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.
Broke down on highway with water and smoke everywhere. Had it towed to a garage and had to have the head gasket replaced. Ford refunded us the money and it worked for awhile but began overheating again and had to add water everyday. Husband passed away in 2006 and until 2008 except for starting it, I did not drive it. Had the cooling system fixed again at my cost and I am back approx 6 mts with the same problem overheating again and check engine light on. Car sounds awful and I cannot afford to fix it again.
1995 Ford Mustang 3.8 engine blew while driving. The consumer stated Ford never notified him that there was an extended warranty on the engine. They continued to say they were unaware of any problems. The consumer had the engine replaced at his expense and is now requesting reimbursement.
I have two (2) 1995 3.8L Mustangs. Both engines have a connecting rod bearing that is knocking very loudly and the engines must be replaced. This has happened within weeks of each other. There is definitely a problem with this engine.
On 2/1/02 car was running hot, fan motor out, replaced fan motor $239.62, on 2/5/03 car running out, took in to Ford dealership, diagnosed as head gaskets blown, cooling fan working. Took to independent mechanic, bdr automotive, removed and replaced head gaskets. Then in October 2003 car started running hot again, mechanic tom at program auto replaced heads, radiator, thermostat, car continued to run hot. Mechanic tom told us to replace sending unit sensor, we changed sensor. Continued running hot. Mechanic tom found hole in heater coil, rerouted hose to engine, bypassing heater, 2 days later we had to replace water pump and thermostat again. Car is still running hot. Could it be the electric circuit breaker issue that the other vehicle had?
Vehicle overheated and white smoke came out of the tail pipe. Vehicle was taken an independent repair shop where the mechanic determined that head gaskets cracked. The head gaskets have not been replaced.
I bought a 1995 Ford Mustang in April of 2003 with decent miles about 73000. I have had the vehicle a short time and I am having problems with overheating and now discovered my head gasket blew. I have heard of recalls for this but can't find anything anywhere for sure. One dealer says there is not one out for my particular vehicle and then the other days the recall has expired. This is a very expensive fix and with all these problems you would hope there wouldn't have been an expiration date placed on a general recall like this. Please help, do not know what to do.
A safety recall was issued for my vehicle [xxx] in the spring of 2001 for engine head gaskets. I took my vehicle to my local Ford dealership. A coolant pressure test was performed. It was determined that the head gaskets were not bad enough to warrant replacing at that time. In late May 2001 the engine froze up on my vehicle. I returned it to the Ford dealership for the safety recall. The dealership replaced the engine with a remanufactured engine on 6/7/01. This head gaskets on this remanufactured engine have now failed in my vehicle. Ford now claims that the remanufactured engine has a 24 month/24,000 mile warranty on it. The Ford Motor Company refuses to fix the problem under their recall program. Updated 07/30/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Head gasket blew in my 1995 Ford Mustang and caused the car to overheat. This is the second occurrence following an occurrence in October of 2000 which lead to the car being serviced at cook-whitehead Ford under an extended warranty by Ford Motor Company. There are many other complaints about head gaskets with the Ford 3.8L engines and repeats of head gasket problems that I have found on the internet and was also told by the Ford representative on their customer service hotline. She has suggested that I pay attention and that from the number of complaints there may possibly be a safety recall issued. I believe that sub-standard parts were used to supposedly fix an already below standard part and that proper procedures were not completed when the car was originally serviced.
Consumer states engine head gasket leaks, causing the vehicle to shut off. Dealer notified. Head gaskets and cooling fan had been replaced numerous times. Ford either cover the total cost or partial. The last head gasket leak would cost the $2300. Dollars to repair which the consumer doesn't think she should pay.
95 Ford Mustang with 58,000 miles on way home from work engine got hot and died blew a head gasket. Ford has a notice of faulty head gaskets which we never received and Ford refused to replace faulty gasket due to time limit not mileage. Please advise.
Ford had a recall to 100,000 miles, I was not notified until my car was at 102,000...now my head gasket fails and they still will do nothing. **dimsii IVOQ entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis*741136
At unpredictable moments, usually but not exclusively while slowing to a stop, with my foot on the brake, the engine will rev up and cause the car to lunge forward, instead of staying at idle as it should while coming to a stop. I know this seems incredible, and may be an inaccurate observation on my part, but it seems that the harder that I push down on the brake in these situations, the stronger the engine pulls. The first time this happened, about fourteen months ago, I just about had a "heart attack" and almost ran into a building, as I was parking the vehicle. This situation happens mostly at red lights and stop signs, always at speeds below fifteen miles per hour without any warning and creates a really serious problem. When it does occur, I have to put the transmission quickly into neutral or turn the key off with the vehicle in gear, to keep from hitting the car in front of me. In situations that allow me the luxury ( no vehicles or other objects close enough to be in danger) I have found that letting my foot completely off the brake pedal, while the engine is revving and the car lunging ever harder forward, will cause the engine to go immediately to idle. This problem then only happened occasionally, for quite a few months, but reappeared last week after I replaced spark plugs and wires. It originally started without anything being done to the car.
I had a recall on the head gasket of my 1995 Ford Mustang and had it replaced by best Ford three times within 3 years. In December of 2002 I was told by best Ford I had another cracked head gasket. This would be the fourth time Ford would be replacing this recalled gasket. Ford wanted to charge me $1200 for this forth recalled gasket because my warranty was expired. I feel that Ford should replace a recalled part with a "new" part so that the same problem does not keep happening. I am extremely upset with Ford for not fixing my recall and feel what they did was wrong.
I would start my car in the morning and notice the temperature gauge go up rapidly. The temperature gauge never went past normal and into the red, during this time, no heat would blow. Then the temperature gauge would drop and warm air would blow. I changed the thermostat, temperature sensor, and the radiator( which solved the problem for about two days). Nothing left but the head gaskets and maybe even a cracked head. Wasn't there a recall for Windstar's with the same engine" this is my second engine from Ford, the first one gave out around 36,000 miles. When will american car companies built reliable engines" no wonder the foreign car companies do well in America!
Head gasket failure...after taking my 95 mustang to 3 different Ford dealerships over the past 4 years trying to resolve a check eng. Light problem and a motor problem I was told it was just bad gas... now that the 7 year/100000 extended warranty is over, Ford said "it's not their problem and we will not fix it under the warranty. The car has 87000 miles and is past the 7 years by 6 months. And get this... the one dealership that spent the most time on the problem said they never had the car there and show no records of there being a problem. I have service records and service tickets from this dealership. Wow talk about not standing behind a product.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Springfield, VA, USA