Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Ford Ranger - part 1

I am not a mechanic or a 'car person', so I may not know technical terms. This has occurred 4-6 times since purchasing the truck in March '26. After initial start up, it has a tendency to accelerate when applying the break. This is only within the first several minutes after startup. The most recent incident caused the truck to "roll" into the main street rather than coming to a complete stop. I was applying the break, but the truck was 'resisting' to come to a complete stop. The local Ford mechanic found this to be "undesirable, but normal characteristic". The situation that is occurring is anything but normal. The Ford dealer was able to replicate the situation, but deemed it to be "no further instructions on fixes or issues related to this concern and no further action can be perfomed" the truck is available for inspection. This is a major safety issue as I was unable to stop the truck before entering the main road. Yes, the truck was inspected by the dealer. There were no warning messages.

See all problems of the 2025 Ford Ranger 🔎.

Vehicle received and installed an over-the-air software update to the body control module, identified on the vehicle screen as bcm-26. 6. 3 and associated with safety recall 26s29 (a-pillar/sun visor wiring, NHTSA 26v238000). The update screen displayed a status of "not completed. " since that update the vehicle will not start and is inoperative. Current condition: opening the driver door wakes the center infotainment screen only. The instrument cluster does not illuminate. Pressing the brake pedal produces no response - no cluster illumination, no warning lamps, no chimes, no messages, no crank. 12v power is present; the manufacturer's telematics app still reaches the vehicle and returns status. Symptoms are consistent with a body control module that is powered but not communicating on the vehicle network. No warning lamps, messages, or symptoms were present before the update. The vehicle operated normally until the update was installed. Safety risk: the vehicle became immobile without warning immediately following installation of a manufacturer-pushed safety recall remedy. The transmission cannot be shifted electronically, requiring the manual park release to move or tow the vehicle. Had this occurred away from home or in a traffic lane, the vehicle would have been stranded and unable to move under its own power. The bcm also governs exterior lighting and hazard lamp function. Note: the update screen header displayed "25s29" while the body text referenced completing safety recall 26s29. The vehicle has a dealer-installed Ford performance procal calibration. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the dealer or manufacturer. It is available for inspection upon request.

When turning vehicle will intermittently lose power for 1 to 2 seconds, and then it suddenly returns.

See all problems of the 2024 Ford Ranger 🔎.

The cooling fan clutch control wire is supported by a "wire support hose" between the engine block and the fan clutch. The cooling fan clutch control freely rotates on a raceway on the drive shaft. The purpose of the support hose is to prevent the fan clutch control from freely rotating, but allows the control a limited range of movement as the drive shaft changes speed with engine rpm. The idea is that this hose prevents undue stress on the control wire. Hose is normally a consumable part that may need replaced with age, heat, etc. The hose is not sold as a replacement part and can only be obtained by purchasing a new fan clutch. When the hose fails, the control wraps around the drive shaft causing damage to the fan clutch control and wiring requiring replacement. The circuit on which the fan clutch control sits is integrated with no less than 6 other critical vehicle systems including oil pressure. When the incident occurs, all these systems generate errors that put the vehicle into limp mode until repair can be made. The fan clutch control wiring support hose should be a bracket with a different mechanical linkage solution to support wire while allowing the necessary limited movement. This low-tech hose solution causes outsized damage when it fails, effectively disabling the vehicle which creates a safety concern and undue hardship from an unnecessarily cascading damage effect. Ford acknowledges this defect by redesigning this feature for 6g Rangers but will not proactively correct through manufacturer recall 5g Rangers. If Ford will not correct, I believe the NHTSA should get involved and force Ford's hand at addressing this repair.

See all problems of the 2019 Ford Ranger 🔎.

2025 Ranger stx with 950 miles on odometer. When starting vehicle with transmission in park, a pronounced clunk/thump is heard and felt. The clunk/thump varies in intensity with the most intense episode resulting in the physical slight rearward movement of the truck. Symptom seems to be more prevalent when vehicle has been dormant for a few hours or overnight. Initially thought vehicle was going to lunge rearward by physical movement of truck. No warning lights were present with the event. Dealer appointment is scheduled later next week. Vehicle is availabe for inspection upon request.

