2023 Ford Mustang — Should You Buy One?
Typical asking price: $24,000–$46,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.
Deciding between model years? Compare the 17 Ford Mustang years we've written up →
Kestrel Take
The last of the S550 Mustang, built on a chassis Ford had been refining for nine years, and that shows: only 15 complaints are on file for the year. Fifteen is far too few to grade a car on — it means few people filed, not that the car is sorted. The story here is the six recall campaigns, two of which exist only because the first repair was done wrong. Buy one whose VIN comes back clean on all six, drive it at 30 to 40 mph on a straight road with your hands loose, and check the reverse camera before you hand over money.
What we checked
Checked against public records, 2026-09-25
NHTSA holds 15 owner complaints for the 2023 Ford Mustang, and 6 recall campaigns.
That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under electrics and electronics (5), steering (5), the brakes (4). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.
6 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.
Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.
Known Issues for the 2023 Ford Mustang
Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.
Recall 24V493 covers 2022–2023 Mustangs whose secondary steering torque sensor was calibrated wrong — the wheel can move side to side on its own. Recall 25V096 re-opened it for cars whose software was flashed incorrectly the first time, so a car can show one recall closed and still be unfixed. Owners describe the wheel shaking, going loose and darty around 27 to 37 mph, and one filing describes hitting a curb when the wheel turned right by itself. The remedy is a power steering control module reflash at the dealer.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (5); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Recall 23V727 covers 2020–2023 Mustangs whose body control module will not light the low-brake-fluid warning, which is a federal standard the car fails. Recall 25V689 covers 2021–2023 cars that were flashed wrong under the first one. It sounds like a lamp problem and it is not: it means a car can lose fluid and give the driver no notice until the pedal goes long. Three of the four brake complaints on this year name that recall. Pop the hood and read the reservoir yourself rather than trusting the dash.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (4); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Recall 23V070 covers 2022–2023 automatics across several Ford lines, Mustang included: a loose bolt inside the transmission can stop the park pawl engaging even though the shifter reads P. The car can roll away with the driver out of it. Dealers inspect and replace the transmission where needed, free. Until you confirm this one is closed, treat the parking brake as mandatory on any slope, and notice whether the car settles or creeps when you shift to park on the test drive.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (1); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Recall 25V442 is a large Ford software campaign covering 2019–2023 Mustangs among many others: the rearview camera can display a blank image, or keep displaying the reverse image after the car has shifted out of reverse. One 2026 filing on this year describes exactly that, a blue screen on backing up. The fix is a free camera software update. Select reverse while you are sitting in the car and count how long the image takes to appear, and whether it clears when you shift back to drive.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (5); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Two of the five electrical filings describe the same frightening moment: the throttle stops answering mid-manoeuvre, the engine does not rev, and the car coasts. One owner was told a fuel injector had quit. This is a small number of reports and there is no recall behind it, so treat it as something to listen for rather than a known pattern — a stumble or hesitation under hard acceleration, and any stored misfire code on an OBD scan, are the things that would show it.
Repair cost (estimate): $250–$900 per injector; $1,200–$2,000 if the full set goes in
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (5).
Walk-Away Red Flags
- ✗Steering that wanders or tugs at 30 to 40 mph on a straight, flat road
- ✗Seller cannot show both steering campaigns, 24V493 and 25V096, as closed
- ✗Reverse camera that comes up blank, blue, or lingers after shifting to drive
- ✗Brake fluid sitting at or below the MIN line with a dark dash
- ✗Any hesitation or flat spot when you ask for throttle from a roll
Good Signs
- ✓All six recall campaigns shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
- ✓A steering wheel that returns to centre smoothly on its own out of a highway curve
- ✓A clear reverse image within a second of selecting R, gone again in drive
- ✓Brake fluid clear and at the MAX line, with a fluid-change stamp in the book
- ✓Ford dealer service records through the first two scheduled visits
More from Ford
Similar cars & sedans
Found a specific Ford Mustang?
This page covers what goes wrong on the 2023 Ford Mustang in general. The Kestrel report covers this specific car— the asking price vs. market, the photos, the seller's description, and a BUY / NEGOTIATE / WALK AWAY verdict with a negotiation script.
Get My Verdict — $7.99No account required. Delivered to your inbox, usually within minutes.
Not ready to pay for one? The free read is instant and needs no card — it checks the asking price against the market and names the top issues for this year. It stops short of the verdict, because that needs the photos.
Known issues on this page are based on documented owner reports, NHTSA complaints, class-action records, and manufacturer technical service bulletins. Individual vehicles vary. A pre-purchase inspection by a trusted mechanic is always worth doing.
No bullshit, no upsells, no affiliate links. One report, one price — we'll never charge you rent for your own thinking.
Think we got something wrong? Tell us — a real person reads every message.