How reliable are Ford Mustangs? Here’s what Consumer Reports says – Jalopnik

The Ford Mustang is a legendary muscle car popular for its performance, style and, lately, its transformation into the all-electric Mach-E that just outsold the gasoline Mustang 2 to 1. Well, it turns out we have to add “reliability” to that list of Mustang benefits – at least for the modern versions. After all, when the seventh-generation Mustang premiered in 2024, it made some money Consumer Reports‘best predicted reliability results ever.

It’s also hard to understand where the Mustang went wrong: as part of CR’s reliability evaluation, owners were asked about specific Mustang problem areas, and they responded by giving the Mustang great scores in all categories. And yes, that included the electronics in the car, the engine, the transmission, the bodywork and the electrical accessories. CR also generally provides information about a given car’s rivals, and it clearly took issue with this, mentioning the BMW 4 Series and the Mini Cooper – the latter perhaps best described as behaving like a half-trained puppy. Notably, CR predicted that the reliability of the 2024 Mustang would be significantly higher than that of the BMW 4 Series and Mini Cooper.

CR doesn’t have detailed reliability data for the Mustang’s more natural competitors, the Chevrolet Camaro or the Dodge Challenger, neither of which, for the record, is in production now. Another somewhat strange result was that the 2025 Mustang, despite relatively minor changes, didn’t score as highly as its 2024 predecessor.

The 2025 Mustang’s updates include additions such as dual-zone automatic climate control as standard equipment on some trims, adjusting the availability of the B&O audio system, and the debut of a limited-production 60th anniversary model – which isn’t likely to impact the car’s reliability. But when it came time to estimate how well it would hold up, CR didn’t think the 2025 Mustang would be as reliable as last year’s model. (CR does not provide owner reported trouble spots for the 2025 Mustang).

Overall, Ford ranked No. 13 among all brands in predicted reliability. Recent Mustangs haven’t been able to avoid Ford’s recall problems either, with the 2025 model having been recalled three times and the 2024 model ten times.

That said, Ford’s pony car still has a healthy lead in reliability over its competitors, and there were some new faces for the Mustang to contend with. A pair of sporty luxury cars, the Lexus LC and RC, made CR’s comparable car list in 2025, not that it mattered. The Mustang was expected to be more reliable than either luxury machine. The lead over the Subaru WRX and BRZ – from the CR brand that ranked No. 1 in new car reliability this year – was even greater.

The Mustang also outpaced fast-moving favorites like the Honda Civic Si, Porsche 718 Cayman and Volkswagen GTI. But for the future, Porsche still wants to make an EV Cayman and Boxster, and it looks like the next generation GTI will be fully electric too.

We already mentioned the lack of CR data for the Camaro and Challenger, and the Mustang was in the same boat from 2020 through 2023 – overall reliability scores for these years are not available. JD power may help some, as it called the Mustang’s reliability “great” in 2020 and 2023, but didn’t rate the car for 2021 or 2022 either.

Note that the Mustang’s predicted reliability performance is shown from CR data for the years 2012 through 2019, with these numbers marking a sharp break from the car’s more recent CR scores. Poor ratings in categories like powertrain, brakes and build quality saw the reliability score drop in some of those years, but we’ll point out that the 2012 and 2016 versions, both a year after major redesigns, were once again more reliable than their CR-selected rivals.

After that quick look at older Mustangs, let’s end with the 2025 Mustang Mach-E. It’s a very different beast than the gas-powered muscle cars CR predicts the all-electric Mach-E SUV will have “about average reliability” – despite the three recalls. CR reliability data from 2024 is not available, but for 2025 it ranked third in its class, behind the Nissan Ariya and Mini Countryman EV, but ahead of the Tesla Model Y, Honda Prologue, Chevrolet Blazer and the Toyota bZ4X. However, the Toyota bZ has been redesigned for 2026 with longer range, better looks and a still confusing name.