There are 11 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2001 Ford Mustangin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
ABS light came on, sometimes when braking/slowing down at freeway speeds, the brakes won't catch and it feels like I'm going to ram into the cars ahead, I've replaced the rotors, the calipers, the brakes, the wheel bearings, ABS light won't go away, I've looked into it on the bullitt community forums, and this is a common problem that most just decide to live with, cause no solution has been found.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 FORD MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT OXIDATION BUILD-UP ON THE HEADLIGHT COVERS IS CAUSING POOR VISIBILITY WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT. IN ADDITION, THE CONVERTIBLE TOP DOES NOT GO UP OR DOWN BECAUSE THE CONTROL MODULE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE WHEN THE EMERGENCY BRAKE IS ON OR OFF. THE CONTACT FEELS THAT THIS IS UNSAFE BECAUSE THE TOP CAN GO UP OR DOWN WITHOUT WARNING. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 97,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 94,000. UPDATED 06/03/09 *BF UPDATED 06/04/09.*JB
WITH ONLY 80K MILES ON MY CAR, THE IGNITION SWITCHED LOCKED UP AND I COULD NOT START MY CAR. THE DEALER STATES THAT HE HAS TO DRILL OUT AND REPLACE THE LOCKSET. HE ALSO STATED THAT HE HAS TO REPLACE IT WITH AN ELECTRONIC KEY SINCE IT IS TIED IN TO ALL THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS IE THE SECURITY AND CONTROL MODULE. HE STATES THAT THE TUMBLERS ARE WORN AND THE LOCK HAS TO BE REPLACED. HE STATES THAT HE HAS SEEN THIS BEFORE AND THE NEW SETS MAY HAVE AN IMPROVED TUMBLER SET. *NM
A COIL PACK HAS FAILED FOUR TIMES IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS. WHEN IT STARTS GOING BAD THE CAR LURCHES (LOOSES AND REGAINS POWER MULTIPLE TIMES) WHEN YOU ARE ACCELLERATING, AND STALLS WHEN YOU DECELLERATE. BOTH ISSUES ARE SAFTY ISSUES AS THE LOSS OF POWER WHEN ACCELLERATING COULD CAUSE A DRIVERS TIMING TO BE BAD (FOR INSTANCE WHEN LEAVING A SIDE STREET INTO ON COMING TRAFFIC), AND THE STALLING CUTS ALL OF THE POWER EQUIPMENT. I HAVE ASKED FORD TO REPLACE ALL OF THE COIL PACKS NOW, INSTEAD OF CONTINUING TO LEAVE ME IN DANGEROUS CITUATIONS, AND THEY HAVE NOT DONE SO TO DATE. AS FORD DOESN'T PAY FOR RENTAL CARS IT IS ALSO GETTING REAL EXPENSIVE FOR ME TO REPLACE EACH COIL PACK WHEN IT GOES OUT. THE DEALERS SERVICE AGENT TOLD ME THAT THIS IS A PREVELENT ISSUE WITH FORD.*AK
TWICE NOW, WHEN ATTEMPTING TO START THE CAR, IT DOES NOT WANT TO START. IT MAKES THE CRANKING SOUND, BUT WILL NOT TURN OVER. THE FIRST TIME, I TRIED 3 TIMES AND ON THE FOURTH TRY, IT FINALLY TURNED OVER. THE SECOND TIME, IT FINALLY TURNED OVER ON THE FIFTH TRY. I TOOK IT TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP AFTER EACH PROBLEM. THE FIRST TIME, THEY COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS, BUT THEY REPLACED THE IDLING SWITCH/VALVE. SIX DAYS LATER, IT HAPPENED AGAIN. TOOK BACK TO FORD THE NEXT DAY. THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. WAS ASKED IF I COULD LEAVE IT FOR 2 TO 3 DAYS, WHICH I COULD NOT AT THE TIME. DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, BUT AM GETTING FRUSTRATED WITH IT. AFRAID THAT IT WILL EVENTUALLY NOT START FOR ME, STRANDING ME. *JB
AT SPEEDS OF 45 MPH OR LESS, WHEN DOWNSHIFTING AND BRAKING, THE ENGINE WILL STALL. POWER BRAKES, POWER STEERING, AND A/C STOP. CANNOT "POP THE CLUTCH" TO RESTART THE MOTOR. MUST TURN KEY TO OFF AND RESTART THE VEHICLE. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AS I HAVE BEEN DOWNSHIFTING AND TURNING AND HAVE LOST POWER STEERING IN THE TURN AND COULD HARDLY TURN THE WHEEL WHILE THE CAR WAS STILL IN MOTION. THIS HAPPENS RANDOMLY AND SPORADICALLY, AND HAS DONE IT SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW.*AK
WE HAD A DEEP SNOW STORM LAST MONTH AND I GOT MY 2001 MUSTANG GT CONVERTIBLE STUCK IN THE SNOW IN MY DRIVEWAY. EACH TIME I TRIED TO ROCK THE VEHICLE BACK AND FORTH TO FREE IT FROM THE DEEP SNOW, THE ENGINE WOULD POWER DOWN. I FINALLY REALIZED THAT THE "ELECTRONIC TRACTION CONTROL" WAS CAUSING THIS. I TURNED IT OFF AND WAS ABLE TO FREE THE VEHICLE. I THINK THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN THIS AND THE BRAKE PROBLEM I DESCRIBED BEFORE WHICH CAUSED ME TO HYDRO-PLANE AND SPIN OUT IN HEAVY RAIN. I WROTE TO YOU 12-24-03 WITH THAT COMPLAINT. *JB
VEHICLE WAS PULLED INTO GARAGE. IN A MATTER OF SEVERAL MINUTES VEHICLE STARTED SMOKING, MORE AND MORE UNTIL FIRE ACUALLY IGNITED. FIRE INSPECTOR SAID MAIN WIRE FROM CONNECTOR BOX WAS THE CAUSE. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. *AK
MAIN DISTRIBUTOR BOX JUST BEHIND BATTERY, NEXT TO WINDOW WASHER FLD CONTAINER, HAS A BUNDLE OF WIRES COMING TO IT AND ATTACHED BY A CONNECTOR. THE CONNECTOR WAS NEVER FULLY TIGHTENED IN THE FACTORY ACCORDING TO A "MASTER MECHANIC" AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM. AFTER SEVERAL LOOSE CONNECTIONS, THE CAR DIEING WITHOUT WARNING AND NO RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM I THREATENED TO GET AN ATTORNEY. THE MASTER MECHANIC HAD NO EXPLANATION WHY THE OTHER MECHANICS DIDN'T RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. HE STATED TO THE FOREMAN IN MY PRESENCE, "EVERY CAR COMING OFF THE LOT FROM FORD HAS TO HAVE THE CONNECTOR TIGHTENED BEFORE WE LET IT OFF THE LOT (AS SOLD). IF I WASN'T SUCH A GOOD DRIVER, I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED ON ANY ONE OF THE TOTAL POWER FAILURES.*AK
WHEN DRIVING IN A LOW GEAR ENGINE STALLS. IGNITION HAS TO BE RESTARTED IN ORDER TO START ENGINE BACK UP. DEALER HAS SEEN VEHICLE TWICE, AND CAN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM.*AK
1-DRIVERS FOOT CONTACTS FUSE BOX WHEN ENGAGING/DISENGAGING CLUTCH PEDAL (FUSE BOX TOO CLOSE TO CLUTCH TRAVEL ZONE). IMPACTS DRIVER CONTROL OF VEHICLE. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026