The Ford Coyote 5.0 V8 has been around since 2010, and the current version of the Chevrolet LT1 6.2 V8 premiered in 2013. Both powerplants have stuck around for well over a decade (the LT1 persisting as a crate engine), thanks in large part to their reputation for dependability. Plus, they’ve only gotten more dependable thanks to 10+ years of iterative tweaks, upgrades, and fixes.
To get an idea of which one of these powerplants is the more reliable of the two, you really need to compare the Ford Mustang GT to the Chevrolet Camaro SS, for two reasons. First, if you really want to put an engine through its paces, there’s no better way to do it than in a high-performance muscle car. Second, these cars are just more fun to compare than full-size pickups.
The Camaro Is More Reliable Than The Mustang (In General)
2024 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe Blue Front Angle DrivingChevrolet
To start, we can look at basic maintenance data from J.D. Power and RepairPal. Note that J.D. Power’s overall Quality & Reliability ratings for the Camaro and the Mustang include all trims and engines, and the same goes for RepairPal’s annual maintenance estimates. Since the Camaro SS and the Mustang GT are included in those calculations, we felt it was worth including these numbers.
We’re looking at 2024 for both cars, as this was the final model year for the Camaro.
2024 Ford Mustang
2024 Chevrolet Camaro
Q&R Rating
79/100
87/100
Annual Maintenance
$709
$585
At a glance, the Camaro takes an early lead, but remember that these numbers don’t apply exclusively to the naturally aspirated V8 trims, nor do they apply specifically to the engine. The 2024 Mustang’s $440 power steering hose replacement has just as much to do with its maintenance costs as does the $265 you’re spending on a new valve cover gasket.
In other words, we have to dig a bit deeper. These numbers indicate that a Camaro would generally cost less to maintain than a Mustang, but they don’t say much about how the Coyote compares to the LT1.
Coyote Vs. LT1, By The Numbers
The Coyote and the LT1 are both robust, powerful, naturally aspirated engines, built for use in big pickups and SUVs, as well as muscle cars.
Coyote 5.0
Chevrolet LT1
Displacement
4,951 cc NA V8
6,162 cc NA V8
Bore x Stroke
3.63 x 3.65 Inches
4.065 x 3.622 Inches
Compression Ratio
11.0:1
11.5:1
Base Power
360 hp
455 hp
The Coyote is built from an aluminum block with high-flow aluminum cylinder heads and a forged-steel crankshaft. The LT1 is likewise an aluminum-block engine with aluminum heads and a forged-steel crankshaft. Both engines use iron cylinder sleeves, too. In other words, we can’t tell which one of these engines is more durable by comparing specs or construction materials. Both are well-built.
So, what problems are you likely to run into with each of these engines, and what will it cost to fix?
Lifter Tick Is A Major Problem For Automatic Camaros
The most common problem we find when browsing subreddits and owner forums regarding the LT1 is lifter failure caused by the active fuel management system and cylinder deactivation. If you hear a rhythmic tapping sound, that’s lifters clicking against the camshaft and chipping away at it.
But here’s the thing: cylinder deactivation is exclusive to automatic-transmission LT1s. The engine comes with the cylinder deactivation hardware regardless, but it isn’t engaged in manual cars.
The manual-transmission Camaro SS is obviously the enthusiast’s choice and is harder to find on the used market. Chevy made fewer six-speed models, and the owners tend to hoard them. But if you can get your hands on a stick-shift SS, you can avoid the lifter tick problem altogether.
If that’s not an option, or if you prefer an automatic, bad lifters might be a simple fix if you catch them early. The preventative repair costs about $600 in parts. Ignore the problem, leave the lifters to chew away at your camshaft like a rat at some soy-based wiring, and you could be spending several thousand dollars to install the replacement.
The 2024 Camaro SS Only Has Three Engine Complaints On File With The NHTSA
2024 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe SS Blue FrontChevrolet
Three NHTSA engine complaints for the 2024 Camaro SS point to the following issues.
- A driver reports engine shutdown at highway speeds in April 2025.
- A driver reports a failure of the cylinder five connecting rod at just 1,900 miles in October 2025.
- A driver reports engine lockup and an inability to accelerate in November 2025.
The last recall issued for the Camaro SS was for the 2022 model year, regarding transmission lockup in 90,081 GM vehicles due to problems with the transmission control module software. This has nothing to do with the LT1 engine.
Timing Chain Problems Are Cause For Concern With A Coyote 5.0
2018 Ford Mustang GT finished in orange with black interiorFord
In the r/Mustang subreddit, one very cool 2011 Ford Mustang GT owner reports: “I was doing donuts, just burning my old tires before I put on new ones. The car stalled suddenly. I got it to start again, and it idled very rough before stalling again. Dealer said the cam tensioner blew, and there is little compression in cylinders one through three.”
First of all, doing donuts until your wheels burn out, hell yeah, brother. Secondly, timing chain problems seem to be pretty common. A few comments suggest the problem may have been due to oil starvation or overheating, but this awesome dude is hardly the only Mustang GT driver experiencing it.
One user notes that early 5.0s, in particular, had a problem with timing chain tensioners failing, either resulting in a tapping sound or, in this case, catastrophic failure.
The issue was eventually addressed with a service bulletin, and later, Coyotes are less likely to develop timing chain problems. The third-gen engine, which went into production in 2018 (meaning you’re looking for 2019 Mustang GTs and later), received major revisions, including a more robust timing system.
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A Handful Of GT Drivers Have Reported Dead Throttle
2024 Ford Mustang GT 5.0L Coyote V8 EngineFord
A July 2025 NHTSA complaint reports a dead throttle in their 2024 Mustang GT. Two similar complaints report the same issue on CarComplaints. This appears to be a software issue, rather than a hardware concern. Ford has issued several throttle-related service bulletins for the current-gen Mustang GT, but data on this issue is currently limited.
It All Comes Down To Longevity
2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LEChevrolet
So, we’ve compared maintenance costs, common issues, and NHTSA recalls, and it seems as if we’re no closer to determining whether the LT1 or the Coyote is the more reliable engine. This leaves us with nothing left to compare but the most important spec of them all: longevity. Which one of these engines can pack more miles onto the odometer before it goes kaput?
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It’s not hard to find high-mileage pickups. A 2024 post in the Facebook group Mileage Impossible features a 2011 Ford F-150 owner boasting 400,105 miles on the original Coyote engine, with 500,000 in sight.
High-mileage muscle cars are another story. Mustangs and Camaros are driven hard, subjected to extensive tuning and modding, and redlined regularly.
You’ll Have An Easier Road To The High-Mileage Club In A Mustang GT
Hennessey2026 Super Venom Mustang
In the Camaro Club of America group on Facebook, there are plenty of claims in the 250,000-mile range for LT1 Camaros, with the highest verified by an odometer photo coming in at 240,200 miles. We’ve heard of higher, but we haven’t seen proof. If someone had cracked 300,000 miles with a Camaro SS by now, they’d probably be bragging about it in every Chevy forum on the web.
As for the Mustang GT, a TikTok video posted by zac.lucarz shows a 2014 Mustang GT with a 5.0 engine and 405,023 miles on the odometer.
If those numbers are to be believed (and we’re not sure why anyone would fake high mileage in a used car listing), then we can call this case closed. The LT1 is a trooper, but we haven’t been able to turn up any 400,000-mile Camaros.
Sources: Chevrolet, Ford, CarComplaints, RepairPal, NHTSA, J.D.Power, Mileage Impossible, Camaro Club of America, zac.lucarz via TikTok.
