2018 Mustang GT has multitude of problems

[kyledron]

So I have 6,000 miles on a brand new 2018 GT Premium and i have had these issues starting from least worrying to WTF. "Service tire Mobility Kit," I have had this stupid message every time I start up my car and yes, I have taken it to get serviced to no avail. I first noticed my shaker audio sub-woofer was rattling whenever any bass was played (even at low sound levels) around the first month of having the car. It is a metallic rattle and seems to be the vibration of the plastic frame. I tweaked some screws and lubed them as well and I only get the rattle on occasion. during the same time, I had a terrible ticking noise come from my engine for a few days during all levels of acceleration. I thought i probably got some watered down 87 and decided to clear the tank and refill with 93. The issue went away after a few tank swaps but I fear I may have had piston slap upon recent investigation. I have not yet had a my engine scoped out but plan on doing so in the near future. Next came the occasional "Service AdvancTrak" message as I drive. For those of you who don't know what this does, it resets your driving mode and steering to default setting which can be a bit of a surprise when driving on busy streets since it changes how hard/soft you have to turn the wheel. The last and scariest problem I just got today was a "Steering Control Failure." I was driving and when this happened I nearly shit myself because I almost crashed. If you have no idea what steering control failure may imply, it means that the electric steering assist malfunctioned casing the steering wheel to be nearly impossible to turn unless you are strong enough. It is a shame that this car has so many problems brand new and I hate to bash it but trust me when I say, you should at least wait to buy one until they address these issues for the 2018 or 2019 models for safety sake.

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[The_Phantom]

Take it to the dealer and report back with what they have as solutions to these issues. I'd be interested to know what is causing the issues.

 

[kyledron]

Will do, I just scheduled service for Monday. I forgot to add that about %10 of the times I try to start the car via key fob it will start to spool up and then die.

 

[Fatguy]

So I have 6,000 miles on a brand new 2018 GT Premium and i have had these issues starting from least worrying to WTF. "Service tire Mobility Kit," I have had this stupid message every time I start up my car and yes, I have taken it to get serviced to no avail. I first noticed my shaker audio sub-woofer was rattling whenever any bass was played (even at low sound levels) around the first month of having the car. It is a metallic rattle and seems to be the vibration of the plastic frame. I tweaked some screws and lubed them as well and I only get the rattle on occasion. during the same time, I had a terrible ticking noise come from my engine for a few days during all levels of acceleration. I thought i probably got some watered down 87 and decided to clear the tank and refill with 93. The issue went away after a few tank swaps but I fear I may have had piston slap upon recent investigation. I have not yet had a my engine scoped out but plan on doing so in the near future. Next came the occasional "Service AdvancTrak" message as I drive. For those of you who don't know what this does, it resets your driving mode and steering to default setting which can be a bit of a surprise when driving on busy streets since it changes how hard/soft you have to turn the wheel. The last and scariest problem I just got today was a "Steering Control Failure." I was driving and when this happened I nearly shit myself because I almost crashed. If you have no idea what steering control failure may imply, it means that the electric steering assist malfunctioned casing the steering wheel to be nearly impossible to turn unless you are strong enough. It is a shame that this car has so many problems brand new and I hate to bash it but trust me when I say, you should at least wait to buy one until they address these issues for the 2018 or 2019 models for safety sake.

I hear you. The minor ones “are” typical first model year problems. The engine problems are something else. I drove a commercial vehicle that did the same thing last week, I lost power steering assist and really had to man handle the wheel. But because the brakes and steering used the same system I started losing my brakes and steering all at the same time. Now that is scary, but I’m used to it. A major leak all over the front end. Good luck on the engine OP. I was thinking about a 2018 but when current model owners tell you to stay away - I listen!

 

[activeGT]

Will do, I just scheduled service for Monday. I forgot to add that about %10 of the times I try to start the car via key fob it will start to spool up and then die.