Purchased this truck new and took on a trip over the weekend. Put on just under 800 miles no issues. This morning while driving to get my wondows tinted I noticed my truck flashing to apply brakes as it was trying to shift itself into 4wd low setting. Sure enough I looked over and the truck was switching drive modes when no one had touched it. Nothing in my cupholder either that could have accidentally bunped it either. I quickly pulled over and pressed the 2 wheel drive button and restarted the truck. I did a quick google search and found that others are having this issue too. I cant even imagine what damage it would have done to the vehicle or myself if it fully shifted over while driving at highway speeds.

Coolant intrusion defect that affects other 4 cyl ecoboost Ford engines occurred on this regularly serviced per Ford recommendations vehicle as well. Engine failure at highway speeds could cause a severe accident as the engine can seize when coolant mixes with the oil. The vehicle has been inspected by a Ford dealership. The only warning sign that there was a problem was a coolant temperature threshold exceeded warning.

See all problems of the 2020 Ford Ranger 🔎.

I was driving the vehicle, when I started to fell a " shuddering " sensation on acceleration. I let off the gas pedal and the shuddering went away. A few miles down the road the check engine light came on and was flashing. I immediately pulled and shut the vehicle off. After sitting for 10 minutes I restarted the vehicle and the check engine light was no longer on, but the " shuddering " sensation was still present. I took it to dupratt Ford in auburn,CA. And they diagnosed it as a cylinder 1 mis-fire. Upon further inspection they found water in the cylinder 1 spark plug well. After doing some research I found out the Ford issued TSB 23-2011for this exact issue, but did not order a recall to fix the faulty windshield cowl which is the problem. I found thousands of complaints and numerous Ranger owners who have had the exact same issue and had to pay out of pocket to get the issue and damaged fixed. Meanwhile Ford knew about the issue and did absolutely nothing, did not even alert the owners of the issue. I was lucky and did not have to replace the cylinder head, but others have not been so lucky. I had to pay over $1800 to have the mis-fire issue fixed and had to do my own preventative measures to seal the windshield cowl. I contacted Ford and they were only willing to reimburse me $725 dollars of my repair bill which was 100% their fault.

On multiple occasions while making a left or right turn and trying to accelerate, there is no input via the gas pedal. The truck will not accelerate at all. It takes a random amount of time before any throttle input is registered, which is usually followed by rapid acceleration.

Coolant hose on bypass valve came off. Dumped coolant and engine overheated. Tech said it just came off, service advisor said I “hit a bump”.

Complete power loss from transmission. Yes available for inspection. Power loss was experienced on at least 4 separate occasions. This occurred during either slowing down or stopping to make a left hand turn while yielding to oncoming traffic. When re-engaging the accelerator to get across oncoming traffic zero power transfer occurred putting my self, my passengers, and the oncoming vehicles and passengers at risk for a head on or tbone collision. The loss of power has not been replicated but a Ford dealership did note high pitched transmission whine and hard shifting when during deceleration during inspection. Inspected by authorized Ford dealer. No lights or warnings present, prior to, during, or after incidents.

Transmission replacement needed. Truck has been at dealership going on 3 months with continued delays. It was acknowledged cooperate was covering replacement now story changed that owner/myself having to pay $4000+. Cooperate covering $000 . Current owner/myself bought 2 years ago with 13000 miles and has only put 6000 miles on it. Dealership and cooperate admitted to known problem assured coverage however put fixing on hold because they are behind due to staffing issues. I have been bounced around to 3 different people at dealership who have taken case over. Dealership and cooperate blaming each other for lack if communication and delays.

Bought 2020 Ford Ranger lariat in March 2024 with 13k miles. I have had no issues and have kept up maintenance needed. Vehicle currently has 19,128 miles and on 4/17/26 while driving the vehicle lost power. I was able to pull over and immediately called the dealership where vehicle was purchased and had towed to their facility for diagnosis. There we no warning lights prior to losing power. The dealership informed me a new transmission is needed pulling codes p0751 and p2700. The cost they informed me for replacement was $10k +/= indicating the power train warranty had expired in 2025. (5 yr/60,000) I find this appalling that at 19k I am responsible to replace something that has clearly had issues in past. Their only option was to replace transmission or they could take apart and overhaul to fix the codes which could be cheaper but also may result in transmission replacement anyways which will cost more in long run.

