The 2012 Ford Mustang has 6 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 2,620,849 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 573 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS21V0810002021-02-161,067 affected
Defect
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…
Consequence
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.
Remedy
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.
AIR BAGS19V0010002019-01-07782,384 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of 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…
Consequence
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
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. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this…
AIR BAGS17V0240002017-01-10654,695 affected
Defect
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…
Consequence
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
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…
POWER TRAIN16V2480002016-04-27153,581 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford F-150 trucks, 2012 Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and Ford Mustang vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with an automatic transmission that may unexpectedly downshift to first gear, regardless of vehicle speed.
Consequence
An unexpected downshift into first gear can cause the vehicle to slow down suddenly without warning and the rear tires may slide or lock, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the powertrain control module with updated software, free of charge. The recall began on September 19, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S19.
AIR BAGS15V3190002015-05-281,018,622 affected
Defect
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…
Consequence
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.
Remedy
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…
FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 FORD F-150, 2012 EXPEDITION AND LINCOLN NAVIGATOR, AND 2012-2013 MUSTANG VEHICLES, FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NOS. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE, STARTER INTERLOCK, AND TRANSMISSION BRAKING EFFECT" AND…
Consequence
IF THIS CONDITION EXISTS, THE TRANSMISSION MAY NOT GO INTO REVERSE OR WHEN THE DRIVER PUSHES THE SHIFT LEVER IN THE REVERSE “R” POSITION AND THE VEHICLEÂ’S TRANSMISSION DOES GO IN REVERSE, THE “R” MAY NOT ILLUMINATE ON THE DASHBOARD OF THE F-150, EXPEDITION, OR NAVIGATOR MODELS AND/OR THE BACKUP LAMP ON THE REAR…
Remedy
FORD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE TRS AS NECESSARY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD MOTOR COMPANY CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP CENTER AT 1-866-436-7332.
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS
158
9crashes6injuries
POWER TRAIN
157
8crashes3injuries1deaths
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
35
3crashes1injuries
ENGINE
30
1crashes
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
21
2crashes1fires1injuries
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
20
STRUCTURE:BODY
20
2crashes2injuries
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
18
STEERING
16
2crashes
SUSPENSION
16
Total complaints573
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“I am the owner of a 2012 ford mustang gt currently located in kuwait. My vehicle has an open takata airbag safety recall, which is a life-threatening defect. I contacted the authorized ford dealer in kuwait and ford middle east, but both refused to perform the recall repair, stating that the…”
“Down shifting in to first and reverse problems nothing wrong with transmission”
“The contact owns a 2012 ford mustang. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the front windshield wipers independently activated. There were no warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the front windshield wiper fluid reservoir failed to drain the excess water…”
“Speedometer went to zero while driving and seemed to be in neutral. Could not accelerate. Also low fuel warning light came on when I had a full tank. After car was shut off and restarted speedometer seemed fine for about 1 mile, then self accelerated. Now continues to read zero and can not…”
“Speedometer went to zero while driving and seemed to be in neutral. Could not accelerate. Also low fuel warning light came on when I had a full tank. After car was shut off and restarted speedometer seemed fine for about 1 mile, then self accelerated. Now continues to read zero and can not…”
“Speedometer went to zero while driving and seemed to be in neutral. Could not accelerate. Also low fuel warning light came on when I had a full tank. After car was shut off and restarted speedometer seemed fine for about 1 mile, then self accelerated. Now continues to read zero and can not…”
“I bought the car on dec 20th 2024. The dealership informed me of the recall and turned off the passenger side airbag. I returned to the dealership as scheduled about 2 weeks later. When I went to pick up my car after work the service center said they couldn't fix the problem because the airbag…”
“Transmission seems to lose power while driving, the car will barely pull itself but the rpms increase if I accelerate. This has happened several times while driving and occasionally there are dash lights lighting and speedometer/gas gauge doesn’t work but that doesn’t happen every time. When…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE11024 Opened 2011-08-03 · closed 2011-12-14
Inability to shift gears on acceleration
The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) analyzed complaint data provided by Ford as well as complaints submitted to ODI from consumers.In total, there were 364 unique reports indicating various shift quality issues while driving.Ford identified several factors that may contribute to shift quality concerns in the…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Ford Mustang as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.