- Ford recalls 148,663 MY24-26 Mustangs after wiring grounds can fracture from vibration.
- Failures can kill drive power, headlights, washers, cooling fans or air-conditioning systems.
- Separate recall involves 2.3-liter EcoBoost Mustangs fitted with potentially cracked pistons.
Sometimes it’s the smallest glitches that cause the biggest problems. We’re reminded of that this week by Ford, which is calling back 148,663 examples of the MY24-26 Mustang because engine-bay wiring harness ground connections can fracture, creating all kinds of underhood trouble.
Depending on which ground eyelet breaks, affected Mustangs can lose motive power, one or both headlights, the windshield washer pump, air conditioning or the engine cooling fan. Besides being inconvenient if not downright dangerous, the fault could also mean the cars don’t comply with federal lighting and washer standards, though Ford estimates only 1 percent actually have the defect.
Related: Ford Showed Dealers An Off-Road Mustang V8 That Ditches Rear-Wheel Drive
The culprit is heat-shrink adhesive that, thanks to production variation, could intrude into the ground eyelet’s bolt-clearance area. That could bend the eyelet during assembly, shortening its fatigue life as vibration works away. Drivers might see a check-engine light, warning messages or hear a chime before trouble arrives.
Ford discovered the issue after two broken eyelets on a 2027 Mustang durability-test car caused power loss. It found eight related warranty claims up to early August, but knows of no crashes or injuries related to the problem. Dealers will replace all four engine-compartment ground terminals with redesigned types free of charge.
Engine Trouble, And Not Just for Mustang
But this being Ford, we’ve barely mentally processed news about one recall before we get word of another one. It’s like watching one of those Instagram reels where the narrator, talking at 100 mph, starts a new sentence before finishing the – Yeah, exactly like that.
In this case the second campaign involves 10,001 MY26 vehicles, 237 of which are Mustangs. The others are 1,062 Broncos, 3,071 Explorers and 432 Rangers, the common thread being they’re fitted with 2.3-liter EcoBoost engines, plus 5,199 Bronco Sports using the 1.5-liter motor.
Here, piston domes can crack where the nickel-resistant ring insert meets the aluminum, potentially causing engine failure and power loss. A loose lock nut on the supplier’s machining tool let it intermittently strike the insert and damage the bond, and an ultrasonic tester could have also missed cracks after a replacement sensor’s parameters weren’t updated. Sounds like someone won’t be first in the queue for the next Blue Oval parts contract.
Ford has identified 38 engine failures at the plant and 13 possible failures out in the field, but again no crashes or injuries. Owners may get a check-engine light, engine noise or a misfire, but even if they haven’t, dealers will inspect all of the recalled engines and replace the long block free if cracked pistons are found.