My 2024 Ford Ranger XLT 2w has been suddenly losing power or stumbling upon initial acceleration. This has been occurring intermittently. My truck now has approximately 20,000 miles. The problem has become increasingly frequent. It seems to occur most often when accelerating from a complete stop. The loss of power can last for several seconds, then normal power is regained. Several times, the truck has lost power while making a left turn. It simply will not accelerate, and I find that I am stuck, unable to complete my turn and clear the oncoming traffic. I have taken my truck to a local dealer who attempted to diagnose the problem and they didn’t offer a solution since they were unable to reproduce the problem during their road test. It has happened many times since then and I am scheduled to return the vehicle to the same dealership to attempt to diagnose and fix the problem again soon. The problem seems to occur, regardless of which drive mode the truck is in and also occurs with electronic stability control both enabled and disabled. There are no warning lights or check engine codes shown.

On 6-7 separate occasions, my 2025 Ranger had a sudden and complete loss of accelerator response while slowing down to make a left turn. This also happens on occasion at traffic lights when the light turns and I attempt to turn left. The duration of loss of power has increased with each incident and is very frightening when it occurs. When attempting to accelerate across the road, there was no response or power from the engine to get me through traffic. On each occasions, the safety of everyone in my vehicle as well members of the public were at great risk. It is only by good luck that these engine failure incidents did not cause a serious crash. The local Ford dealer has been unable to identify the problem. Until and unless the Ford dealer can replicate the problem, I am unable to get the problem resolved. In the meantime, I feel that I my life is at risk every time I drive my truck. There were no warnings from the vehicle about this loss of power and the randomness of this causes great fear when driving. The incident appears to be the same as recall 26v343000, loss of drive power from engine failure, which does not include my specific VIN.

The cylinder #1 spark plug ignition coil. Check engine light came on and the vehicle began to vibrate while traveling 70 mph. The last 30 miles of the drive on an interstate required no speed higher than 50 to prevent the vibrations. Per the independent service center, Ford has issued guidance that water could enter this compartment and rust the part. A repair costing 847. 00 was completed by the mechanic, verifying it was completely rusted. Flashing check engine light came on and then steady light.

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated that there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The brakes and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact referenced an unknown recall with a similar failure; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 226,000.

See all problems of the 2001 Ford Ranger 🔎.

Appx 73000 miles truck developed shudder (felt like transmission jumping gears) under moderate acceleration. Gently drove home, no other shudder. Called dealer who said to drive it in. Noted a missfire warning on phone app, also stated to gently drive to dealer. On way dealer up hill at ~60 mph (on 70mph freeway) shudder returned, slowed to 55mph, heard spark plug(s) eject and much louder noises. Stopped and had towed to dealer (tow truck drove onto roll back. . Very noisy, dealer stated sounded terrible when drove into shop. Engine repair quoted at ~10k (disassembly,machine, sleeve cyinders, new parts) Ford extended warranty refused claim.

See all problems of the 2023 Ford Ranger 🔎.

Description on your vehicle it is possible that the trailer module trm may lose communication at vehicle start-up. If a trm loss of communication occurs and a trailer is connected to the vehicle, trailer stop lamps and turn signal indicators will not function. Additionally, for trailers equipped with electronic trailer brakes, the trailer brakes will not function. This loss of communication can occur with-or-without a trailer connected to the vehicle and can only initiate at vehicle start-up. If this occurs, a trailer brake module fault notification will pop-up on the vehicles instrument panel cluster. The vehicle brake and turn signal lamps will continue to operate normally and are not affected by this trm fault. If you do not tow with your vehicle, you may wait for ota deployment for your vehicle remedy. Safety risk this may result in inoperable trailer brake lights, trailer turn signals and trailer braking functions that can reduce a drivers ability to control an attached trailer and make the trailer less visible to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy software is available to repair your vehicle. Ford motor company has authorized your dealer to reprogram your vehicles trm free of charge. Next steps contact your dealer for more information to schedule the free service.

I was exiting the freeway, and as I was turning off of the freeway onto a side street, at approximately 20mph, my vehicle did not respond to throttle input, and left me slowing to a stop in the middle of a busy intersection. I had to shift my vehicle into neutral and then back into drive, to get it to respond to throttle input. When I slow down at intersections, turn and then attempt to throttle my vehicle, it hesitates and struggles to output power until I throttle about halfway.

