Comments: 1-15, 16-21
Where do I start?
Clutch burnt out at 3500 miles. Warranty replaced.
CD player wouldn't eject CDs. Dealer refused to fix.
Shifter got stuck between gears from new (possibly cause of the clutch going out). Dealer wouldn't fix because he said it was normal and I laughed when he couldn't get it into gear to pull it out of the shop.
Warped head at 7500 miles. Dealer replaced it, but commented that I must have been running the car hard to cause this sort of damage.
Power front seat was broken after I got it back from the dealer after head work being done. Dealer replaced. Would also run hot after the head was replaced.
I'm a 63 year old man and I love the looks of the new Mustangs. I only used it to drive on sunny days up and down the back roads of Mass. I have been driving a stick all of my life, so the problem with the clutch wasn't from lack of experence.
The car had reasonably good performance, but was in the shop too much. The poor shifting of the car also made me nervous driving it in the city and I hate it when dealers blame engineers for designing something bad when it obviously broke and just needed to be adjusted/repaired, and they didn't want to do it.
I ended up trading it off for another Ram. Much happier, even without the convertible top. I loved the car, just not the constant breaking down of the thing and the poor service at the dealership. However, I did get quite a bit of satisfaction watching the dealer struggle for 5 minutes trying to put the car in gear.
I had the identical problems with my 2001 Premium Mustang GT. After the car had approximately 2500 miles I started smelling burning oil. The dealer investigated the smell during the first oil change and said everything was fine. At the 15k oil change, I reminded the dealer about the smell. They discovered an oil leak on the head gasket and said the head gasket was blown. They said this was the cause of the smell and they would repair this under warranty. I was in disbelief, how could this happen, I am the only driver and the car has always run fine and never run hot. The dealer said this was an isolated problem. Ford replaced the head. Within two weeks the smell started again, when that failed to correct the problem they installed a rebuilt engine. When I complained they extended the warranty to 100k. I will never buy a Ford again. I later found out Ford has a TSB on the 1999 Ford 4.6 motor in the F250 truck. Not sure if it's related.
I own a Premium 2001 Ford Mustang GT. I have had all the same problems with my GT as these guys. My engine spark knocked the first three months I had the car. My clutch went bad. I had to take it to the shop 4 separate times to get the clutch fixed. Then, my head gaskets went out?!! Only 19000 miles on the car and already a major overhaul. Now my clutch is making noise again. This is driving me nut's. Ford finally agreed to extend my warranty. I will be using it soon enough, again.
My dream car has always been a yellow mustang. Last October I finally bought my car. At 3000 miles my clutch started to vibrate and make a very loud rattling noise. I took it to Ford and they told me that it was something loose in my dash. When I got it home it started again. The third time I took it back they replaced my whole clutch. They had trouble diagnosing the problem and were unable to fix it at that location. I am now at 20,000 miles and my third clutch. They have failed to fix the noise and vibration in the clutch for each time. The reps at Ford tell me that it is just a characteristic of my car and I will have to live with it...
In addition to my clutch problems, my drivers side window will only work on occasions. When I take it in, they say there is nothing wrong with my window. My speakers rattle, I have wind noise from both windows that they are unable to seal and I have trouble putting my car in reverse.
Tomorrow will be the 15th trip to the shop for my car that I have not even had for a year. Needless to say, I will never buy another Ford.
The trouble with my 2001 Mustang GT started at only 8,500 miles, that is when I started to smell burning oil. I took my Mustang into the Ford dealership and after evaluating the problem Ford replaced the head gasket. Shortly after replacing the head gasket my Mustang developed an oil leak, I returned back to the same Ford dealership at which time they advised there was a defect in the block, the dealership corrected this problem by installing a reconditioned motor (the reconditioned motor was installed with only 10,000 miles on my Mustang). My Mustang now has 18,500 miles and I have just discovered another oil leak in my reconditioned motor.
Ford sucks.. I drive a '01 Trans AM WS6, and it has not had ONE problem, and neither do the rest of t/a owners. Do yourself a favor and get rid of the stang and get a real muscle car.
