1998 Ford Mustang Recalls, Complaints & Specs
4 safety recalls list the 1998 Ford Mustang, and owners have filed 236 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.
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4 safety recalls for the 1998 Ford Mustang
Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.
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Conventional (parking brake)
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. If a vehicle is parked with the parking brake not fully applied and not in first gear, as directed in the owner guide, and the self adjustment pawl subsequently skips one or two teeth, the vehicle could move on some grades.
Remedy: Dealers will modify the parking brake control and install a plate or over-bracket to the control to lock the self adjust mechanism in position following adjustment.
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Vehicle speed control
Vehicle description: certain 1997-1999 rhd explorer equipped with 4.0l ohv/sohc engines and cruise control built from may 29, 1996 through march 4, 1999; 1998-1999 explorer/mountaineers equipped with 4.0l ohv/sohc or 5.0l engines or 1998-1999 rangers equipped with 2.5l, 3.0l ffv/efi or 4.0l engines and cruise control built from january…
Remedy: Dealers will replace the cruise control cables. At the present time, the replacement cables are not available. Customers are being advised not to use the cruise control system until a replacement can be made.
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Fuel injection system (fuel system)
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with 4.6l engines. Some of these vehicles has missing or inadequate braze joints between the fuel rail body and the fuel rail mounting bracket(s).
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel rail on these vehicles.
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Shaft sector (steering)
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles and MINI-vans. The rack and pinion steering gears may have damaged input shaft bearings.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the date code on the rack and pinion steering gear, and, if necessary, replace those rack and pinion assemblies that fall within the suspect date code range. The date codes for windstar model…
236 owner complaints filed with NHTSA
Owners of the 1998 Ford Mustang have filed 236 complaints with NHTSA; 44 describe a crash and 12 describe a fire. Reports cite 31 injuries and 1 death. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 96,536 miles. Complaints peaked in 1999 with 66 filed that year.
Most-reported components
What owners are reporting
“Rear right parking brake does not engage and when trying to come to an emergency stop brake is ineffective”
Owner complaint to NHTSA, May 22, 2021 · Service brakes
“Stirring-wheel airbags did not deploy on getting hit head-but on the passenger side did deploy but due to the defect stirring wheel AIRBAG not deploying the driver to hit the windshield”
Owner complaint to NHTSA, February 6, 2020 · Air bags
Fuel economy and specs
EPA ratings for the 1998 Ford Mustang. Ranges cover every tested configuration.
| Combined | 18–21 mpg |
|---|---|
| City / Highway | 15–18 / 22–27 |
| Fuel | Premium, Regular |
| EPA class | Subcompact Cars |
| Engine | 6/8 cyl, 3.8/4.6 L |
| Transmission | Automatic 4-spd; Manual 5-spd |
Compare Ford Mustang model years
Recall and complaint counts for every Ford Mustang model year in NHTSA's database.
Checking a specific 1998 Ford Mustang
How do I know if my 1998 Ford Mustang has an open recall?
Enter your 17-character VIN above. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard (visible through the windshield), the driver's door jamb sticker, and your registration or insurance card. The check runs against NHTSA's live database and tells you which campaigns list your vehicle. 4 campaigns currently list the 1998 Ford Mustang; your car may already have been repaired under some of them.
Is the recall repair free?
Yes. Under federal law, manufacturers must fix safety recalls at no charge for vehicles up to 15 years old from the date of sale to the first owner. Contact any authorised Ford dealer with your VIN and the NHTSA campaign number (for example 00V349000).
What is the difference between a recall and a complaint?
A recall is a safety campaign filed by the manufacturer or ordered by NHTSA, with a defined defect and remedy. A complaint is a report an owner sent to NHTSA; it is not verified, but patterns of complaints are what trigger NHTSA investigations and, eventually, recalls.
Other Ford models
- F-15037,961 complaints
- Explorer34,566 complaints
- Escape27,430 complaints
- Fusion22,405 complaints
- Focus22,096 complaints
- Taurus18,159 complaints
- Windstar14,158 complaints
- Edge14,065 complaints
Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.