Historically speaking, the Ford Mustang has fared rather well in terms of quality, including its recent segment win in J.D. Power’s 2020 Initial Quality Study (IQS). Now, on the heels of Ford’s unimpressive yet improved ranking in the 2021 Consumer Reports reliability survey, the 2022 Ford Mustang has followed suit with a below-average predicted reliability score that caused the pony car to lose its coveted “recommended” status from the consumer organization.
Consumer Reports notes that the 2022 Ford Mustang now carries a below-average predicted reliability score due to the fact that owners of 2019-2021 models – CR determines a model’s overall reliability score based on survey results for the newest three model years – have faced a number of issues over the last 12 months. These problems include rough-shifting transmissions that required software reboots or updates at the dealer to correct, as well as display screens that tend to go blank or freeze, in some cases requiring a hardware replacement.
“Due to dwindling inventories of cars and parts, vehicle reliability is more important than ever,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports. “Since some problems don’t develop right away, our reliability ratings look at up to three years of the model’s history. The best choices are the ones that are consistently trouble-free year over year.”
The Mustang is one of 12 vehicles that lost its recommended rating due to a dip in reliability over the last year. Consumer Reports gathers its data via online questionnaires that it sends to its members, who identify any problems they’ve experienced over the last 12 months across 17 different categories covering everything from the vehicle’s drivetrain to its electronics and even paintwork. In total, CR has a pretty extensive database encompassing 300,000 vehicles over the last 20 years.
We’ll have more on the Mustang soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Mustang news and non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
No big surprise here. Ford has long forgotten their motto “Quality Is Job 1”. They continue to focus on gadgets, new models and EV’s.
This is not all that surprising. CU has a tendency to rate high performance vehicles lower than most other categories. It may be because there are more complaints due to owners actually using the vehicles capabilities and having related maintenance and repair issues. Or, as mentioned above, quality from suppliers and attention to detail in assembly may not be what it should be.
The 5.0V8 bbq typewriter tick really messed up mustang’s reliability
Haven’t all American cars been terrible when it comes to reliability?
At least it will look good when it gets towed.
Original owner ‘15 EB PP. it’s been day to day reliable, low cost and fun to drive car always.
I have 2 Mustangs: A 2000 GT modified for track work with 145,000 miles on the clock including over 20,000 road racing track miles with a redline shift banged in every gear, every time (On track). Never has caused me any issues beyond normal maintenance and wear items.
Not something that either my Japanese or German track cars owning friends can claim.
My other Mustang is a 2020 Shelby GT350 that’s been absolutely flawless and hugely entertaining for every drive.
Loyal of Consumer Reports readers is crazy.
It’s like a cult. They would never say anything bad about the cars that CR said was good.
They will find out after they buy one as I did.
I just traded in a 2018 GT on a 2022 GT Premium. The 2018 was completely reliable, and did not need work other than scheduled maintenance.