NHTSA begins preliminary investigation of 26,000 units of 2011-12 Mustangs for alleged erratic shifting problems

According to recent reports, the Feds are doing an investigation of diesel engine-powered Volkswagen Jetta sedans for leakage fuel complaints and Ford Mustang units for problems about manual gearbox’s erratic shifting.

Last Sunday, a document from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the agency is handling the first stage of the investigation with almost 26,000 units of 2011 and 2012 Mustang vehicles.

The agency said in a statement that almost 32 complaints have been received about the shifting problems of the Mustang vehicle owners, some of which even claimed that they almost had a crash because of the problem. Some reported having the problem when they were in high speed traffic while some said it was when they are turning left.

As for the Volkswagen Jetta, almost 40,000 units have been going the preliminary investigations about the assumed fuel leak between the fuel line and the fuel injector. According to the agency, the Volkwagen Jetta’s rail fuel system runs up to 1,800 bar/26,000 psi, a high fuel injection pressure.

They said that reported incident happens from 2,470 to 7,764 miles. The agency noted that there was these complaint was similar to the one complaint they have about the 2.0-liter TDI engine of the VW Golf.

The NHTSA’s preliminary investigation usually lasts for a year. If further investigation is deemed important, they will go on to a thorough engineering analysis. Sometimes, the automaker recalls the vehicles while there are also cases when the NHTSA ends an investigation due to lack of evidence.
Ford Company’s spokesperson Wes Sherwood expressed that they will give their full cooperation to review the problem.