ANTENNA GAIN
Jason books the Mustang in for the first repair in three years – to replace a faulty GPS antenna
QUICK SPEC 5.0-litre Mustang GT ■ Steeda axle-back exhaust, induction kit, and H-pipe ■ RTR diffuser ■ MAP remap ■ Steeda IRS bushes, lowering springs, engine brace, K-brace, front and rear anti-roll bars ■ Carbon fibre deck lid ■ Velgen VF5 alloys ■ Steeda discs and Hawk pads
After almost three years of ownership, a fault appeared on the Mustang. The GPS signal had disappeared on the Sync 3 navigation system. I contacted the service team at Haynes of Maidstone, and they advised a system reboot might cure it, otherwise it would be time for a new antenna.
I booked it in for them to look at, and with all of the current Covid systems in place it was a bit surreal handing over the key and receiving the keys to the courtesy car in clear plastic bags! The said loaner was a Ruby Red Kuga Plug-in Hybrid; most people would have preferred a sporty Fiesta ST maybe, but the SUV with its massive boot would swallow a lot of camera gear ahead of a busy weekend of shooting cars for Fast Ford and Performance MINI magazines. Plus, it would be a lot more frugal than the V8!
I guess we forget how the more ‘everyday’ cars in the Ford range are actually more purposeful, comfy and economical than our hot hatches and sports saloons. They’re nowhere near as much fun, but I must admit I enjoyed the heated steering wheel, higher seating position, and smooth ride of the Kuga.
The Mustang wasn’t ready to collect the next day; the antenna was at fault, and the whole unit could only be reached by climbing in the rear seats and removing the headlining – plus the exterior ‘fin’ on the car is part of the unit and would need to be painted prior to collection. This left me with the Kuga over the weekend, but by Monday the Mustang was ready to collect.
Credit to Haynes, you wouldn’t have noticed any one had been in the back at all – it all looked neat and tidy, and the faulty antenna had been replaced and the nav system was up and running.
At this point I have to confess that I never really use the in-built navigation – because the cars has Apple Car Play, I prefer to use Waze. It’s more up-to-date and more informative, due to other road users inputting there info in real time. Still, it’s nice to know everything is working as it should.
It was good to be back in the Mustang though. And for a performance coupe, it’s actually been incredibly reliable. This one hiccup is the only things to present a problem (and a minor one at that) since I bought it three years ago. Bearing in mind it’s had a number of modifications and upgrades, and has covered 28k miles in that time, I think it shows just how dependable these modern Mustangs actually are.
Hopefully, by the time you read this your diary will be filling up with car shows and other events. Mine is, I’m pleased to say! I’m off to Goodwood very soon for a muchdelayed track day, and I can’t wait to press the car in to action on one of the most iconic circuits in the UK. I’ll report back next issue.