This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Body control module. It gets wet when it rains because of an engineering mess up. It shorts out my lights. Sometimes it can't get out of car because it messes with the locks and windows. Can't use my electric mirrors anymore. Instead of being a much needed recall they decided to not even make replacement bcm. It is a problem everything it gets wet that should have been recalled and fixed. At least a thousand other incidents of this happening to others.
I've own a 2005 Mustang GT since the year 2012. Throughout the years I've encountered problems where the cooling fan would abruptly shut off and cause the engine to overheat. The first time this happened I had to pull over to the side of the road countless of times just to let my car get cool enough to get back home. I brought the Mustang GT in to a mechanic who suggested to replace the radiator fan. After replacing it, the fan would work for a few weeks only for it to randomly shut off, but turn back on. Just recently I found oil in my spark plugs and found the following OBD II error codes: P0480 Fan 1 Control Circuit & P0481 Fan 2 Control Circuit. I am convinced the valve seals and maybe the piston rings were worn out due to excessive heat caused by the Mustang's electrical issues with the radiator fan. After searching online, I found countless amounts of threads and videos of other Mustang owners experiencing the same issue. Most of them are caused by a faulty relay connection inside the Mustang's fuse box that is causing the radiator fan to fail. The faulty relay would get burnt and cause a short thus not providing power to the radiator fan which left many owners stranded on the road and caused over thousands of dollars in damages to their engine. The part that gets burnt is not easily available and would require owners to pay an additional thousands of dollars to reconnect the relays. Some owners had no choice but to create a makeshift wired connection from their radiator fan to the dashboard so that their vehicle's engine can remain under normal operating temperatures while driving. I've attached a video of someone explaining this issue at the 8:00 Minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAs6uf3VV68
I'm having the same issue everyone else is with their speedometer, tach, fuel gage. It was working fine, the weather warmed up and it would work sometimes. Then it just stopped working completely. I'm afraid to drive the car because I have no way of telling how fast I'm going. I could understand this happening if I had 100,000 miles on it, but as of yesterday, 4/26/2021 it just hit 39,034. With everyone having this same issue, how is not a safety recall. I had to replace the instrument cluster at cost of $875. This is a known issue and a dangerous one.
There is an apparent design flaw in 2005 Mustangs as I have read hundreds of similar complaints as to what I am experiencing. Due to this design flaw after a recent day of heavy rain 1 headlight and 1 signal light will not turn off once the car has been shut off. I researched and apparently the smart junction box (sjb) got wet and the electrical unit is now malfunctioning. There was also a strong burning smell when I got home that night as well. Spoke with an online mechanic technician and he confirmed that the sjb needs to be replaced. There has been a long history of the car leaking on the passenger side whenever it rains due to the design flaw. Also my gas gauge never reads properly, inside lights are also dim/off and the check engine light has been going on and off for nearly a year and my mechanic could not diagnose why the reviews online said when they spoke to Ford that admitted that it was a known problem but because there has been no recall that they will not repair this for free. Estimates I read put the cost around $1000 to get this fixed and do not want to pay that kind of money especially when Ford admits to knowing there is a problem. I am hopeful that we can get Ford to do the right thing and issue a recall for this. It is a serious problem since the electrical system can cause a fire from reports I have read. This happened to meet on 12/21/18. I was driving home from work and parked the car and shut it off. As I locked the car I noticed that the drivers side headlight and passenger side signal light stayed on and I had to disconnect the battery to make them shut off. Also there was a strong burning odor when I lifted the hood.
- Cheshire, CT, USA
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The 2005 to 2009 Mustangs (all of them) have a water intrusion problem presented as a design flaw in the engine firewall that leaks water onto the smart junction block causing random electrical systems failure including the loss of engine ignition, loss of all systems, etc. In my case, the intrusion of water caused a sudden and complete loss of all systems. Discovered a day after heavy rain. There are thousands of reports of this on the web and the dealer admits it is a design flaw and known problem.
Gauges stopped working. Tachometer, speedometer, gas gauge, temperature gauge.Ford dealer told me over $600 to replace/repair. I've talked to several other Mustang owners and they have the same problem.
I purchased my car new March 1, 2005. I have done all of the suggested maintenance through the dealer. In 2011 - water pouring in under dash front passenger floor. I took the car to the dealer and they couldn't find the leak. I started to wet vacuuming the water out. Then the car started to smell like mold. I finally called my nephew who works for Ford in another city. He cleaned out the drain in front of the passenger side and dried out the car. Why didn't the mechanic at landmark know about the drain? around this time the car started to lock and unlock itself while parked in the driveway. Called dealer no help. Called nephew he said wiring issue. The locking and unlocking stopped. Since then the locks try to relock anytime I accelerated from a full stop. I have found my windows rolled down. I never leave my windows down. I am a big stickler when it comes to locking my car up and I don't leave my windows down. It happened again this last week. Next came the trunk. It would unlock while I was driving. Finally removed the fuse to make it stop. The next fail was the instrument cluster. Nothing works right. Sporadically the speedometer works but can stop any time. Luckily the odometer works so I use the trip meter to know when to get gas. Right now my car lies dead in the driveway. The cd changer started shuffling cd's when the car was running or parked. Problem was it had not been turned on. I have on occasion smelled smoke in the car while driving. From researching the internet, evidently there is an issue with the electrical system shorting out due to water getting into the fuse box due to the drain on the passenger side. My car only has 107000 miles on it. Ford knows about this issue and has know. They need to make it right. Oh and to top it off, I took it to a Ford specialist and they said it was the alternator. $370 later my car is still dead.
