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Total NHTSA Complaints
55
Owner filings recorded
#1 Reported Problem
Fuel & Propulsion System
15 reports (27.3%)
Crash Incident Reports
4
Filings citing a crash
Fire & Injury Reports
2
0 fire • 2 injury filings
Defect Investigation Analysis

Executive Problem Findings

AutoUtility currently tracks 55 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Ford Mustang. Fuel & Propulsion System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 15 complaints (27.3% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 4 filings cite a crash, 2 report one or more injuries.

Methodology Notice: Consumer complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Filings are not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and do not constitute an audited component failure rate.
Incident & Severity Profile
  • • Total Owner Reports: 55 complaints submitted under federal penalty.
  • • Primary Subsystem: Fuel & Propulsion System accounts for 27.3% of submissions (15 reports).
  • • Secondary Systems: Powertrain & Transmission (9), Engine & Cooling (7).
  • • Crash Incidents: 4 filings cite an impact or collision.
  • • Thermal Incidents: 0 filings cite smoke or fire.
  • • Reported Casualties: 2 injury filings • 0 fatality filings.
Category Distribution

Reported Defect Categories for 2021 Ford Mustang

Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records

Fuel & Propulsion System
15
27.3%
Powertrain & Transmission
9
16.4%
Engine & Cooling
7
12.7%
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
6
10.9%
Electrical System
6
10.9%
#1 27.3% SHARE

Fuel & Propulsion System

15 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
⚠️ 1 Associated Recall Campaign
#2 16.4% SHARE

Powertrain & Transmission

9 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 1 Crash 🩹 1 Injury
#3 12.7% SHARE

Engine & Cooling

7 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 1 Crash 🩹 1 Injury
#4 10.9% SHARE

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

6 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
⚠️ 1 Associated Recall Campaign
Deterministic Text Analysis

Recurring Symptoms Identified in Owner Reports

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

Powertrain & Transmission 5.5%

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

3 complaint narratives describe this symptom.

NHTSA Narrative Match
Consumer Filings

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Ford Mustang

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Fuel & Propulsion System ODI #11745538
Filed: 06/22/2026
Defect Report

"My vehicle, VIN [XXX], is subject to NHTSA Recall 25V455 (Ford Recall 25S75) involving a defective low-pressure fuel pump that may cause engine hesitation, loss of power, or engine stalling. This recall was announced in July 2025 and remains open on the NHTSA VIN lookup as of June 2026. More than..."

Body & Structure ODI #11738388
Filed: 05/17/2026
Defect Report

"Driver door opened to secondary latch position while driving on the highway at 70mph on 5/16/2026. The warning system came on and driver had to navigate holding the door and stopping safely during high speed traffic to close the door. Will take to dealership when next available opening day. No..."

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech ODI #11735290
Filed: 05/02/2026
Defect Report

"The backup camera goes blank and says to contact Ford"

Fuel & Propulsion System ODI #11729641
Filed: 04/07/2026
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2021 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle shuddered while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that there was a banging sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated while pulling over to the..."

Fuel & Propulsion System ODI #11726929
Filed: 03/25/2026
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2021 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started losing automotive power. The vehicle had stalled several times. The vehicle was able to restart, and the loss of automotive power was intermittent. The contact received notification of..."

Multi-Year Trend

Complaint History for Ford Mustang

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Ford Mustang 436 26 11 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Ford Mustang 373 13 5 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Ford Mustang 264 14 6 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Ford Mustang 187 8 4 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Ford Mustang 146 3 6 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Ford Mustang 118 13 8 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Ford Mustang Current Page 55 4 6 Current
2022 Ford Mustang 49 3 9 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Ford Mustang 15 5 6 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Ford Mustang 73 5 11 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Ford Mustang 14 1 5 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Ford Mustang 0 0 3 View 2026 Problems →
Exhaustive System Audit

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2021 Ford Mustang

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 26 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Injury Entries Fatality Entries
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 9 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 7 0 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 3 1 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 1 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 1 0 1 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 1 1 0 1 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
Search Intelligence

Quick Answers: Common Problems & Reliability Questions for the 2021 Ford Mustang

Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2021 Ford Mustang

What are the most common reported problems with the 2021 Ford Mustang?

In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2021 Ford Mustang is Fuel & Propulsion System, appearing in 15 records (27.3% of submitted filings).

Secondary reported categories include Powertrain & Transmission (9) and Engine & Cooling (7).

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Is the 2021 Ford Mustang a reliable vehicle?

AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 55 consumer defect complaints and 6 safety recall campaigns for the 2021 Ford Mustang.

Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.

Source: NHTSA ODI & Safety Recalls Databases

Are there crash, fire, or injury reports associated with the 2021 Ford Mustang?

Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Ford Mustang, 4 filings cite a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 2 report one or more injuries.

Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Consumer Logs
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.