C'mon guys, my friends/family have bought mustangs since 1987. '87LX 5.0,'89LX5.0,93GT,'96 Cobra,'98 GT,'03 GT. With the exception of the '93 which was wrecked, all still serve as daily drivers ranging from 500+HP to stone stock. All of these cars have the original engines and transmissions. They have all been driven aggressively. The LX's even see occasional drag strip duty. Mileages range from 135,000 to 7500 miles. The '87 still runs the stock starter, distributor, A/C. Sounds like you guys are bad drivers, or simply need to someone to maintenance your cars for you. The engines in these cars are in nearly every Ford truck you've seen in the last 15 years. The F-body GM cars were so bad they quit making them do to lack of interest.
I have a 2000 Convertible Mustang and love it. Except CD player won't eject sometimes, transmission fluid started to leak, and now I have lost all faith in my dream car. After rounds with the dealer, note that I am paying for an extended warranty, and still I am given the run around act. Please tell all people who are in the market for a Mustang to keep their fantasy, rather then making the purchase only to be disappointed.
Its too bad Mustangs are so poorly built. You'd think for the number of these cars Ford manufactures they'd get it right sooner or later. Unfortunately for you the 2001 Cobra is the worst year they put out. And as for the clutches on these cars, go easy on them, they don't handle the power very well. If you want a 5 star vehicle with lots of power go for a new Trans Am. Mustangs are just poorly built, end of story.
Guys - had 14 Mustangs. Most pre-'68. Still have a '67 GTA convertible. Also have had multiple 911's - currently have a '93 911 RS - 30K miles. Buy a 911. The build quality, ride, handling, acceleration and braking is nothing like you've experienced in any 'stang. Moreover, they hold their value very well. Chances are, the guy you buy one from has the money and dicipline to ensure the car was well kept. Not knocking the 'stang, just greaduate yourself to a true, reliable spots car - you'll be glad you did.
A few notes... For the guy that has owned so many Mustangs, and is so critical of everyone else... who cares? I have owned two '86 V6 LX Mustangs, an '84 Mustang SVO, and two '87 GT Mustangs.
One of my '87 GT Mustangs was an excellent car! It was so much fun to drive, easy to maintain, and a pleasure to own for so many obvious reasons! My other GT burned oil from kilometer one, and the dealer told me that this was normal for the Ford 302. It was a loaded GT, but very poorly built. I sold the car before it reached 10,000 kilometers.
My first '86 V6 Mustang was okay, but my next one was awful! The build quality was very poor in this car. I sold it soon after I bought it!
My SVO Mustang was a lot of fun to drive, and really got a lot of looks from everybody! Trouble is, it was also poorly built! The clutch, turbo, and wiring harness all had to be replaced before 50,000 kilometers. For such a potential collector car, you would think that Ford could give a little more attention to the details!
I sold the SVO and bought a new F-body Camaro Z28. Don't anybody tell me that any F-body GM product is better than the Fox platform Mustang! GM and Ford are about equal in the quality departments for their sports cars! (Don't forget that GM has quit producing their Camaros and Firebirds!) I sold them all and bought a 'V6 Toyota 4X4. It has been flawless for years!
One of Ford's problems may be one of inconsistency. A few cars may be built well, then many more are released with problems. Maybe quality control should be considered?
It doesn't matter if you've owned 10 Mustangs or just one. If you get a good one, then you're probably one of the few lucky ones. Only an ignorant person would blame drivers for so many problems that are clearly a result of poor vehicle design. I'm sure that some drivers are to blame, but I am reading so many comments regarding the same problems with Mustangs. There must be design issues involved! When you're spending so much money on a new car, you don't want to risk losing it all to a company that doesn't really care about its customers. The Mustang is such a great looking car, it's a shame that it is built by a company that doesn't care, like Ford!
I have a 2001 GT Premium, my mother in law has a 1999 GT convertible, and my parents have a 2003 GT convertible. None of these cars has ever seen the inside of the service department. Now I ask, what are the odds of this if the car is so poorly built?
As to one of the comments I saw here about Trans-Ams, and that none of the owners have had any problems with them, I have to wonder; Where, sir, do you get your information?
