Saturday, August 8, 2026
RecallGazette

Vehicle problems, recalls & safety intelligence

Ford Mustang 1999–2000technical service bulletin

Bulletin 13987 · NHTSA communication 620289 · issued Mar 1, 2001

Technical service bulletin
communication type
Engine and Engine Cooling
component
1999–2000
model years
2
vehicle entries

Official summary

Some vehicles equipped with 3.8l engines may exhibit engine spark knock on heavy acceleration with 87 octane fuel. Hot weather and lower octaine fuel can contribute to the cause of a slight knock on heavy acceleration. Though no damage to the engine will occur, some customers report that the sound is not desirable. *tt

What a TSB means. Technical service bulletins are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls, and repairs are not automatically free (warranty extensions are an exception worth checking). The full document is available via NHTSA’s vehicle lookup.