Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Ford Mustang owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power and failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. After turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as needed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000.
6/22/2015: I was driving home from work and my car suddenly turned off and the check engine light turned on. It is very subtle when it happened; no jerky movement noticed. I realized what have happened after my failed attempts to accelerate. I was able to use the car's momentum to make it to a parking lot. I step out and examined my car but nothing was out of the ordinary. After 10 minutes, I attempted to start it up (first attempt after incident) and it started up normally. Everything functioned as normal and even the check engine light is gone. I thought it was a fluke incident so I drove home and forgot about it. 6/30/2015: I was driving on the highway and my engine cut off again. I was very scared because I was on the california 91 freeway and it was during traffic hours. I was able to draw experience from the last incident and cruised my car to the side of the highway. …
I arrived home from work and noticed some coolant leaking out of my car. I popped the hood and saw coolant seeping from the weep hole. When I cranked the car back up, coolant started pouring out underneath the car, bad water pump. I had it towed to dealership today and was told there is a technical bulletin on the hose leading to water pump because it allows air in and causes the water pump to fail. The entire area has to be replaced with a new hose that includes a check valve, so it doesn't continue to happen. This is an obvious manufacturing defect. I was told any car that came in without a check valve has to be replaced with the new hose including a check valve and that I have to incur the entire expense $486 plus tax because hoses are not covered by powertrain warranty. I called Ford and was told due to no recall, I would not be reimbursed for this service. …
While driving down the left lane of the sawgrass expressway, a very busy highway between ft. Lauderdale and miami, I lost all throttle response. The wrench light came on the dashboard and I went from 60 MPH down to nothing by the time I was off to the side of the road. Cars behind me were obviously braking hard to avoid smashing into me. I turned the car off and was about to call aaa, but the heat index that day was around a million degrees so I turned the car back on. The throttle response had returned so I cautiously limped the car back home in the right hand lane the whole way. I thought it was some freak computer glitch until it happened again going to the store the next day. I called the Ford dealership and before I even got the problem oout of my mouth the service tech said " it is your throttle body. We see this all the time. It will be about $800 to repair". …
11/14/2014 - vehicle engine appeared to stall or shutdown (no power) with "wrench" displayed while exiting highway. Coasted to shoulder and restarted vehicle mileage approx 32,100. Re-occurred on 12/9/2014 while traveling on highway at 70 MPH - was able to coast to shoulder and restart. Ford dealer ran complete diagnostics next day but could not identify a problem. Vehicle mileage less than 33,000. Occurred again on 1/27 on highway while traveling on highway at 65 MPH - coasted to shoulder and plugged in OBD-ii diagnostic tool I have been carrying which displayed p2111 throttle actuator control system stuck open. Restarted care - occurred again 2 miles later this time - same code reading - and now check engine light also on. Vehicle mileage 34,650. Dealer replaced throttle actuator control on 1/28/15 at my expense (not under warranty / no manufacturer recall). …
While driving my 2011 v6 Mustang the car will completely loose power. This has happened on the highway and on side streets. There is no warning. The wrench light comes on and the car is forced to idle. No response at all to throttle input. Error code read is p2111 which indicates "throttle actuator "a" control system - stuck open". It is my understanding that the throttle body in this vehicle is the same as used in other Ford vehicles. A recall has been issued for those other vehicles but everyone suffering from this on the v6 Mustang is on their own. This can be very dangerous for people accelerating to merge and very dangerous on the highway to stop in the middle of the road or have to limp to the shoulder through traffic at idle. I have already paid $300 for a full throttle body service and the same thing is still happening.
Throttle body failed and had to be replaced three times. Put me in danger for my life as the car stopped running on busy highway. Vehicle was in motion full speed 55 MPH and throttled down to complete stop. Engine raced but would not move. I want reimbursement for my expenses. Throttle body was replaced three times for failing within a week. Warrenty extensions have been issued for throttle body fails for similar models. We have been informed that Ford has issued an extended warranty for defective throttle body assemblies and sensors for 10 years or 150,000 miles from the data of original purchase. For vehicles past this time limit, the warranty is reported to be valud until January 31, 2015. Affected owners should contact Ford and mention consumer satisfaction program 13n03.
While driving on the highway at 70 MPH, I experienced sudden deceleration and had to pull over to the side of the road. The gas pedal was not responsive and the wrench light came on. This happened more than 6 times over a two week period. Two of the instances occurred while pulling out of a business onto a main road -- I had to coast into the turn lane to restart. I took the car to two mechanics who couldn't duplicate the intermittent issue (because the wrench light rests) and then finally made it over to the Ford dealer today. They said that the throttle body needed to be replaced. Here is a video of the incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yphpuw96lgm
I was driving on the freeway going 60mph when all of a sudden my cars power just cut off and it went into limp mode and had the worst idle at 1100 RPM until I turned off the vehicle. I then turned it back on and the limp mode light went away but a few more miles up it cut power again and almost caused a wreck as I had to quickly think and get to the side of the freeway. It happened 2 more times that day til I got it home and got the engine code p2111. I found out later its a faulty throttle body that they used in fusions and other models and everyone is having this same issue of it randomly cutting off. It's a faulty throttle body that should be recalled!
Driving down an interstate a wrench came on the dashboard and car went into limp mode. Pulled off turned the car off and restarted it. Got to the destination OK but on the way back home the wrench came on again. Looked at the code and saw it was the p2111 code. It happened 4 times in the way, losing power and shaking. Taking it to Ford tomorrow to find out if it covered under the warranty. There was no recall in the car,however, I am noticing a lot of people are having this issue. This is a safety issue and should have a recall on it. From what everyone else is saying Ford is not doing anything to help or fix the problem.
Engine complaints in other Mustang years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2011 Ford Mustang?
NHTSA has 55 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2011 Ford Mustang, 12% of the model year's 466 complaints. The component named most often is engine (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Ford Mustang engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2011 Ford Mustang, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2011 Ford Mustang engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 56,000 miles, and 13% before 25,000 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.