I purchased my 2005 Ford Mustang V6 automatic transmission in July of 2016. At the time of purchase everything seemed to be working fine but about a month later I noticed the fuel gauge was sitting at E so I attempted to fill it thinking I had an empty tank which meant I should have been able to put 14-16 gallons in and as I was refueling I noticed it kept shutting off even though I had just started the pump eventually I got it filled and only put in about 6 gallons which I thought was odd but I went with it and got back in my car started it up and noticed that the gauge was still sitting at E at that point I knew something was wrong but I figured it could wait since I knew how far I could potentially go on a full tank but then after I left and headed for home I noticed that my speedometer said I was going 60 but everyone was blowing past me at least 10mph faster when the speed limit was 60. So I pulled over and noticed that at a stop the speedometer came to rest at 35mph I was able to fix it but it kept happening I was lucky enough that I didnt get pulled over because I had no idea how fast I was going. Then for a while that stopped happening but every now and then and at an increasing rate the engine keeps stalling like its not getting enough fuel when I stop at an intersection or stop sign even though I had just filled the fuel tank the day before and hadn't driven more than 50 miles. The mileage at the time of the incidents beginnings was ~24,000 miles the current mileage is 34,000 as of 5/15/17.
Ever since I got my Mustang the fuel gauge was acting up and would sometimes give me a correct reading but most of the time it just sits at empty even after refueling. Then just recently I started driving into work when I noticed that my speedometer said I was doing about 100 mph on city streets and confirmed it was inaccurate when I came to a stoplight and came to a complete stop but the speedometer read 50 mph. When I got to work I stopped the engine and started it back up and I had to repeat this process 7-8 times to get it to reset back to 0 mph this was the first time that occurred since I got it.
Instrument cluster (panel) - speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge all not working. Can't tell how fast I am going or how much gas I have ect all 6 gauges do not register at all.
Corrosion on the hood, water leaking on pass. Side door, water leaking under the glove box, bissell and gauges not working, speeds up in excessive speed without giving gas,
Had the airbag replaced/ weeks later had the "faulty seal" problem followed by the "sjm " box (smart junction box) destroyed by the water damage due to faulty seal. Now the sjm is on backorder until Aug. 2016. Seal already replaced in March/2016 when order placed for sjb. Researching the problem there are thousands of complaints regaurding 05-07 Mustang models. Due to make design. Unfortunately, resulting in window motor failure, battery drain, headlights stuck on high beams, turn signals stuck on, insturment cluster malfunction and dash lights fail. I have searched for any recall information and civil suite/ class action. The dangers and the numbers are clear, Ford needs to be investigated on this matter. The Ford customers deserve to be compensated for their losses and damages. Especially in the case of individuals whom are waiting for the sjm box to be manufactured due to shortage of materials.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Mustang. When the vehicle was started, the speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, and temperature gauge failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000. Updated 03/09/16
Defect in under cowl drainage leads to rainwater leaking into passenger compartment. Water drains down wiring harness into the smart junction box casing electrical shorts that at first caused the right headlamp to shutdown after 15 seconds. Recycling the headlight switch brings the headlight back on for another 15 seconds. This condition renders the vehicle unsafe to operate from sunset to sunrise. Now the drivers side headlamp has begun the same problem. I checked online and it is apparent that this is a significant safety issue for which the vehicle manufacturer has no part available to fix. They initially informed me that the smj would be available to purchase last September. That has now been pushed back to February of 2016. They want over $400 for the part plus additional labor to program and install a component that should have been recalled years ago. This problem is already covered under a tsb and the defect can cause a multitude of malfunctions that could easily result in life threatening situations. I just recently checked and found over 286 reports on file with NHTSA, yet no apparent investigations appear to have been conducted, nor a recall. It is my sincer hope that NHTSA is not waiting for a body count before taking action. www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/2005-2010-Mustang-talk/301555-pics-vid-2005-dash-water-leak-fix.html#/forumsite/20799/topics/301555"page=1 https://docs.google.com/document/D/1rwsgwtizix5qu_tgsnhlx4mwgnsuji-zs6pjwsa_sre/mobilebasic"pli=1
This 2005 Mustang was bought used about a year and a half ago. Within a few months we noticed the messenger side floor would be wet when it rained. Soon after the speedometer quit working. The extended warranty did not cover the repair. A few months later the heat and air control unit went out. These two repairs cost over a thousand dollars to fix. On October 102015 while at the drive up teller at a bank the car would not come out of park. Tried shutting it off but would not restart. Seemed to have complete electrical failure. No lights gauges or anything electrical would work. It was raining. After jumping the car several times we were able to get it home. We inspected the ECU and found green and white corrosion indicating water had been getting inside the box. When I called Ford they took a report but said they would not fix the problem unless there was a recall. There is a technical service bulletin issued tsb 07-14-6
Fuel gauge reading past empty, will not show any change in fuel level. Other gauges showing same signs of failing. Internet has many companies that will fix the gauge cluster, so it must be a common problem with Mustangs. Also the led daytime lighting on the dashboard gauges is very low not able to read the speedometer or other gauges.
My tachometer fail a few years ago. When I took it to the dealer, he said all Mustang gauges fail and to be happy it wasn't the speedometer. Slowly over time all the electrical has been having problems. Sometimes the car won't start, all the gauges stop working, the check engine light goes on and off for no reason. Also the driver seat electrical failed, was replaced and failed again. I couldn't afford to have it fixed.
Dash cluster stops working no fuel, temp, no speed. Sometimes everything stops working. If I restart car it seems to reset its self. When trying to fill up gas tank it won't allow fuel to go in shuts pump off splashes out, found that if I hold fuel nozzle upside down I can get some gas in but takes about 10-15 mins to fill tank. These problems occur every week. I have not received notice yet of recall for airbag. Ford should recall gas tank problem and dash clusters seems like 2005 years have issues!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Omaha, NE, USA