Four problems related to brake light have been reported for the 1996 Ford Ranger. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1996 Ford Ranger. When the vehicle is idling or placed into neutral with the brake pedal not depressed, the brake lights do not illuminate. As a result, the vehicle has been rear ended four times in five years. The most recent crash occurred in March of 2008 and the vehicle was damaged. The contact has pictures. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealer. The current mileage was 165,000 and failure mileage was 75,000. Updated 06/25/08. The consumer stated the vehicle does not have a feature to keep the brake lights on when the vehicle is in neutral and the clutch brake is not pressed. Updated 06/25/08.
On July 10, 2005 the contact's vehicle was involved in an accident. Was sitting at a red light with the car in neutral. The bakes were not pressed. Because there were no brake lights illuminating the vehicle was hit from behind. The contact felt that vehicles should be equipped with brake lights that should stay on while the vehicle was not moving. This was a safety defect in all manual transmission vehicles. The vehicle sustained damage to the rear bumper and deck. There was no police report taken. The two vehicle operators only exchanged phone numbers. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. There were no injuries sustained by the vehicle owner or the operator of the other vehicle. Updated 12/27/05.
Brake light wiring assembly failed.
Left rear brake light failed.