general problems of the 2002 Ford Ranger

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 damage occurred to the steering column steering wheel and dashboard components. The starter went out and the truck would not start. Insurance deemed the truck totaled. Obviously the airbags were defective!! was there a recall concerning any of these components that we were never informed of? what compensation is available to us for this obvious manufacturers defect?.

I've owned my 2002 Ford Ranger since new and have had all service performed by the dealer. The vehicle has 60,000 miles and was serviced under a contract purchased with the vehicle when new. Issues with the brakes started within the first year of ownership and have steadily worsened since. The complaint has been submitted to various dealers at least ten times with no trouble found. One failure mode I have observed resulted in three very close calls where the brake pedal is firm, but the vehicle does not slow. Pressing the brake harder does not increase braking effectiveness. In one instance, I was forced to drive off the road to avoid (killing) a pedestrian. A second failure mode is the opposite; a slight amount of pressure applied to the brake pedal results in the front brakes locking. A third failure mode is where braking results in a violent shimmy, which caused me to lose control on snowpack and slide off the road. None of these failure modes has been consistent, nor have they repeated at the dealership. I am very concerned for my safety and that of those around me. My research has revealed many folks with similar issues.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Ranger. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign id number 07v33600 (vehicle speed control). The dealer disconnected the deactivation switch. The abs warning indicator light illuminated intermittently after the switch was disconnected. The dealer stated that the failure was caused by a failed pressure control switch. The contact stated that not being able to use the cruise control was an inconvenience. The dealer stated that the part wouldn't be available until after January of 2008. The failure mileage was 65,000 and current mileage was 66,000. Updated 03/13/08.

On February 1, 2007, I was slowly following an SUV in a crowded parking lot as we both looked for a parking spot. The SUV stopped. I applied the brakes and then suddenly my 2002 Ford Ranger accelerated. The tires squealed as the brakes fought the acceleration. I hit the SUV from behind. The SUV pulled forward and the Ranger continued to accelerate an hit the SUV again. I shut off the engine. The Ranger was towed to a body shop. When the body work is complete I will have the Ranger towed to a Ford dealer to address the sudden, unintended acceleration problem.

Consumer complained about a brake problem. The brakes on one side of the vehicle wore normally but the driver side front brake was completely destroyed. Consumer purchased an extended warranty which was to cover the vehicle for up to 60,000 miles. Dealer will not honor the extended warranty.