1978 Ford Mustang problems

Owners have filed 10 complaints about the 1978 Ford Mustang with NHTSA between 1997 and 2000. The largest single group is the brakes.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Ford Mustang

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Not graded

Too few complaints, or too short a model run, to compare fairly.

How this is worked out

The numbers

Complaints

Crashes reported

Fires reported

Injuries reported

How 1978 compares with every other Ford Mustang

Click any bar to open that year's report.

6 5 3 1 3 2 10 8 1 5 35 22 32 44 132 127 119 98 80 132 496 829 329 231 297 281 427 219 159 181 130 893 507 728 384 215 296 583 573 325 427 597 497 342 237 191 182 67 74 28 119 20 8

65 66 67 68 69 76 78 80 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks on a 1978 Ford Mustang

Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.

Brakes 4 40.0%

Fuel & Propulsion 2 20.0%

Engine & Cooling 2 20.0%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 1 10.0%

Electrical System 1 10.0%

Recalls on the 1978 Ford Mustang

A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous enough to fix for free — however old the car is.

Canada — Transport Canada

Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not always mirror the American ones.

Recall 1983021 24 Feb 1983 530 units in Canada

THE FELXIBLE FIVE BLADE ENGINE COOLING FAN MAY FATIGUE CRACK AND SEPARATE. FAN BLADE SEPARATION MAY DAMAGE UNDERHOOD COMPONENTS AND, IF THE HOOD IS OPEN, INJURE PERSONS IN THE VICINITY OF THE VEHICLE.

Recall 1980134 16 Oct 1980 9,073 units in Canada

VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 302 C.I.D. ENGINES MAY BE EQUIPPED WITH FLEXIBLE SEVEN-BLADE ENGINE COOLING FANS WHICH CAN EXPERIENCE FATIGUE CRACKING OF THE FAN BLADES. FRAGMENTS OF THE BLADE MAY SEPARATE FROM A ROTATING FAN ASSEMBLY POSSIBLY DAMAGING UNDERHOOD COMPONENTS OR CAUSING INJURY TO PERSONS SERVICING THE ENGINE.

Recall 1979068 12 Apr 1979 97,902 units in Canada

THE EVAPORATIVE EMISSION (CARBON CANISTER) FUEL VAPOUR PURGE VALVE MAY BE DISCONNECTED AND COULD ALLOW A SMALL QUANTITY OF FUEL VAPOUR TO BE RELEASED TO THE ATMOSPHERE.

Recalls cover specific build ranges, so check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or, in Canada, Transport Canada.

The most recent complaints

In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.

Filed 26 Apr 2000 LOS Angele, CA

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:CARBURETOR SYSTEM

SPEEDOMETER, ODOMETER AND TACHOMETER MALFUNCTION DUE TO DEFECTIVE CARBURATOR BEING INSTALLED. YH

NHTSA complaint #551827 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 26 Apr 2000 LOS Angele, CA

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES

ACCELERATOR MALFUNCTIONS DUE TO ACCELERATOR PUMP LEAK. YH

NHTSA complaint #551827 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 24 Sep 1997 Lakewood, OH

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:FAN

ENGINE COOLING FAN BLADES SEPARATED FROM THE FAN HUB PRIOR TO RECALL, REPAIRS REFUSED DUE TO MANUFACTURER'S INABILITY OR UNWILLINGNESS TO PROVIDE PARTS TO DEALER NECESSARY FOR THEM TO MAKE REPAIRS (83V-025).

NHTSA complaint #523451 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 24 Jul 1997 LOS Angeles, CA

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER

MASTER CYLINDER FAILED.