The Shape

Haven't had a mustang in 5 years, used to own several fox 5.0's. Right now I'm driving a 4 cylinder Tacoma and it's a nice truck and super dependable, but I'm itching for another mustang. I have found a 2012 with about 30K on it that I really like. Are there any glitches showing up on the new 3.7? I would have never considered a V6 mustang in the past but this 3.7 is a whole new animal and makes respectable power. Anyone have any issues with them I should be aware of? What about the maintenance, I kinda like how the Tacoma doesn't even call for plugs till 120K miles, it's pretty low maintenance compared to my old foxes. Is the 3.7 pretty maintenance free, I pretty much just want to change the oil, rotate the tires and enjoy driving it for 1ooK miles before needing anything else.

Nuke

I can't speak much on the 3.7L as my wife has a 4.0 and I have a 4.6L. The 3.7L boasts respectable #'s for a V6 but it's torque is lacking; that coming from the power of the 4.6L. I do believe that you'll find the 3.7L owners have mostly great things to say.

I've been a Toyota owner since '81; 6 or 7 to date; and I hear you regarding low maintenance. Seems like I do very little non-preventive maintenance until after 200,000 miles on any of them. My current DD is a 4.0L '08 4Runner with 106k miles (a lot of that towing bass boats and campers) and it's seen nothing but fluid changes and a set of plugs. One of these days I may even need brakes.

Go drive the 3.7L and a 5.0.

jz78817

the 3.7 is more or less a bored-out 3.5 which has been in production for years, so it's a solid engine. Plus it gets used in the F-150 so if it's capable of truck duty it's perfectly fine for the Mustang. It doesn't have timing belts, plug wires, or anything like that so like most cars these days the required maintenance is minimal.

If you get one with the performance package then the lighter weight of the V6 gives it a bit better handling balance and 305 hp moves the car just fine. Hopefully you can get one with the lowest rear gear (highest numerical ratio) to make up for the relatively weak low-end torque.

cruisin5268d

Try the V6 and the GT so you have a comparison. That may sway your desires and it may not. Either way, they are relatively low maintenance other than the occasional oil change (5,000+ mile interval).

Chromeshadow

I have 66,000 miles on mine, the only prob so far was noisey bushings in the sway bars.
These came with 2.71 or 3.31 rear ends, the 3.31 makes up for some of the low torque, most can run 0-60 in about 5.5 seconds. Reliable, great power, handling and miliage, lots to like!

WindyMustang

All good information so far!

Also, the 3.7L is a pretty mod friendly platform if you are so inclined. There are more engine mod bits for the GT's Coyote engine, but Ford left a LOT on the table with the Cyclone V6...you'll see that if you ever take the exhaust manifolds off. So some slight modding that one could do in a couple of afternoons and a bit of quality wrench time will earn you a Mustang that can put the hurt on a lot of cars out there, and still kick back 27-30 MPG no sweat on the highway.

So far I've had to change the oil once...and that's about it. Needs nearly no attention. In unmodded form it will run nicely on 87 octane, and if you can step up to more there's good things to be had. Hope this helps!

yourmom6990

I love my 3.7! I've had it for about 10k miles so far and no issues.

As for maintenance, other than the normal oil change/rotate tires/fluids changed at intervals there's really not much to worry about. The great thing about these newer cars is the use of the computer and the oil life indicator which gives you a percentage of your oil life left. So there's no more changing it every 3-5k or whatever. Just go by the percentage and you'll be good. Ford integrated a lifetime fuel filter so you don't have to worry about changing that unless you're fuel pump goes out.

As Nuke said, the 3.7s do lack the torque, especially at lower RPMs. This was pretty easily fixed with a tune/intake/exhaust. As others have said, the gears will def get that low end grunt.

There really are no major issues other than with some of the 6-speed manuals. The transmission has pretty weak internals so don't race it every day and beat her up and you'll be alright. I've noticed my first to second gear likes to grind sometimes when I'm shifting close to redline. A short shifter/bracket has cleaned this up a little bit but I'll still get the grind sometimes. You can do a quick search and I'm sure it'll pull up a bunch of threads relating to the trans.

bluebeastsrt

My 2012 automatic has 56K miles on it and still runs 13.8s at the drag strip. Not a single problem with the car. Ive owned winsor 5.0s like you OP and there is just no comparing those old weak motors to the new V6.

jz78817

oh, and consider this. even with the "lack" of torque, the 3.7 Mustang with 3.31 rear and manual trans is over a full second faster from 0-60 than the massively, massively overhyped Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ. Not bad when you consider the Mustang is 800 lbs heavier.

99GTvert

Yeah but the V6 also has another 100 hp and 130 ft lbs of torque. It should be a lot faster especially if it doesn't have the turd mpg 2.73 gears.