Mine does this all the time. Let me know what they say. Really annoying.

 

[kyledron]

I'll let you know, and I should have waited and done a bit more research on forums before buying. I've never heard of a new car with so many issues.

 

[sdiver68]

Sounds to me like you have an electrical or computer issue and got some bad gas. A single electrical issue will do all kinds of random things.

If my new car was throwing a code every start-up, it would be at the dealer until fixed. If not fixed It would stay or keep going back and documenting everything for a lemon law claim.

My wifes 2016 Honda Pilot got within 1 week of lemon law before they finally fixed a switch in the shifter. Frustrating because I had done the research and told them exactly where to look. Since the fix, it's been perfect. And they also fixed the audio which randomly changed volume, forgot that part by replacing the entire unit but at least they did that in the 1st visit.

 

[Myshelby3425]

Will do, I just scheduled service for Monday. I forgot to add that about %10 of the times I try to start the car via key fob it will start to spool up and then die.

Jesus, you got the bad lemon from the batch.

 

[66Bronc1]

Lemons can happen. So sorry for your problems- I know what it is like. I got a bad 2017 Camaro and rather than deal with Lemon Law, I traded it in for my new 18 GT. Due to so many issues with the Camaro and even test driving new Camaros that had I felt had problems, it led me to the Mustang. I was so paranoid I test drove it 2 times, came to look at it at least 4 other times and started and stopped it, tried everything out like it was a used car. It drove good, tracked good, everything worked, no error messages so I bought it. So far 1K miles and 0 issues. I went with the base model- figure fewer things to go wrong. No climate control, no performance options- the one and only one option is the black accent package and 19" wheels.

 

[Ace21]

Yeah I have to agree that you have an electrical gremlin somewhere as most of your problems seem to suggest intermittent grounding issues. As for the Piston slap... most people with 2018s that are posting that they have or had piston slap are just plain uninformed. These engines use hypereutectic pistons which would have to be massively undersized or the bore massively out of round to get piston slap.

Also the bore scope pictures of nikasil bores that show cylinder bore streaks, generally referred to as "glazing", isn't unheard of with nikasil bores, primarily in high compression setups. In almost all of the pictures posted on here you can clearly see crosshatching through the streak which is a direct indication that there is no bore damage and clearly the ring material seated in the crosshatching. When a nikasil bore is actually damaged it almost looks like a forged piston that has had a severe case of detonation. Since these nikasil bores are new to most, many techs have no clue of what they are really looking at, and in conventional bores the streaking would be a BIG red flag that something is wrong.

 

[kyledron]

Thank you guys for you insight. I appreciate the knowledge Ace.

 

[Ratfink53]

On the tire mobility warning... just go into settings and change the years to a different year. I did that and it does not show up anymore.

 

[Ace21]

No problem, I am still learning more about this GEN 3 as well! I think a lot of the ticks are coming from the OEMs oil weight being too low, but that is just my suspicion for now.

My biggest experience with nikasil bores is with GTRs and I guess not I understand why those engines have there components measured and picked out in a climate controlled clean room because they don't seem to have the same "glazing" issues.

At any rate, I hope they can sort you out and get you back on the road without issue!

 

[GreenS550]

I know this is after the fact, but it is one reason I look for one owner, clean car fax cars. Miles are not a problem especially if the car fax shows the dealer visits. I have yet to buy a 1-3 year old Mustang with any problem. My '15 was flawless until I had issues at a modding shop. I'm on my 5th Mustang GT since 2010. I hope you get your issues fixed. When I ordered my 1982 new it was full of issues, electrical and mechanical. I have to say that I ended up solving the electrical issue after several dealer visits. I suggest you document, in writing (emails work good for this purpose) the issues and your back and forth. Try to avoid a conversation that has no record. I really hope you get 'er fixed. The 18s are awesome!

 

[EcoVert]

Just a thought the direct injectors can be noisy maybe its the injectors ticking that is making the sound.

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