1985 FORD MUSTANG — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 16 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: FUEL SYSTEM (3 complaints · 18.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1984 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution FUEL SYSTEM appears in 3 of 16 owner complaints (18.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. FUEL SYSTEM: 3 complaints, 18.8% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 3 · 18.8% · 1 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 3 complaints, 18.8% of reports SEAT BELTS 3 · 18.8% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 12.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 12.5% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 2 complaints, 12.5% of reports ENGINE 2 · 12.5% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 6.3% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports STEERING 1 · 6.3% · 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports SUSPENSION 1 · 6.3% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 6.3% VISIBILITY: 1 complaints, 6.3% of reports VISIBILITY 1 · 6.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 14 complaints, 87.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 14 · 87.5% · 2 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
FUEL SYSTEM 3 18.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SEAT BELTS 3 18.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 12.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 2 12.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 6.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 1 6.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 1 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 14 87.5% 2 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in May 1985. 1995-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports May 1985 Jan 2009 Recall campaign 85V068000 ◆ Recall campaign 85V068000 Recall campaign 92V063000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V063000 Recall campaign 07E064000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E064000 Investigation EA86010 ● Investigation EA86010 Investigation PE87028 ● Investigation PE87028 Investigation PE89118 ● Investigation PE89118 Investigation EA91003 ● Investigation EA91003
  • Campaign 07E064000 was reported 4,557 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 2
1995-Q2 Owner reports 1
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q2 Owner reports 4
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 85V068000
Recall campaign 1 92V063000
Recall campaign 1 07E064000
Defect investigation 1 EA86010
Defect investigation 1 PE87028
Defect investigation 1 PE89118
Defect investigation 1 EA91003
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E064000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    A LEAKING FUEL PUMP COULD CREATE A VEHICLE FIRE HAZARD.
    Remedy:
    FEDERAL-MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 15, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FEDERAL-MOGUL AT 248-354-7700.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 85V068000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    Not available in the source record
    Remedy:
    INSPECT AND IF NECESSARY REPLACE THE POWER BRAKE BOOSTER ASSEMBLY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 92V063000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    IF THE TONGUE DETACHES FROM THE SAFETY BELT WEBBING, THESAFETY BELT WOULD NOT ATTACH TO ITSELF, RESULTING IN INCREASED RISK OF INJURYTO THE SEAT OCCUPANT IN THE EVENT OF A SUDDEN STOP OR VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    FORD WILL REPAIR THE SAFETY BELTS EXPERIENCING THIS CONDITION REGARDLESS OF VEHICLE AGE OR CONDITION.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 16 complaints · page 1 of 1

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources