I agree there will be bugs. It seems like that last phase of R&D seems to be the customers responsibility. I don't blame the manufacturer; there is no way to predict all the different problems that might occur when the vehicles are in the hands of the consumer. That being said,the car will come with a 5year, 60,000 mile warranty on the powertrain, along with 5years of Roadside Assistance, so why worry?

 

Because, at least for me, it's major league pain to take the car back to the dealer. I have had my '10 back twice, once for the passenger airbag alignment issue and once for something that was my fault, not Ford's. Both times it was a nightmare.

My previous two cars (not Fords) went back to the dealer for problems once each in a combined 14 years of ownership. So maybe I'm spoiled.

 

I cannot be specific to Mustangs, but Ford has had some pretty significant issues when they introduced new engines. Some that come to mind:

- The early modular motors (early 90's) were good for taking out thrust bearings

- The early modular motors had a nasty habit of cracking intake manifolds and causing a very costly repair. This resulted in a class action against Ford

- The modulars used to spit spark plugs because the design of the cylinder heads only had 3 threads for holding the plug in. This changed with the 2001+ heads if I recall

- The 3 valves had an issue until 2008 with plugs getting stuck and broken in the heads

- The 6.0L Diesel - head gaskets, turbos, egr valves, etc

- The 6.4L Diesel - flames out of the exhaust due to calibration and particulate trap combo

- The 4.6L 4 valve very early on was good for spinning off the timing chain on high rev downshifts

Then there are the transmissions:

- E4OD on the trucks was junk. Sprag clutches used to blow the tail of the trans apart; torque converter issues and a weak overdrive clutch

- 4R100 introduced to fix the issues - but still had problems

Then there are first year issues that are related to new powertrain in a vehicle:

- 90's T-Bird with vibration problems in the driveline. Ford installed a pile of "tuned mass dampers" to correct the issue

- 93 (about) model year brake system upgrade on the F150, Bronco, E-Vans was a disaster. Huge brake judder problems due to knuckle design. Ford later came out with a "stiffend pin" for the top portion of the caliper/knuckle mount to correct the issue. This after 2 years of trying various fixes

I could go on and on and on... but I think the point is that you take a risk on a first year vehicle where the major components such as engine, transmission, brakes are all new. This is not only Ford, it is all manufacturers.

Do I think the 2011 5.0 will be a fun car? A hot car? a good car? YES.

BUT, I purchased a 2010 knowing the 2011 was coming and I made that choice because I like driving my car to other places than the dealer.

My rather pessimistic $0.02

 

I personally would hold off for a solid model year before jumping on one. Not worth it for me to be the guinea pig

 

Not to mention the dealer raping you are gonna get to have one of the new 5.0's. I would wait a year too.

 

I think 13 will be the best year for the engine

 

Wow, lots of really good discussion. So based on the history of bugs in 1st year engines, it seems inevitable that the 2011's will have their share of issues to start. How big those issues are is anyone's guess.

I think the question you need to ask yourself then is this. "If I am buying 5.0, do I plan doing any modifications that may/will void my factory warranty?" The factory warranty will have you covered for plenty of time to take care of any issues that arise. But if you plan on modding the engine/exhaust of that 5.0 right away...purchasing a first year 5.0 will not be the smartest option if you want your warranty to cover any of the bugs that come with it.

 

Warranty is always a good thing. But I'd rather be driving around in my wonderful Mustang than in a Focus dealer loaner, or worse, a rental.

 

Well, yes and no. If you go back and look at the manifold issues with the early modulars and also the spark plug issues on the 2 valve motors, both of them occured long after the engines were out of warranty. This is one reason a class action was brought against Ford on the manifold problem. People were spending large amounts of money to fix an issue that Ford knew about.

The thing is, that engineering is getting better and better all of the time. It could be that the engine has very few, if any problems in early years. But you just never know. Look at the Ford Fusion hybrid right now, they are implementing a brake fix on the car due to "customer satisfaction issues". Then you have the 3rd gen Toyota Prius that they are considering a recall because of brake problems. The point is that you could have zero issues, you could have huge issues or anything in between. Some like to have the first year because they like to be first. Others like to wait and see how the product launches and what issues get resolved for subsequent model years. It is all up to your personal risk tollerance.

 

The current crop of engines from Ford seem to have minimal issues. The 3.5/3.7, for example, have had few, if any, issues to my knowledge. Ford seems to be sweating the deails on the current line. Most manufacturers know that the public won't deal with first year issues in the modern marketplace.

I work at a Ford dealership, and I've got an '11 on order already, even though my '10 is less than four months old. I am horrible at that whole "delayed gratification" thing.