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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
8 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 1
Average Mileage:
30,563 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2012 Ford Mustang drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2012 Ford Mustang Owner Comments (Page 4 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #95

Sep 112015

Mustang

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Mustang. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power. In addition, the gear shifter was difficult to shift into various positions. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to multiple dealers who were unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

- Langhorne, PA, USA

problem #94

Jun 182014

Mustang

  • 62,000 miles
I took my 2012 Ford Mustang (62,000 miles) to a Ford dealer to have the oil changed. They talked me into a transmission fluid change, because it would "extend the life of my vehicle". when I picked it up, it was not running right. The wrench light came on and the transmission was making a very loud noise. I had to have it towed back to the dealer. They replaced some sensors and sent me on my way. I made it home but the car wouldn't start the next morning. To make a long story short, after them attempting to fix it 3 times and it still not being fixed, they finally replaced the power train control module. I picked up the car and it still making a loud noise changing from 1st to 2nd gear. I see that there has been a recall on some 2012 Mustangs for a power train control module. I was never notified of this recall.

- Orangevale, CA, USA

problem #93

Jun 062012

Mustang

  • 6,000 miles
On multiple occasions while shifting into a higher gear at 7000 - 7500 RPM the clutch peddle did not return to the fully engaged position and the clutch did not fully engage. After driving 1 or 2 miles the situation corrected itself. Manual 6 speed manual transmission and 5.0L V-8 engine. Boss 302 model. Several phone contacts with Ford and Ford racing resulted in their indication of no knowledge of the clutch sticking problem. 2 Ford dealers I spoke to also claimed to know nothing about this situation.

- Mullica Hill, NJ, USA

problem #92

Feb 272015

Mustang

  • 77,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Open leaving work for the day my second gear synco in my transmission completely failed leaving the parking lot. Therefore I no longer had 2nd gear. So I took it to a Ford dealer where they where to fix the problem but in turned fix 2nd gear but messed up my reverse synco gear now. The car has been in the shop for almost 4 weeks and Ford wont make a surplus of part for this transmission that the parts needed are on back order until April 20th 2015.

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

problem #91

Nov 072014

Mustang 8-cyl

  • 15,900 miles
As I was trying to put my car into 3rd gear it wouldn't go into gear. So I have to slow down in order to put it in 2nd gear. Another time I had to go into 4th. This is very concerning to me.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #90

Dec 202014

Mustang 6-cyl

  • 60,300 miles
Driving down the highway full speed in heavy traffic, and engine just shuts down. Wrench light and check engine light come on. Have to coast through traffic to pull off to the side of the road and stop. Restart the car a couple of times, and then it's fine. Took to Ford dealer, who said I had a bad throttle body. Charged over $800 to repair. Completely losing power while driving down the highway is definitely a safety issue! Ford has agreed to fix defective throttle bodies on other models, but not the Mustang. This really looks like the same problem, and should be addressed by Ford.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #89

Nov 052014

Mustang 6-cyl

  • 42,750 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On Oct 30, 2014 I was shifting to 2nd gear and the engine bucked, lost speed, then the "wrench" symbol illuminated, indicating the limp home mode activated. I pulled into a parking lot, shut off the engine and restarted it and the light went out. I drove it to an auto shop and they could not detect a malfunction code. Today, Nov 5, 2014 when leaving my neighborhood, the same loss of speed occurred in 2nd gear and the wrench and check engine light came on. I drove back to the local auto shop and they determined the throttle body was defective. The solenoid was bad. Fortunately, my incidents happened at a low speed. This could be catastrophic at high speed, running the risk of a high-speed, rear-end collision.

- Missouri City, TX, USA

problem #88

Sep 292014

Mustang 6-cyl

  • 21,900 miles
Today while trying to accelerate at a intersection and shift from 1st to 2nd gear the transmission wouldn't let me into 2nd. Now if this just happened once I would let it go but this has happened several times. This is a big safety issue considering it causes my car to slow while I'm trying to get into gear with traffic coming at me. This needs to be resolved before someone dies. I'm not the only person who has complained about this issue.

- Enumclaw, WA, USA

problem #87

Sep 282014

Mustang

  • 30,100 miles
Electronic throttle body failure. Dash light came on as vehicle started limping to stop in traffic.

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #86

Sep 082014

Mustang 6-cyl

  • 45,100 miles
I had just left my house and pulled out onto the road. As the vehicle started to accelerate, the car suddenly shook and shuddered and wouldn't respond to the gas pedal. The wrench symbol came on the dash. The car would not respond to pressing the gas pedal and wouldn't go over 3 or 4 miles an hour. I put on the hazard lights, as there were vehicles coming up behind me on the two-lane road and they had to go around me. It was very scary not being able to control the car and get out of the way of other vehicles. This was the first incident with the vehicle, no prior warning of any issues. Preliminary research shows that other Ford vehicles have had issues with throttle body failures, with very similar descriptions to this issue with my 2012 Ford Mustang.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #85

Jul 212014

Mustang 6-cyl

  • 52,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2012 Ford Mustang throws check engine light and wrench going into "limp mode" (car cuts all acceleration, and just idles). I had to pull to the side of the road, and shut vehicle off. Vehicle returned to normal after one or two turn ons. This will occur every other day, and multiple times in a day. Very dangerous if it was to happen while merging in traffic. This is not covered under Ford powertrain or emissions warranty, they claim that it is an "attachment" to the engine, not a part of it. This issue has caused them to extend their warranties on the Ford escape and Fusion, but not their other vehicles affected by this issue. They have quoted me $700 dollars to completely replace the throttlebody. This is a very dangerous issue, that is linked to more than just the Ford escape and Fusion, and Ford has not given their other vehicles owner's the same warranty.

