1998 Ford Mustang: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 1998 Ford Mustang. The newest campaign is 00V349000. NHTSA received the report on 30 Oct 2000. The NHTSA record gives the component Parking Brake / Conventional. NHTSA has 236 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

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

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

Remedy of the newest campaign, 00V349000, in the NHTSA record

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.

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

4 campaigns, newest first. 1,342,989 units in total.

00V34900030 Oct 2000Parking Brake / Conventional
99V06200130 Mar 1999Vehicle Speed Control
97V21600024 Nov 1997Fuel System, Gasoline / Fuel Injection System
97V16500030 Sep 1997Steering / Gear Box / Shaft Sector

00V349000Received 30 Oct 2000. 434,000 units.
Parking Brake / Conventional
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This could result in unintended vehicle movement and a vehicle crash without prior warning.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 00S37. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 28 Nov 2000.
99V062001Received 30 Mar 1999. 898,739 units.
Vehicle Speed Control
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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 5, 1998 through march 4, 1999; 1998-1999 mustangs equipped with 3.8l, 4.6l 2-valve or 4-valve engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999; 1999 f250/f350/f450/f550 (over 8,500 lbs.) trucks equipped with 5.4l or 6.8l engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999; and 1999 f-53 stripped chassis equipped with 5.4l or 6.8l engines and cruise control built from march 2, 1998 through march 4, 1999. A cruise control cable can interfere with the speed control servo pulley and not allow the throttle to return to idle when disengaging the cruise control.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the cruise control is used and this condition is present, a stuck throttle could result, which could potentially result in a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 99S09.
97V216000Received 24 Nov 1997. 8,000 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Fuel Injection System
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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).
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the bracket separates from the rail, the rail can lift one or more of the injectors, and fuel leakage will result. In the presence of an ignition source, a fire could occur.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the fuel rail on these vehicles.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 15 Dec 1997.
97V165000Received 30 Sep 1997. 2,250 units.
Steering / Gear Box / Shaft Sector
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles and mini-vans. The rack and pinion steering gears may have damaged input shaft bearings.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This condition can increase steering efforts, affecting steering control.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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 vehicles are 97jb09 or 97jc08; the date codes for mustang model vehicles are 97j09b or 97j08b.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 27 Oct 1997.

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

236 complaints, 297 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.

1998 Ford Mustang
All 1998 vehicles

1998 Ford Mustang: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1998 Mustang	All 1998 vehicles	Mustang, all years	Mentions
Engine and Engine Cooling	158.2	123.7	95.8	47
Fuel System, Gasoline	97.6	36.2	27.7	29
Steering	77.4	55.8	28.1	23
Power Train	74.1	90.4	100.8	22
Seat Belts	64	22.5	26.8	19
Vehicle Speed Control	60.6	43.2	45.9	18
Parking Brake	60.6	4	13.6	18
Suspension	53.9	82.6	25.6	16
Air Bags	50.5	50.6	203.8	15
Electrical System	50.5	82.5	101.8	15

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 26.

Complaints that report a crash: 44
Complaints that report a fire: 12
Injuries in the complaints: 31
Deaths in the complaints: 1
Date of the newest complaint: 22 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 1998 Ford Mustang, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1999, with 66 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1998 Ford Mustang
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
DP05005	Defect petition	SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD	Engine and Engine Cooling / Engine	22 Sep 2005	4 Jan 2006
PE99029	Preliminary evaluation	FIRES IN THE CENTER CONSOLE	Electrical System	3 May 1999	27 Jul 1999

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 1998 Ford MustangThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1998 Ford Mustang: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/mustang/1998/. 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 1998 Ford Mustang?: 1,342,989 units in 4 campaigns. 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. 4 of them name the 1998 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1998 Ford Mustang name most often?: Engine and Engine Cooling: 47 of 297 component mentions, or 158.2 per 1,000. For all 1998 vehicles the figure is 123.7 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1998 Ford Mustang open?: No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.