails to hold or release | 9 | 3.8% | – | NHTSA recall #00V349000 |
| Fuel pump fails and engine stalls | 7 | 3.0% | – | |
| Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed | 6 | 2.5% | – | |
| Engine won't start or cranks intermittently | 6 | 2.5% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 5 | 2.1% | – | |
| Engine suddenly shuts off while driving | 5 | 2.1% | – | |
| Hood latch fails and hood flies open | 4 | 1.7% | – | |
| Rear door latch fails to open or close | 4 | 1.7% | – | |
| Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips | 4 | 1.7% | – | |
| Suspension clunking or rattling noise over bumps | 4 | 1.7% | – | |
| Power steering cuts out while driving | 4 | 1.7% | – | |
| Head gasket leaks coolant into engine | 4 | 1.7% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 3 | 1.3% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #00V349000October 30, 2000434,000 vehicles affected
parking brake: conventional
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. If a vehicle is parked with the parking brake not fully applied and not in first gear, as directed in the owner guide, and the self adjustment pawl subsequently skips one or two teeth, the vehicle could move on some grades.
This could result in unintended vehicle movement and a vehicle crash without prior warning.
Remedy
Dealers will modify the parking brake control and install a plate or over-bracket to the control to lock the self adjust mechanism in position following adjustment.
NHTSA recall #99V062001March 30, 1999898,739 vehicles affected
vehicle speed control
Vehicle description: certain 1997-1999 rhd explorer equipped with 4.0L ohv/sohc engines and cruise control built from may 29, 1996 through march 4, 1999; 1998-1999 explorer/mountaineers equipped with 4.0L ohv/sohc or 5.0L engines or 1998-1999 rangers equipped with 2.5L, 3.0L ffv/efi or 4.0L engines and cruise control built from january 5, 1998 through march 4, 1999; 1998-1999 mustangs equipped with 3.8L, 4.6L 2-VALVE or 4-VALVE engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999; 1999 F250/F350/F450/F550 (over 8,500 lbs.) trucks equipped with 5.4L or 6.8L engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999; and 1999 F-53 stripped chassis equipped with 5.4L or 6.8L engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999. A cruise control cable Can interfere with the speed control servo pulley and not allow the throttle to return to idle when disengaging the cruise control.
If the cruise control is used and this condition is present, a stuck throttle could result, which could potentially result in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the cruise control cables. At the present time, the replacement cables are not available. Customers are being advised not to use the cruise control system until a replacement Can be made.
NHTSA recall #97V216000November 24, 19978,000 vehicles affected
fuel system, gasoline: fuel injection system
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with 4.6L engines. Some of these vehicles has missing or inadequate braze joints between the fuel rail body and the fuel rail mounting bracket(s).
If the bracket separates from the rail, the rail Can lift one or more of the injectors, and fuel leakage will result. In the presence of an ignition source, a fire could occur.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the fuel rail on these vehicles.
NHTSA recall #97V165000September 30, 19972,250 vehicles affected
steering: gear box: shaft sector
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles and mini-vans. The rack and pinion steering gears may have damaged input shaft bearings.
This condition Can increase steering efforts, affecting steering control.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the date code on the rack and pinion steering gear, and, if necessary, replace those rack and pinion assemblies that fall within the suspect date code range. The date codes for windstar model vehicles are 97JB09 or 97JC08; the date codes for Mustang model vehicles are 97J09B or 97J08B.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 1998 Ford Mustang.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN