2.8

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,380 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2005 Ford Ranger:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #7

Dec 092021

Ranger

  • miles
Incident was reported to me by an employee. Driving in traffic on a highway with normal, dry road conditions the accelerator pedal started moving down on its own. The truck accelerated on its own from 50 mph to 70+ mph. Applying the brakes the truck did NOT slow down. Eventually, the accelerator pedal corrected itself and started working normally. There was no indication on the dashboard of the issue. This could have resulted in a serious accident or death. The truck is waiting to be towed to the Ford garage for repair. Thank you, Wendy McNeill

- Wenatchee, WA, USA

problem #6

Nov 252015

Ranger

  • miles
Couple days after buying vehicle truck broke down dealer refused to take responsibility also the biggest complaint is dealer refuses to give us license plates we purchesd the vehicle November 12, 2015 and dealer is holding plates hostage we do not owe him any money

- Forest Grove, OR, USA

problem #5

Jan 012010

Ranger

  • 50,000 miles
At startup my check engine light came on and as I went to drive away the entire truck started shaking and the check engine light started to flash.I tried to fix the vehicle with a scan tool and started replacing the less expensive parts and when it was all said and done it turned out to be the driver side cylinder head number four and six cylinder they both had recessed valves.before the truck got real bad I was on the interstate going to be a slight incline and the truck was doing 75 miles an hour and then suddenly dropped to maybe 15 20 miles an hour almost causing an accident on interstate 10 I had to immediately pull off the shoulder of the road to avoid getting rear ended.I just recently replaced the third set of heads on the same vehicle same side same cylinders and I'm being told now that they think its the catalytic converters I really don't know I like my truck but this is getting ridiculous.I've called Ford directly told them what's been going on and they said my truck does not fall under the campaign bulletins and that I will have to replace my head's every 42000 miles.

- Bakersfeild , CA, USA

problem #4

Nov 282014

Ranger 6-cyl

  • 100,701 miles
Engine misfires at idle cel flashing needs heads.

- Rialto, CA, USA

problem #3

Jun 092011

Ranger 6-cyl

  • 62,358 miles
Engine begins to run very rough. Took to mechanic and was told my 3.0 V6 is suffering from well know (2004 - 2006) cylinder head failure - valve recession. New heads are needed to fix the problem. Cost of repair is approx, $2800. Head / valve failure / poor design of head is apparently well known by Ford. Fuel leakage into the failed cylinder or cylinders could be a fire hazard if not repaired and driven continuously.

- Brawley, CA, USA

problem #2

Dec 032013

Ranger

  • 85,600 miles
Loud squeal for several days thought it was tension pulley. That was replaced with no change. A few days later going down the road. A very loud squeal from the engine area and smell of burning rubber. Later was determined the vibration dampener had come apart. The rubber had come part allowing the groove section the belt rides on to slip toward the back up against the front cover. In looking online for information it was discovered this is a common problem with Explorer and Ranger with the 4.0 engine. A lot occur with low miles on the vehicle and some result it major repairs as the pulley flies off taking out the radiator. I was able to replace mine because I am a mechanic and have the tools to do the job. So my repair bill was not as much as others had stated.

- Springfield , MO, USA

problem #1

Jun 032012

Ranger

  • 68,000 miles
While driving down the highway, the harmonic balancer failed. The pulley separated from the rest of the balancer and slid back to destroy the crankshaft position sensor. Once the sensor failed, the engine stalled. I was able to pull over to the side of the highway, but this sudden failure is dangerous and if I was not able to get to the side of the highway could cause an accident. After a little research on the internet there are several occurrences of the same issues on the Ford 4.0 engine on Ranger / Explorer. Looking at the NHTSA complaints sites there are also several occurrences of the same issue (more then 1 year, more then 1 model): ODI id number : 10356858, ODI id number : 10356913. ODI id number : 10450902, ODI id number : 10383429, ODI id number : 10243439, ODI id number : 10168915, ODI id number : 10351279, ODI id number : 10390200, ODI id number : 10302026, ODI id number : 10279040. There may be more, but I was tired of looking.

- Sault Sainte Marie, MI, USA