Owners have filed 6,495 complaints on the Ford Ranger, covering 1983–2020. The system named most often is Air Bags (1,492 reports). Worst years by volume: 1999, 2000, 1998; cleanest: 1984, 1983, 1985. 572 reports describe a crash, 232 a fire, 40 a death. On average the car was 6.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford Ranger
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 6,495 Ranger complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 1,492 Read
My son was driving his ford ranger xl 2002 when due to a pedestrian, the car in front of him slammed on their brakes causing my son to rear end them. Snowy weather was a factor. The brakes didn't catch as they should have. His airbags blew up, not deploy- blew up and caught fire! The steering wheel blew up! Extensive…
On july 13, 2009 I wrote a letter to the claims dept regarding an investigation on an airbag fire due to an accident on a 1999 ford ranger. I received a response form a steve bardell on aug. 20, 2009 that there were no open recalls for a speed control activation switch which were of no concern to the damage that…
Any any??you tell me remember?
Power Train 309 Read
Leased the ranger in october of 2019. From then until now there have been more than 6 instances where the gear shift lever has been placed in park, but the truck has freely rolled away. This has happened in my driveway, while parked on a busy street, in a crowded parking garage in denver, and a couple of other places.…
Manufacture defected valve cover allows water to gather and leak into coils causing vehicle to shut down at highway speeds ! This is EXTREMELY dangerous and FORD admitted knowing of the issue and even has an active internal fix but demands payment to fix issue. My service advisor said Ford has known of this issue but…
While driving at approximately 35 mph, with approximately 600 pounds of weight in the back or bed, on a road that really wasn't real slick so I didn't have it in 4wd, and suddenly the pickup veered to the left and hit a concrete jersey barrier. It bounced off and went toward the right and hit a guard rail and then…
Suspension 263 Read
The contact owns a 2008 ford ranger. The contact stated while driving at low speeds, the driver sneezed and crashed into the curb which caused the contact to bounce onto the passengers side of the vehicle. The driver sustained injuries to his neck, shoulder and a minor concussion. The police were notified of the…
The contact owns a 2007 ford ranger . While driving 65 mph the passenger front wheel bent inwards without warnings. Consequently he lost vehicle control, and was struck by a semi-trailer. The vehicle was completely destroyed. Upon further inspection a technician concluded that the control arm failed. The insurance…
The contact owned a 2007 ford ranger. While driving at 15 mph, the rear of the vehicle suddenly went downwards. As a result, the contact crashed into a building. The contact noticed that the rear passenger side axle fractured. The contact sustained wrist and hip injuries that required medical attention. A police…
Structure 243 Read
2003 ford ranger suddenly accelerated upon attempting to park. I was pulling into my parking spot while apply the brakes when my vehicle suddenly accelerated, jumped a snow bank and hit a light pole. Independent witness reported the vehicle just took off, rear wheels rapidly started turning. I contacted ford motor co.…
My son was traveling on a 4 lane state hwy at about 65 mph in the outside lane when the driver's side back tire flew off. He said all he remembers was that the trucks rear dropped on that side, spinning the truck to face the opposite direction, and causing it to rollover numerous times until it landed in the ditch on…
I was driving on the freeway and the truck started smoking and caught on fire, I pulled off the freeway and the whole front of the truck burst into flames
Electrical System 234 Read
Consumer was involved in a collision in which the vehicle caught on fire inside on the driver's side. Cause unknown. Please give any further details
I had just left a red light. I was the 1st vechicle inthe north lane on a two lane street. The south bound side had about 8 cars . The last car hit a car in front of him, she hit a jeep in front of her, and impact caused her to swearve into the northbound side where I hit her in in the front passenger side. I had my…
I was driving my vehicle and trying to stop to avoid a collision. The system indicated collision detection was engaged; however, the brakes would not stop and there was a wreck
Service Brakes 226 Read
1997 ford ranger xlt extended cab. When I applied my brakes, instead of stopping at this "t" hwy intersection, I ran past it, and hit a 12" diameter tree head on. Ice on the road. I was wearing my seat belt. Neither the driver's side nor the passenger side air bags deployed. The indentation on the front bumper was…
Our new 2020 ford ranger xlt listed a feature call pre-collision assist w/aeb. The truck did not give a warning nor did it apply the brakes automatically. Nothing occurred before we ran into the rear end of the car in-front of us. The car ahead was stopped at a traffic light and we ran into the rear end at about 20 mph
On 04-07-2021 I was traveling west on florida s.r. 60 / us 301; when a car in front of me was stopping. I applied the brakes and failed to stop in time; hitting the rear end of the auto in front of me. It appears to me that the brakes did not work correctly to stop. I feel (felt) like the brake pedal when applied felt…
Vehicle Speed Control 205 Read
Dt: the consumer stated on july 10, 2003 there was a fatal roll over. The tires separated and the vehicle rolled over and blew out. According to consumer's investigation there was a problem with the fuel on the cruise control switch. This vehicle was a 1998, ford, ranger. The highway patrol came to the scene and…
On two separate instances the truck accelerated on it own and the brakes were used but didn't stop the vehicle had to turn the key off and the second of these two incidences the truck hit a wall and kept accelerating digging the ground up
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH in the driveway and depressing the brake pedal to make a turn, the vehicle lunged forward and accelerated unintendedly. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact continuously depressed…
Tires 205 Read
On july 10, 2003 my cousin's 1998 ford rangers left rear tire peeled apart, causing the truck to flip and blow-up. There was no warning, what-so-ever. My cousin and a passenger were both killed. The rear tires were cooper discoverer h/t tires. A tire expert later determined that this tire had both a manufacturing and…
I had a tire blowout due to tread separation. Caused me to lose control on the freeway and I went down a 40 foot embankment through a state chainlink fence and I landed in a concrete water drainage ditch. Resulting in my truck being a total loss
Firestone wilderness ht p225/70r15 tire on right front of 2002 ford ranger xlt 4 door extended cab truck blows and causes loss of control of vehicle resulting in severe damage to vehicle and injuries to driver and passenger
Ranger years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 11 | 1 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 16 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 32 | 3 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 27 | 8 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 32 | 7 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 49 | 8 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 68 | 9 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 70 | 12 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 50 | 25 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 29 | 6 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 30 | 17 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 20 | 8 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 42 | 11 | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | 23 | 12 | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 10 | 22 | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | 6 | 15 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 5 | 12 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 2 | 10 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | 4 | 15 | |
| 1987 | Electrical System | 4 | 5 | |
| 1986 | Electrical System | — | 5 | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | — | 5 | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | 1 | 4 | |
| 1983 | Electrical System | — | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 2,825 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.3 |
| Worst single series | 20 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.7 years |
A model average of 2.3 hides a worst series at 20. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Ranger?
By complaint volume, 1999, 2000, 1998 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Ranger years are the cleanest?
1984, 1983, 1985 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford Ranger have?
6,495 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1983–2020. Of those, 572 describe a crash and 232 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.