general problems of the 2002 Ford Ranger

Rear shake bracket rusted off.

Rear bumper and spare tire holder rotted off . . Rear shackles on both sides. . Gas tank straps and crossmember that holds it up. . . Now the frame has rotted in half right in middle of truck. . . Spare tire fell off while driving.

Rear tire fell out onto road, rotted carrier , frame rotted at axle, cracked in half while driving on highway, rear end shifted, can know longer drive vehicle safely, had to buy new truck days later! body in good shape, frame totally rotted! so many other complaints about same thing on google search. Toyota Toyota had same thing, we called all their trucks and replaced all truck f we called all their trucks and replaced all truck frames frames, still to this day Ford has not recognized a major problem with their frames!!! these vehicles are a major safety hazard on the road and a recall needs to happen !!.

Excessive rust underneath. Leaf spring hangers failed at 11 years/120k miles. Spare tire winch separated from truck at 14 years/155k miles. . An exhaust mount has rusted away leaving the exhaust system marginally supported - uncertain of when this happened. Logging this complaint due to the gas tank strap failure. One gas tank strap separated from underneath the truck bed approximately one month ago - age 14. 5 years, ~160k miles. With the spare tire, I noticed it hanging low (3 of 4 fasteners had pulled away from their mounts), and with little effort, was able to have it fall off. Had the remaining fastener failed on the highway, obviously bad things could have happened. With the gas tank strap, luckily it separated from underneath the bed rather than from the frame, and I could hear it rubbing against the drive shaft. The other strap was able to carry the entire weight until I was able to secure the gas tank.

Was pulling into friends driveway when I heard a cracking noise when I checked the left rear spring hanger pulled out of the rusted frame. I pulled off the bed of the truck and found several areas which were severely rusted including the spare tire carrier and the straps which hold up the gas tank. I am the original owner of the vehicle and have lived in pennsylvania the whole time.

Bracket for spare tire rotted, tire dropped off, no car in back of me, didn't know what happen at the time, that happed 6 month after I bought it, the other day the frame cracked in half. Car dealer ship sold truck to me roughly 15 month ago truck is totaled. Insurance adjuster said whole frame and under carriage is rotted? help. Extior of truck looks brand new? help.

I bought this truck from a dealership in Jan 2010. Truck was in good shape, had frame check out before I bought it and looked very good. Truck had only 48000 miles on it. In Jan of 2015 the truck bed sat a little crooked check frame and seen a crack on frame 3' long by front shackle. At that time truck only has 94000 miles on it. Took bed off and found more areas that would need adressing soon. I tried to keep truck under side clean during the winter, I guess the stuff the state uses on the road was to much for the truck.

I took my 2002 Ford Ranger truck in for inspection and I was told my truck was uninspectable because my frame,crossmember, front aarms are rusted thin. It only has 80 some k on it I only have it for 2years I don't drive very far I bought it with 74k.

Yesterday I had something go wrong with my Ford Ranger and I needed to have it towed home. This problem will be the end of my wonderful trucks life because the inspection is also due and I have been told that due to extensive rust and a cracked rear frame, my truck will never be able to pass inspection. The body, interior and engine are all in great shape. The spare tire support is almost completely eaten away and the gas tank supports rotted away years ago. My mechanic had to rig a wire hanger for the gas tank. While my truck was on the flat bed, the mechanic mentioned that Rangers are know for the frames being eaten away. I have been doing research and understand now how common this problem is. Why has Ford not recalled this poorly made frame just like Toyota did? is it because not enough people have died from it???.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that upon inspection, it was found that the front shock tower mounts and the frame were fractured. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the failure was confirmed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 171,000.

My frame is completely rusted despite the body, engine and interior being in good shape. My spare tire mount rotted and the spare fell off. One of the crossmembers that held the evap canister completely broke off as I was driving staying attached only by the electrical connector. The frame on the passenger side completely severed just forward of the axle. The leaf spring is the only thing holding it together and those shackles look like they're ready to go. Ford sucks!.

When pulling into a driveway, I heard a loud crack from the rear of the truck. After inspection, the rear frame had rusted to the point where the leaf spring mount detached from the frame. If this would have happened while hauling a load, or pulling a trailer at highway speeds, it could have led to a crash.

I noticed my vehicle had a slight sag to it so I took it in to an independent shop, the mechanic gave me horrifying news, stating my vehicle was unsafe to drive due to the frame being excessive rotted out, he showed my where the spare tire was being held on the rust had eaten away the support and said I was luck not to lose the spare on the highway. Also the gas tank supports were completely gone. The truck has 67k miles. The outside looks beautiful and clean you would never tell by looking at the truck that the undercarriage was rotted. I find it absurd that a truck well taken care has turned to this. . . The mechanic said the only way to fix this is to replace the frame, which is very expensive, so I'm left with a unsafe pile of rusted metal.

Frame is rusted and rotting away, bought it from dealer 1/21/2015. Found out truck was in bad shape 1/23/2015 after getting oil change from local shop.

A loud thunk, rear driver's side dropped, immediate stop at mechanic's shop, extensive frame rust and riveted construction of shackle bracket hangers and shackle bracket had caused the shackle bracket hanger to break from the frame. The spring was shoved up against the truck's bed. At highway speed this could have been deadly. Mechanic said both shackle bracket hangers and shackle brackets would need replacement with probably new metal welded to the frame to ensure the new shackle bracket hangers would be stable. Also, mechanic stated the frame was rusted to a greater degree than usual even for new england. With 107000 miles, this should be unacceptable for us. There are accidents and deaths waiting to happen. There has to be something done. More to come once I go to the welding shop today (8/1/2013). Read online Ranger forums to see how prevalent this frame rot issue is.

Rear crossmember rotted off charcole canister and spare tire fell off while driving why shouldn't Ford be responsible when goverment makes Toyota responsible for there frames.

I was driving on the highway and the spare tire fell off and was dragging under the truck. Looking under the truck I noticed lots of rot? this truck is in great condition not a spot of rust on the body but the frame is a rotted mess. This should not be happening to a ten year old truck. P. S if the tire ever broke away from the truck completely it could have caused an accident.

Vehicle has a slight vibration at 65 mph that increases in severity as speed increases. At 85 mph it has a very pronounced vibration that must be considered dangerous. Vehicle was returned to dealer four times. The dealer essentially told customer that Ford would not warranty a vehicle over the legal speed limit. This was the final answer after several attempts were made to convince the customer of other causes, most of which were essentially ridiculous. (the customer was in the auto repair business for 17 years. ) the customer took the technician for a test drive to demonstrate the severe vibration. The technician proposed the possibility of a defective rear drive line. The technician's supervisor then drove the vehicle himself then stated the vehicle definitely had a pronounced vibration, but Ford would not warranty the problem. Since the vibration was discovered while passing an obviously intoxicated driver (for safety reasons), the customer definitely considers this a safety hazard. After viewing several other complaints at the NHTSA site, it is all to obvious that this answer/refusal is becoming a very common practice among Ford dealers. **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**769763.