KnownCarProblems2006 Ford Mustang Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 424 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Ford Mustang, most often about the air bags (54% of complaints, typically around 71,000 miles). It is 6th of 27 Mustang model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
⚠ Safety advisory3 recalls for this car came with a do-not-drive warning. See below and check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Most common 2006 Ford Mustang problems
Air bags
228 complaints · 54%Half of these problems showed up before 71,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
During july 2016, I received a letter from Ford motor company recalling one of my Ford Mustang air bags (recall 16v-384, 16s26). After patiently waiting for a year and a half for a letter stating new air bag inflators were available, I called Ford last week to get a recall status. The Ford representative stated that…
"takata recall" I received a safety recall notice 16s26/NHTSA recall 16v-384 from Ford motor company of dearborn michigan in july of 2016 for passenger airbag and still have not received a new airbag 1-1/2 years later! My last inquiry was on 9/28/17 to ed carney Ford, east hanover, nj, who told me that the part is…
Fuel system
44 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 20,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage, delivery, fuel injection system.
I was stopped at a light when my wrench light came on. I tried to drive but my vehicle was jerking really bad. I prayed driving down the access road that I would just make it to the dealership 10 miles away. I pulled in shut the vehicle off. They kept my car overnight and when I picked it up the next day they could…
Ford Mustang 2006 - can not put gas in gas tank. Will automatically shut off without putting gas in tank -- gas just spills onto your feet -- creating a safety hazard. Ford knows of this problem - there is a service bulletin & many complaints. Ford says there is "no fix". Suggests getting gas at different gas station.…
Speed control
35 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 43,500 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Mustang. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the throttle became stuck and the vehicle increased acceleration abnormally. The vehicle began to travel uncontrollably through three traffic signals. The emergency brake was engaged and the contact then crashed into a tree. The contact and a…
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the engine stalled as the electronic throttle control warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle restarted on the first attempt and resumed normally. The failure recurred on seven separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to a…
Transmission
32 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 39,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, clutch assembly, axle assembly.
Ford Mustang 2006 transmission . Car sometimes will not move when put in gear or has a hesitation then clanks in .one time it quit pulling while moving down roadway-but caught back before stopped.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the clutch would not shift and the vehicle began to decelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis, who determined that the clutch would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware…
Electrical
31 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 56,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, instrument cluster/panel, starter assembly, horn.
Water leak issue coming from the windshield and cowl area leaking into the passenger side compartment shorting out the smart junction box causing the gauges and all electrical to go haywire such as the headlight to go out while driving and the traction control to turn off as well as the windows and power locks to quit…
While trying to pass a car to my right, during mid-level acceleration, my engine experienced uncontrolled acceleration from 40mph to 70mph before I could respond and turn the ignition to the off position, killing the engine. This is the fourth time this has happened to me in two years. The first time was under hard…
Body and structure
30 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 52,500 miles. Parts named most often: body.
When driving my 2006 v6 Ford Mustang in the rain, pints of water began pouring into the passenger side in a stream. I stopped and tried to determine the source and could not. Turns out many mustangs have this problem and Ford has released a tsb but has not extended warranty coverage, so it's going to cost me an arm…
Tl contact owns a 2006 Ford Mustang. While driving approximately 10 MPH on wet road conditions, the vehicle came to a stop sign and then proceeded to accelerate. Suddenly, the contact heard water coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and the driver…
Engine
27 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 65,000 miles. Parts named most often: cooling system, engine, exhaust system.
Normal usage vehicle with 63,000 miles, steel crankshaft pulley separated from rubber hub. Repair includes replacing crankshaft pulley and other items damaged by part failure. Caused loss of steering control, as well as engine stalling if speed sensor is damaged as a result of crankshaft pulley damaging it.
Sudden acceleration. Happened 3-4 times before. Cruise control on highway. I rolled into it (that is not flooring it) and it would not stop accelerating. Used brakes to control car, turned off ignition, and stopped on shoulder. I had to wait what seemed like 2-3 minutes before it would restart without racing. Tonight…
Brakes
19 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles. Parts named most often: conventional.
Tl contact owns a 2006 Ford Mustang. The contact stated the parking brake became stuck and could not be engaged or released. The mechanic inspected the vehicle and stated the cable was stuck. The mechanic notified the manufacturer regarding the part and was advised that the part was on back order because it had to be…
After the unusually cold weather my rear brakes are not working as well as they were before. The brake pads have been replace 3 months prior. The emergency brake is now loose. Now that the temperature is warmer,the emergency brake lever is still loose and it still feels like I am only braking with my front brakes. I…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2006 Ford Mustang recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21s05.
Full defect summary
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. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing march 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19s01.
Full defect summary
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 u.s. Virgin islands, or "zone a." additionally, unless included in "zone a" above, ford is recalling certain 2009 ford ranger, edge, fusion and mustang, lincoln mkx, mkz and zephyr and mercury milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, virginia and west virginia, or "zone b." additionally, unless included in "zone a" or "zone b" above, ford is recalli
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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. Ford mailed interim letters informing owners that parts are not yet available on july 15, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19s01.
Full defect summary
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, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands, or "zone a." additionally, unless included in "zone a" above, ford is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 ford ranger, edge and lincoln mkx vehicles, 2006-2008 ford fusion, mercury milan and lincoln zephyr/mkz vehicles, 2005-2006 ford gt vehicles and 2005-2008 ford mustang vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana,
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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. The recall began on june 10, 2016. Even if interim repairs were performed under safety recall 14v-802, owners must bring their vehicles in for the final remedy. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15s21. Note: this recall supersedes safety recall 14v-802.
Full defect summary
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. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Air bags: frontal
Risk: During an air bag deployment, if a small female in the front passenger seat is not wearing the safety belt, and has the seat in the full forward position, there may be an increased potential for a neck injury.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
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 systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
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 systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Fleet vehicle recall completion audit
Summary
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 (3) major motor vehicle manufacturers (ford, chrysler, and general motors) and requested data regarding completion figures for fifteen (15) discreet safety recalls.analysis of this data demonstrated that rental car recalls completion was neither complete nor consistent.the rental
Questions about the 2006 Ford Mustang
- What are the most common problems with the 2006 Ford Mustang?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (228 complaints, typically around 71,000 miles); fuel system (44 complaints, typically around 20,000 miles); speed control (35 complaints, typically around 43,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2006 Ford Mustang have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 16, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2006 a bad year for the Ford Mustang?
- It is 6th of 27 Mustang model years by number of complaints, with 424 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.