"How reliable is the 2002 Ford Mustang?"

"Based on 159 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Ford Mustang has a median complaint mileage of 40000 miles. The most common issue is Frontal."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Ford Mustang?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Ford Mustang is Frontal, accounting for a significant portion of the 159 total complaints filed."

2002 Ford Mustang: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 159 complaints

159

Total Complaints

40,000mi

Median Mileage

Frontal

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

22,000 25th Percentile

40,000 Median Mileage

93,283 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Frontal

Vehicle Speed Control

Gasoline

Seat Belts

Air Bags

Suspension

Unknown Or Other

Tires

Retractor

Engine And Engine Cooling

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED OF 60 MPH SEPENTINE BELT CAME OFF AND CAUSED LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES. DEALER NOTIFIED, AND MADE REPAIRS. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS MATTER.*AK"

"WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH ACCELERATOR PEDAL FELT FLOPPY. CONSUMER CHANGED GEAR , LET FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR, AND VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. CONSUMER APPLIED CLUTCH TO SLOW VEHICLE DOWN. VEHICLE IS AT DEALER AT THIS TIME.*AK"

"LUGS: NUTS FELL OFF. CONSUMER WAS TOLD BY DEALER THAT HE SHOULD RETORT LUGS: NUTS AFTER SO MANY MILES. BUT NOTHING WAS MENTIONED IN THE DRIVER'S MANUAL.*AK CONSUMER STATED THAT HE FOUND TWO OTHER LUG NUTS FOUND LOOSE. *YH"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Frontal 12 complaints

25th: 21,042 mi Median: 26,500 mi 75th: 27,000 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 10 complaints

Median: 31,000 mi

Seat Belts 7 complaints

25th: 80,000 mi Median: 82,700 mi 75th: 100,000 mi

Air Bags 7 complaints

25th: 91,000 mi Median: 106,500 mi 75th: 122,750 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 31 FL: 19 TX: 12 OK: 11 NJ: 11 SC: 8 VA: 8 NY: 6 AR: 5 OR: 5

Who Files Complaints?

44.7%

Original Owners

55.3%

Second+ Owners

Ford Mustang — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	119	-	Switch	13
1991	98	124,000	Switch	5
1992	80	116,863	Switch	15
1993	132	72,000	Frontal	24
1994	496	87,000	Engine	32
1995	829	80,000	Engine	65
1996	329	71,000	Engine	23
1997	231	100,110	Conventional	20
1998	297	90,000	Gasoline	52
1999	281	60,000	Frontal	63
2000	427	64,306	Frontal	64
2001	219	60,000	Frontal	42
2003	177	10,500	Engine	23
2004	127	13,446	Accelerator Pedal	21
2005	892	49,000	Air Bags	43
2006	505	55,000	Air Bags	32
2007	727	35,525	Air Bags	63
2008	381	37,250	Air Bags	32
2009	215	41,000	Air Bags	34
2010	296	43,086	Air Bags	19
2011	582	35,000	Air Bags	27
2012	572	24,250	Power Train	34
2013	323	41,185	Air Bags	19
2014	423	23,000	Air Bags	39
2015	591	32,000	Unknown Or Other	43
2016	484	35,000	Engine	23
2017	324	40,500	Back Over Prevention	18
2018	224	30,000	Engine	12
2019	177	17,000	Engine	8
2020	162	22,300	Unknown Or Other	26
2021	63	5,800	Power Train	6
2022	63	4,650	Unknown Or Other	5
2023	25	15,000	Steering	11
2024	105	3,947	Electrical System	12

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28