Most common 2008 Ford Mustang problems
Share of the 347 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 →
2008 Ford Mustang recalls (5)
Air bags › Frontal
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the…
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Ford Ranger vehicles, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles, and 2005-2011 Ford Mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California,…
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge.
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2014 Mustang vehicles manufactured April 6, 2004, to June 21, 2014, and 2005-2006 GT vehicles manufactured February 20, 2004, to September 22, 2006.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver side air bag inflator, free of charge.
Air bags › Frontal
Ford is recalling 434,593 my 2008 mustang vehicles for failing to comply with one of the neck injury requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection," for an unbelted 5th percentile female sitting in the passenger seat while it is in the full forward position.
Remedy: Dealers will reprogram the restraint control module free of charge. The recall began on March 3, 2008. Owners May contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332 or through email to www.ownerconnection.com.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 4 possible defects involving the 2008 Ford Mustang:
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Tire valve cracking
On October 14, 2008, odi opened pe08-060 to investigate allegations of cracked and leaking snap-in tire valves in model year (my) 2007 vehicles manufactured by Ford motor company.the valves were supplied to Ford by topseal auto-parts, a subsidiary of the shanghai baolong automotive corporation in china.valves made by topseal for aftermarket sale were the subject of two recent safety recalls by tech international…
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Fleet Vehicle Recall Completion Audit
On November 18, 2010, NHTSA's Recall Management Division (RMD) opened an audit query (AQ10-001) to investigate recall remedy completion by rental car companies on safety recall campaigns.It was expected to provide the agency an indication of how completely and how quickly rental car fleets perform necessary recall-related remedies on the vehicles owned and then rented/leased for use on the roadways.RMD queried three…
What 2008 Ford Mustang owners say
Air bags all 240 →
Accident after side swiping cattle guard, flew off the road at 70mph, landing roughly, and bouncing off desert terrain, trying to control crash outcome, realign no brakes, and no way to slow down vehicle, except no acceleration, and turned away from homes and power poles, to eventually slam into a a higher terrain, until complete stop. My repaired airbags didn't deploy, and at that speed, my passenger side wheels were shattered, tires flat, face hit the steering wheel and windshield, my knees hit dashboard, arms bounced off off everything the seat belt couldn't protect me from. Because of airbag failure to deploy, I ended up with 2 fractures, T9 and L1, 6 lose teeth making front teeth unable to use, and 2 cervical discs pushing into spinal column. …
Driving approximately 20 mph, on a smooth road, in a retirement community, the drivers seat airbag explosively inflated without warning. The seatbelts are locked and unusable, the seat bolster is shredded, the driver door panel is disconnected as is the exterior rocker cover. I am afraid to drive the car in fear of the other air bags exploding while driving.
Transmission & drivetrain all 30 →
As I'm driving the wrench light comes on and keeps coming on after a couple minutes of driving the car and when I talk to everyone or even mustang forms they keep saying the car is going into limp mode and almost causing crashes, every time we scan for codes the car won't tell us anything you turn the car off and the light goes away for awhile but eventually turns back on.
2008 Mustang with tremec 3650 manual transmission. Was on highway downshifting from 5th into 4th to pass another car which abruptly entered my lane when car went into 2nd, locked rear end and spun car, causing me to crash on side of road. Car was totaled, luckily I was unharmed due to side airbags. This 4th to 2nd gear lockout has happened to me numerous times although at surface street speeds so was able to retain control. Ca highway partol report #9645.
Speed control & acceleration
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while the son was driving approximately 40 MPH and pressing the brake pedal to reduce speed, the engine began to rev and the vehicle continued to accelerate. The driver observed that the accelerator pedal had remained pressed toward the floorboard and reached down to manually lift the pedal to reduce the vehicle's speed. The vehicle then drove into an intersection and crashed into a second vehicle. During the crash, no injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene, and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact indicated that the vehicle was previously repaired after the same failure had occurred. No further information was available. …
When driving down the highway during afternoon rush hour, my car began to accelerate at high rate (stuck at 4000-5000 RPM) causing me to speed down the highway with very little ability to stop as I hit the brakes but could not overcome the acceleration. Thinking as quickly as I could, I threw it into neutral to bring the car to a crawl and slowly roll to the next exit and then to a stop. I was lucky to think so quickly because otherwise I could have run into the cars in front of me as the car sped down the highway with no ability to stop. I fear for others that May have this problem because if there was a stop ahead, it could easily end in loss of life. Once safely on the side of the road, I attempted to restart the car, only to have it rocco tongue to rev. …
2008 Ford Mustang engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 17 / 26 / 20 |
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | RWD | 16 / 24 / 19 |
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 5-speed automatic | RWD | 15 / 22 / 18 |
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 15 / 23 / 18 |
| 5.4L 8-cyl supercharged | 6-speed manual | RWD | 14 / 20 / 16 |
EPA ratings. Class: Subcompact car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2008 Ford Mustang a good car?
Based on 347 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2008 Mustang rates average: 27% fewer complaints than 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 2008 Ford Mustang?
The air bags — 240 complaints, 69% of all complaints for this model year, most often about side/window. Next are the transmission & drivetrain (30) and speed control & acceleration (19).
How many recalls does the 2008 Ford Mustang have?
There are 5 recalls for the 2008 Ford Mustang, the most recent from February 16, 2021 (frontal). 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 2008 Ford Mustang problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 38,000 miles; 61% 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.