1988 Ford Mustang: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 1988 Ford Mustang. The campaign is 96V071000. NHTSA received the report on 25 Apr 1996. The NHTSA record gives the component Electrical System / Ignition. NHTSA has 108 complaints on file for this model year. 5 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on this campaign.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of campaign 96V071000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will replace the ignition switch.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

1 campaign. 7,900,000 units in total.

96V071000Received 25 Apr 1996. 7,900,000 units.
Electrical System / Ignition
Defect, in the NHTSA record
The ignition switch could experience an internal short circuit.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This condition could cause overheating, smoke, and possibly fire in the steering column area of the vehicle.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the ignition switch.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 7 Jun 1996.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

108 complaints, 132 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

1988 Ford Mustang
All 1988 vehicles

1988 Ford Mustang: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1988 Mustang	All 1988 vehicles	Mustang, all years	Mentions
Electrical System	454.5	158.7	101.8	60
Exterior Lighting	136.4	23.2	20	18
Seat Belts	75.8	117.9	26.8	10
Fuel System, Gasoline	53	67.1	27.7	7
Visibility	37.9	32.4	14.2	5
Engine and Engine Cooling	37.9	118.1	95.8	5
Vehicle Speed Control	37.9	46.2	45.9	5
Steering	30.3	58.9	28.1	4
Power Train	22.7	64.7	100.8	3
Structure	22.7	51.8	45.9	3

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 18.

Complaints that report a crash: 2
Complaints that report a fire: 36
Injuries in the complaints: 4
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 28 May 2021

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1988 Ford Mustang, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1996, with 48 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1988 Ford Mustang
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed
PE93011	Preliminary evaluation	CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTION	Equipment	3 Mar 1993	19 Jul 1993
PE91137	Preliminary evaluation	HOOD LATCH FAILURES	Structure	9 Oct 1991	27 Feb 1992
PE91078	Preliminary evaluation	HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY FAILURE	Exterior Lighting	28 May 1991	23 Sep 1991
PE90052	Preliminary evaluation	FR SEAT FLOOR MOUNT FAILS	Seats	7 Mar 1990	20 Jun 1990
PE89133	Preliminary evaluation	UNDERDASH FIRES	Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages	29 Jun 1989	28 Nov 1989

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 1988 Ford MustangThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1988 Ford Mustang: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/mustang/1988/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: FORD MOTOR COMPANY

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1988 Ford Mustang?: 7,900,000 units in 1 campaign. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford Mustang have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 105 recall campaigns for the Ford Mustang, model years 1965 to 2026. 1 of them names the 1988 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1988 Ford Mustang name most often?: Electrical System: 60 of 132 component mentions, or 454.5 per 1,000. For all 1988 vehicles the figure is 158.7 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1988 Ford Mustang open?: No. Each of the 5 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.