Most common 1998 Ford Mustang problems
Share of the 300 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford Mustang complaints by model year
Best Mustang years: 2023, 2025, 2021. Years to avoid: 2012, 2011, 2015, 1995, 2005. Compare all years →
1998 Ford Mustang recalls (4)
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.
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.
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…
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.
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).
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel rail on these vehicles.
Steering › Gear box › Shaft sector
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles and Mini-vans. The rack and pinion steering gears May have damaged input shaft bearings.
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.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 2 possible defects involving the 1998 Ford Mustang:
Fires in the center console
There is no summary currently available
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On September 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 Ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or…
What 1998 Ford Mustang owners say
Engine & cooling all 89 →
Tl contact owns a 1998 Ford Mustang gt. Approximately fifteen minutes after parking and exiting the vehicle, the engine compartment became engulfed in flames. The vehicle was destroyed. There was damage to another vehicle and to a neighboring home; however, the contact did not know the extent of the damage. A fire report was filed. The VIN and purchase date were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 140,000. Updated 03-04-08 updated 03/04/08
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 Ford Mustang. Immediately after the vehicle was purchased, it was inspected by an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed that the ignition wires and engine needed to be replaced. The mechanic also diagnosed that the vehicle needed to be properly aligned. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,000.
Brakes all 35 →
Rear right parking brake does not engage and when trying to come to an emergency stop brake is ineffective
I do not know if this is a safety hazard. I hope you will let me know. I own a 1998 Ford Mustang gt. It has 48,620 miles on it. About a year ago, the cruise control and inside lights stopped working. I took it in to a Ford dealership. They told me it was some kind of sensor or something like that. I do not remember specifics. They told me it would be about $500.00 plus to fix it. I could not afford to fix. Last month the ABS light came on in the car. I took it in last week and they told me the hydraulic control unit was bad. It would be $992.00 plus to fix it. I spent $115.00 just so they could tell me this. I am financially strapped, I do not have this kind of money. The car is in mint condition. Yes, it is about 8 years old but, as you can see by the miles it has hardly been driven. Ford doesn't seem to want to do anything about it. …
Fuel & propulsion system all 32 →
The first time the car just quite on the highway while driving in rush hour traffic while we were on vacation. The second time it lost power and was starting very hard (10 to 15 sec. To start). Both times it was loss of fuel pressure and needed a fuel pump assembly. The fuel pump its self was fine, but a small clear flexible hose that attaches from the fuel pump/basket assembly in the gas tank to the lid that bolts on the top of the gas tank rubs against various parts inside the gas tank and wears a hole in it. Since this estimated $2 item cannot be purchased separately I was forced to spend hundreds of dollars on the whole assembly. The mechanics at the dealership explained to me that 90% of the "fuel pump failures" have had nothing to really due with the fuel pump. It was either the hose inside the gas tank rubbing through or the wires inside rubbing through. …
We took our 1998 6 cylinder Mustang in for an oil change. It has about 90,000 miles on it. We were told that it is leaking fuel and that it is a safety hazard. We now have to spend $1000 to replace the fuel rail, both valve gaskets, valve cover gaskets and fuel injector o rings. Plus a significant amount on labor. We were told that our car/engine will catch fire, if we do not replace these parts. This is my daughter who is in college's car. How can they have such a horrible design and if we replace the parts is this going to be repeated? The other issue is that there was no warning from an engine light or anything else. The technician checked it because when he looked under the hood, he thought he smelled gas and then found the leak. We hadn't noticed a leak. My daughter could have been killed driving back to school this week.
1998 Ford Mustang engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.8L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 18 / 27 / 21 |
| 3.8L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 17 / 26 / 20 |
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 15 / 22 / 18 |
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 16 / 24 / 18 |
EPA ratings. Class: Subcompact car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1998 Ford Mustang a good car?
Based on 300 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 1998 Mustang rates average: about as many complaints as a typical year of the Mustang at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 1998 Ford Mustang?
The engine & cooling — 89 complaints, 30% of all complaints for this model year, most often about exhaust system › manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe. Next are the brakes (35) and fuel & propulsion system (32).
How many recalls does the 1998 Ford Mustang have?
There are 4 recalls for the 1998 Ford Mustang, the most recent from October 30, 2000 (conventional). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford Mustang?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2023, 2025 and 2021. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2012, 2011, 2015, 1995 and 2005. See the full Ford Mustang years comparison.
At what mileage do 1998 Ford Mustang problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 88,000 miles; 13% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.