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Ford Mustang

Every model year 2016–2026: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

11 Model years 2016–2026

72 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

1,346 Complaints owner reports, all years

C Newest grade 2026 Safety Signal

2016 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2026 Mustang →Which years to avoid Compare it

2026 Ford Mustang

Active NHTSA advisory on 1 model year of the Mustang — park outside or do not drive. The year rows below carry it.

Every Ford Mustang model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2026	Gas	C	5	8	★★★★★	26 mpg
2025	Gas	D	6	19	★★★★★	26 mpg
2024	Gas	F	12	84	★★★★★	26 mpg
2023	Gas	F	6	15	★★★★★	25 mpg
2022	Gas	F	9	50	★★★★★	25 mpg
2021	Gas	C	6	55	★★★★★	25 mpg
2020	Gas	D	8	120	★★★★★	25 mpg
2019	Gas	C	6	151	★★★★★	25 mpg
2018	Gas	C	3	196	★★★★★	25 mpg
2017	Gas	D	6	268	★★★★★	24 mpg
2016	Gas	C	5	380	★★★★★	25 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2016

On the filed record so far, the 2016 is the cleanest Mustang year we hold, and the 2022 the one to check hardest.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2016	C	0.5	38
2019	C	0.9	22
2021	C	1.2	11
2020	D	1.3	20
2018	C	0.4	24	1 critical
2017	D	0.7	30	1 critical
2023	F	2	5	3 critical
2022	F	2.2	12	3 critical

Which Ford Mustang years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2016 power train complaints at 0.12× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 6,100 miles). Latest: 2019 engine at 1.58× (66,250 miles).

Year	Engine	Electrical System	Power Train	Back Over Prevention	Latches/Locks/Linkages	Structure
2019	1.58×	0.65×	—	—	—	—
2018	0.54×	1.46×	0.29×	—	—	—
2017	0.53×	1.03×	0.95×	0.77×	1.12×	1.27×
2016	0.71×	0.71×	0.12×	0.62×	0.91×	1.11×

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the Ford Mustang, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

engine problems 313 complaints, every model year electrical problems 266 complaints, every model year backup camera and parking sensor problems 157 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2025: 8 → 6 EPA configurations
2024: best combined mpg 25 → 26; 15 → 8 EPA configurations
2023: 16 → 15 EPA configurations
2021: 14 → 16 EPA configurations
2020: 11 → 14 EPA configurations
2019: 10 → 11 EPA configurations
2018: best combined mpg 24 → 25; 14 → 10 EPA configurations
2017: best combined mpg 25 → 24; 9 → 14 EPA configurations

Compare

All Mustang head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2026 Mustang vs Mercedes-Benz E-Class · Coupe	E-Class +3.7
2026 Mustang vs Chevrolet Corvette · Coupe	Mustang +13.9
2026 Mustang vs BMW 2 Series · Coupe	Mustang +7.1
2026 Mustang vs Porsche 911 · Coupe	911 +18.2
2026 Mustang vs Aston Martin DB12 S · Coupe	DB12 S +18.5
2026 Mustang vs Aston Martin Valhalla · Coupe	Mustang +20.9
2025 Mustang vs Toyota GR86 · Coupe	GR86 +3.2
2025 Mustang vs Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class · Coupe	CLE-Class +4.9
2025 Mustang vs Aston Martin Vanquish · Coupe	Vanquish +14.4

In the studies

Source: computed from the same record, method on each page

Odometer at first complaint · rank 46 of 79 1.18× the mileage of same-age vehicles Ford Mustang owners reported problems to NHTSA at a median 27,000 miles across 2018–2020 (fleet 23,512), later than vehicles of the same model year. 180 readings.

Common questions about the Ford Mustang

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Ford Mustang year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2016 Mustang comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade C (71/100), 5 recalls and 380 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Ford Mustang years should I avoid?

2017, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 have the weakest recall records in this range — one carries an active park-outside or do-not-drive advisory. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every Mustang model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Ford Mustang have?

Across model years 2016–2026, NHTSA has posted 72 recall campaigns for the Ford Mustang. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.