2002 Ford Mustang GT problems & reliability
48 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2002 Ford Mustang GT. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
3 complaints report injuries (4 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 16 | 33% |
| Seat Belts | 8 | 17% |
| Power Train | 7 | 15% |
| Engine | 5 | 10% |
| Electrical System | 3 | 6% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 3 | 6% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 2 | 4% |
| Structure | 2 | 4% |
| Suspension | 2 | 4% |
| Visibility | 2 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 47,156 miles (middle 50% between 15,914 and 81,827 miles), based on 40 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I recently was traveling on the interstate late after work on interstate 10 at 60 mph when I was struck from behind at a high rate of speed which caused the car to spin out of control , hit a guard rail and thrown into onto oncoming traffic. As stated in police report. Both front and rear of the car sustained severe…”
Wheels · filed Jan 9, 2018
“The abs electronic stability control warning light has come on. It cannot be turned off. There has been no problem with braking or any accident since this occurred about june 2016. I would like to have this repaired by ford, since this could be a highly dangerous situation.”
Electronic Stability Control (esc) · filed Jul 19, 2016
“Ford motor company discontinued the manufacturing process of the anti-lock pump unit (abs pump) of their classic car ford mustang for the years 1999 to 2004. It is a part that serves the car's safety system being an important element of the brake components. This is an unwise decision that endangers the life of…”
Service Brakes · filed Nov 14, 2015
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD
Defect Petition DP05005 · opened Sep 22, 2005 · closed Jan 4, 2006
Technical service bulletins
2 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2002 Ford Mustang GT.
Some vehicles may exhibit an oil leak coming from the camshaft / valve cover area where the positive crankcase ventilation (pcf) valve mounts. *tt
15717 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 2002
Information on oil capacity changed. *tt
15716 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 2002
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 2002 Ford Mustang GT in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2002 Ford Mustang GT?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 47,156 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.