- Weirsdale, FL, USA

problem #84

Jun 232014

Mustang 6-cyl

  • 24,500 miles
According to my Ford dealership, the synchronizers between 1st and 2nd bears failed. I have had several issues with this transmission previously, causing the car to fail to shift while accelerating. This is incredibly dangerous, as failure to accelerate while merging into traffic would have been catastrophic. Thankfully, I was in a parking lot when my transmission failed.

- Bloomington , IL, USA

problem #83

Jun 202014

Mustang 6-cyl

  • 63,000 miles
My 2012 Ford Mustang has been experiencing problems starting with the vehicle in the park position. All of the appropriate lights on the dash come on, but the car will not crank until I place the gear shift lever into the neutral position. This happens with the car parked on level ground and the emergency brakes applied and I have verified that the indicator shows the P for park. After, doing research I have found that Ford recalled some 2012/13 Mustangs for the transmission range sensor (trs) which was not properly calibrated affecting the starter interlock preventing the vehicle from starting until the transmission is placed in neutral. The recall was 12C23, NHTSA # 12V190000, my 2012 Mustang was not included in this recall, but I have the same problem with an improperly calibrated (trs).

- Conyers, GA, USA

problem #82

May 272014

Mustang

  • 26,000 miles
The clutch will not release at high rpms. The speedometer reads incorrectly. The drivers seat is loose.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #81

Apr 122014

Mustang 8-cyl

  • 38,102 miles
I brought my 2012 Mustang GT with a manual transmission in to be serviced because of an awful noise occurring while shifting in and out of 5th gear. The service department now says I need a new transmission at 38,000 miles.

- Santa Monica, CA, USA

problem #80

May 202011

Mustang

  • 5,447 miles
Car will not shift into gears. The vehicle will not allow me to enter the gear I desire, causing the car to suddenly loose momentum leaving me in a very dangerous situation in traffic. This has happened to me numerous times crossing intersections and entering the highway almost causing an accident. The car has a manual transmission. I have had ongoing issues with this vehicle since I purchased it, and I cannot drive the car with the confidence that it is safe.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

problem #79

Dec 242013

Mustang

  • 10,000 miles
The manual transmission will grind when shifting between first in second gear until the car is fully warmed up. Sometimes it locks you out of second gear when you want to shift into it. A Ford dealership has said this is normal operation but this is a safety hazard not being able to shift into gear. First and second gear do not work the same when cold and warm. First and second gear become almost impossible to shift between when it is below 30 degrees outside.

- Malden, MA, USA

problem #78

Apr 112012

Mustang

  • 5,557 miles
Transmission pops out of gear at 1st and 4th gear. Transmission gears grind at random times when shifting into gears. Requires clutch to be pressed at least 1 second to be pressed and additional effort in order to shift into gear after grinding to make sure that the gears are into place. Makes driving uncomfortable and raises safety concerns while driving on the road. I was able to verify the issues with the dealership and took 40 days to complete repairs. The problem still exists at random times when driving. Currently dealing with lemon law case against Ford for a replacement. Ford refuses to replace my vehicle. This is the one of 2 defects with my car. The second issue is with the rear axle differential (ODI: 10556822). The second also has also been verified by Ford dealer and repair attempts were made. Problem still exists. Raises major safety concerns while driving on high rate of speed on the road since my car is a rwd and the defect is in the rear axle differential.

- Fort Huachuca, AZ, USA

problem #77

Nov 212012

Mustang 6-cyl

  • 15,776 miles
After driving for a total of 6 hours with 1 stop at a rest area after the first 3 hours of driving, I made another stop to refuel. As I was exiting the freeway and made the first turn at 5-10 mph, my vehicle made a loud metallic cranking noise followed with strong vibrations throughout my car. After refueling, I returned to the freeway. It seemed that the noise and vibration only appears when making left/right turn at low speed (5-10 mph) after a continuous non-stop driving of at least 2-3 hours. I took my car to the nearest Ford dealer (jim wilson motors) and their technicians isolated the noise and vibration to the rear axle differential.

- Fort Huachuca, AZ, USA

problem #76

May 202011

Mustang 8-cyl

  • 5,447 miles
Car will not shift into gears. The vehicle will not allow me to enter the gear I desire, causing the car to suddenly loose momentum leaving me in a very dangerous situation in traffic. This has happened to me numerous times crossing intersections and entering the highway almost causing an accident. The car has a manual transmission. I have had ongoing issues with this vehicle since I purchased it, and I cannot drive the car with the confidence that it is safe.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

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