"How reliable is the 2012 Ford Mustang?"

"Based on 572 NHTSA complaints, the 2012 Ford Mustang has a median complaint mileage of 24250 miles. The most common issue is Power Train."

"What are common problems with the 2012 Ford Mustang?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2012 Ford Mustang is Power Train, accounting for a significant portion of the 572 total complaints filed."

2012 Ford Mustang: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 572 complaints

572

Total Complaints

24,250mi

Median Mileage

Power Train

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

5,036 25th Percentile

24,250 Median Mileage

57,140 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Power Train

157

Air Bags

157

Vehicle Speed Control

Engine

Electrical System

Manual Transmission

Body

Fuel/Propulsion System

Suspension

Steering

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I CURRENTLY DRIVE A 2012 FORD MUSTANG GT COUPE (THIS SITE WILL NOT LET ME SELECT A 2012 MUSTANG FROM THE DROP DOWN MENU, ONLY 2011), PURCHASED 3/11/11. IT IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A "CLUTCH STAY OUT" PROBLEM. IT IS A SIX SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. WHEN SHIFTING FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR AT HIGH RPM..."

"WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY AT A INTERSECTION AND GENTLY APPLYING THE BRAKES THE ENGINE ACCELERATED AND THE ABS WENT ON BUT THE CAR DIDN'T STOP UNTIL I TURNED THE CORNER. I CHECKED THE NEXT DAY TO SEE IF IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT I HAD APPLIED THE BRAKES AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THERE IS NO WAY MY FOOT COUL..."

"BRAND NEW 2012 FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302, 5.0L, MT82 6-SPD TRANSMISSION. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THIS CAR HAS A REVISED CLUTCH MECHANISM VS. THE 2011 MODEL YEAR. REGARDLESS, I'VE BEGUN TO EXPERIENCE THE SAME ISSUES 2011 MODEL YEAR OWNERS REPORT. I'VE OWNED THE CAR LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AND WITH LESS THAN 200 ..."

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.

Power Train 157 complaints

25th: 2,775 mi Median: 17,194 mi 75th: 58,250 mi

Air Bags 157 complaints

25th: 18,205 mi Median: 38,922 mi 75th: 63,750 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 35 complaints

25th: 7,375 mi Median: 31,000 mi 75th: 57,475 mi

Engine 30 complaints

25th: 16,625 mi Median: 45,599 mi 75th: 61,164 mi

Electrical System 21 complaints

25th: 32,615 mi Median: 56,000 mi 75th: 71,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 90 CA: 90 TX: 71 GA: 32 NC: 19 NY: 18 VA: 17 OK: 16 AZ: 15 TN: 14

Who Files Complaints?

Original Owners

99%

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
2002	159	40,000	Frontal	25
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
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