Also, to the fan of the Trans-Am... Have you priced a new Mustang and a new Trans-Am lately? Oh, that's right, there is no new Trans-Am. Why in the world would GM drop a product line that has never had a service problem, according to your extensive research???
I own a 2001 Ford Mustang GT convertible and have never had a problem with it, and it has been driven hard. I know 15 other people that own 1999 to 2003 mustangs, (being that I am in a mustang club) they have never had any problems with the cars and many of them drag-race them. the only thing that I have encountered is that the CD player has some trouble ejecting burned CD's, this is nothing a little tap won't fix. I love my car and everyone I know that owns a car like it loves it. As for burning out the clutch I will admit that I re learned Clutch on my mustang and liquefied the clutch a few times, (I felt the pain every time) yet somehow it still performs like a new clutch, with 30,000 miles on it. As for buying a chevy... I wonder why they aren't made anymore? --Never updated outdated push-rod V8 and dated styling, let alone that fact that they didn't sell at all --
The GM F-body was not discontinued due to poor quality, It was killed by lack of sales due to excessively high insurance costs (even compared to the mustang GT) and higher overall purchase price. Additionally, harsher ride and lower seating position made it unappealing (compared to mustang) to women and middle aged people. Essentially the mustang was cheaper and more comfortable. Most buyers don't care how fast their car is, they just want a fun car with a sporty image at a reasonable price. This is what the mustang delivers. Build quality of both cars is about the same. GM built the F-body for the performance enthusiast with little regard for the average person. That is why the F-body was discontinued.
I think that it is easy to run hard an automobile with a manual transmission. I just cannot comprehend the troubles you are having with that car. My stang GT is trouble free on all of its functions.
I have a 2001 Mustang GT convertible. During an oil change, the mechanic noticed that I had an oil leak and said that it was the head gasket. My car had 36,000 plus miles on it by that time. I had been noticing a burning smell, that I hoped was just from asphalt roads or something. The mechanic drives a Mustang and had had the same problem. He had his gasket replaced, but this did not solve the problem, and eventually the engine had to be replaced. I took my car back to my dealer - I have an extended warranty with Ford. I paid only a $50 deductible. They replaced the gasket, and I have had no problems with it since - this was at least 6 months ago. My car spent the first year and 27,000 miles as a rental car in California. There were a few problems with it when I bought it sight-unseen from the dealer (it was exactly what I wanted and they said there was nothing wrong with it, and said they would fix anything that might be wrong. They had said, however, that it had 16,000 miles on it). When I did see it, the air conditioner didn't work, the gasket around the windshield sucked air loudly, the gasket over the driver side window leaked badly, as did a small back window. They fixed everything, even coming to my house to replace the small back window (this window alone costs $1,200, at least in the book!) They offered to give me two new rear tires, but I asked for, and they gave
me, a complete set of of new Goodyear Z tires, whatever it is that the car comes with new. I felt this was warranted because of the discrepancy in the mileage. All this said, I love my car and there is no other kind I would want. With one thing and another, I have had the opportunity to drive several rental cars, one as recently as yesterday. I can only say that these other cars have all been uncomfortable, and the last, a Pontiac Grand Am, a 6 cylinder, guzzled 1/2 tank of gas going 80 miles! My Mustang gets 20 miles per gallon. Whenever I saw anyone I knew while driving these other cars, I felt the need to tell them "This is not my car!" I would not like anyone to think that I would ever choose any of those other cars! The Mustang GT is a thing of beauty, a solid comfortable car. It has an attractive symmetrical and functional dashboard. What are these other designers thinking when they create all the ugly cars out there? Before this, I had a '98 6 cylinder Mustang. The seat, not being electric and leather, was exptremly uncomfortable. The car felt like it would slide in the smallest bit of rain. But the 2001 GT feels like it even drives better in the rain! I feel secure in it. I would gladly put up with whatever problems I have had, and may have, to have the privilege of driving an American car that has the kind of style that once made the American car so desirable. The dealer has been wonderful - I had heard many bad dealer stories in the past, but their prices are fair, their work is great, they stand by their word. I love my car and feel sorry for people that have to drive, for whatever reason, most of the other cars out there.