Ford bulletin SSM 53974
What it saysSome 2024-2025 Mustang vehicles equipped with a 2.3L EcoBoost engine may require removal of the air conditioning compressor belt due to various concerns. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Jun 24, 2025, received Jul 2, 2025, about the engine. It names 2 model years (2024–2025). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationSome 2024-2025 Mustang vehicles equipped with a 2.3L EcoBoost engine may require removal of the air conditioning compressor belt due to various concerns. Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 303-05 has been updated with improved removal and installation service procedure steps.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 53974 | Service bulletin | Jun 24, 2025 | 11020049 | PDF, 65 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 99 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 23 of them name Engine, Power Train — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
I was driving home from work at approximately 65mph when my transmission shifted and slammed back into gear. I stopped in a safe location, cut the car off and then back on, but the transmission is still slipping.
2024 Ford Mustang · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Jan 13, 2025
My car has a recall that has to do with the engine possibly shutting off completely while driving normally and there is no remedy or solution for the recall it states in the recall that it may cause an accident.
2025 Ford Mustang · Engine · filed with NHTSA Sep 14, 2026
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the engine
Source: same model, same component group16 other manufacturer communications filed against the Ford Mustang under the same component group (engine), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54742 | Service bulletin | Apr 13, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Mustang GTD vehicles may set diagnostic trouble code (DTC) U0420:82 in the image processing module a (IPMA) during a diagnost… |
| 25H03 | Other | Sep 3, 2025 | Harvest Program 25H03 Certain 2024 - 2025 Model Year Bronco, Bronco Sport, Corsair, Escape, Explorer, Maverick, Mustang, and Ranger Vehicle… |
| 25P20 | Other | Jul 26, 2025 | Certain 2025 Model Year Bronco, Explorer, Mustang, and Ranger Vehicles Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor Replacement On all affected vehicle… |
| SSM 53991 | Service bulletin | Jul 2, 2025 | Some 2025 Mustang GTD vehicles may set diagnostic trouble code (DTC) U0420:82 in the image processing module a (IPMA) during a diagnostic se… |
| SSM 52630 | Service bulletin | Jun 19, 2024 | Some 2023-2024 Escape/Corsair vehicles equipped with a 1.5L or 2.0L EcoBoost engine, 2024 Mustang vehicles equipped with a 2.3L EcoBoost eng… |
| 24H01 | Service bulletin | May 24, 2024 | Certain 2024 Model Year Mustang Vehicles - Left Hand Cylinder Head and Exhaust Cam Replacement |
| SSM 52542 | Service bulletin | May 16, 2024 | Some 2020-2022 Mustang GT500 vehicles may exhibit a lack of power and/or an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) with diagnostic tro… |
| SSM 52502 | Service bulletin | May 2, 2024 | Some 2020-2022 Mustang GT500 vehicles may exhibit a lack of power and/or an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) with diagnostic tro… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 53974 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SSM 53974 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does SSM 53974 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2025 Ford Mustang, 2024 Ford Mustang. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.