The brakes failed within hours of owning the certified, warrantied vehicle. Almost had an accident. Within <5 weeks of owning this warrantied certified vehicle, was stranded on rine ridge indian reservation and on the highway. Engine jerk so bad feels like I a derby car. Then just stalls. The dont comply with their own 172 point certified inspection. They claim two keys for specified vehicle. They gave me two 1 starts the vehicle the other errors no key in ignition when you insert into ignition. Now I have to pay bills to get a warrantied certified vehicle repaired plus loaner car because Ford mckie k owing sold an unsafe vehicle under deceptive pretense. Multiple engine and brake failures which was supposedly certified inspected.

My truck loses power at a stop, starting to accelerate is stalls in the middle of the road. It seems to be stuck in gear or not going in gear. It will finally start going and the hesitation starts a the rpm gage goes up to about 3000 rpm’s and then goes back down to 1500. This is extremely dangerous to lose power in the middle of the road. This needs to be addressed.

See all problems of the 2021 Ford Ranger 🔎.

My truck experienced a p0302 misfire on the freeway, which caused it to shake immediately and made it very difficult to drive. I had it towed to the dealership, and they told me there was water in the spark?plug wells, which was surprising since I live in las vegas, nv, where it rarely rains. My spark plugs were rusted as well as the cylinder head. After looking into it online, I discovered that Ford issued TSB?23?2011 for the Ford Ranger due to a windshield cowl leak that allows water to drip directly onto the engine. Their proposed fix is to install an engine cover, but that clearly doesn’t solve the issue since my truck already has the engine cover installed. Now I’m stuck paying for repairs caused by a design flaw that Ford never properly addressed.

A strong smell of burning oil is coming from the engine compartment after truck warms up. Checked fluid levels, monitoring temperature. Went to dealer, dealer claims nothing found. Went back to dealer on 031626 for concern, dealer states no problem found, all fluid levels ok. No troubleshooting performed. Dealer said again that no smells detected. As of today, there is still smell coming from the engine area. All fluid levels appear good. However, after warming up the vehicle and parking, strong smell still exists. Not sure if there is a bigger problem in the future, a defective part, or if it has something to do with the design of the engine.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? inspection available if needed. The ignition coils and spark plugs failed due to Ford’s negligence to provide an engine cover. Water has gotten in to the engine and caused these systems to fail how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the engine violently shakes and causes you to lose speed. I was going 20 under the limit on the highway due to this and could have caused an accident. The vehicle felt as if it was shutting off and I got off at the next available exit. It placed my family at risk and others as it could have caused a bad accident if someone would have rear ended me due to the slow speed. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes, this is a known issue and Ford refuses to repair the vehicle and advises it is out of pocket. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? the vehicle has been inspected by a repair facility. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? the check engine light was flashing and then stayed solid. This first appeared on 1/27/26.

See all problems of the 2022 Ford Ranger 🔎.

I was driving my truck home on 01/22/26 and experienced a lack of acceleration and smelled oil. I got the truck home and looked under the hood. I noticed a collapsed rubber hose leading from the air intake box to the air intake of the turbo. I removed the air filter, which is practically new, and noticed no restrictions. At this point, I am trying to get it to the dealer to check for any additional problems, and replace the rubber intake hose, with something possibly better. From what I saw, the hose which has corrugations cannot handle the boost intake.

Engine valve cover has cracked. High pressure pump seals and gaskets needed to be replaced. Confirmed by 2 dealerships it has been inspected no warning lamps messages.

10r80 transmission issues. Will jerk & lag when driving. Had to purchase new transmission for truck.

Loss of power/accelleration. Multiple times. Issue has always occurred when turning left quickly then trying to accellerate. To make the immediate uphill. The accellerator goes dead for 3-4 seconds, then works. Engine rpm does not speed up when commanded, but then does after several seconds. By then it has been pushed to the floor attempting to make it over the upcoming hill. This is going to cause an accident, especially when pavement is slick, then truck quickly responds to the pedal position. The truck displays no codes or lights. Dealer says they have no idea what it could be. There are multiple reports on [xxx] . [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, there was a misfire coming from the engine, and the vehicle shuddered violently. The contact stated that the failure increased while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The service manager at the dealer was contacted and informed the contact that he had remote access to the dtc that was displayed after the failure had occurred. The contact verbally provided the dtc, but the information was not available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that upon researching the failure online, information related to water leaking into the engine compartment while the vehicle was parked on an incline with the front end facing down, due to the design of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was routinely parked on an incline in the driveway with the front of the vehicle facing down. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

While driving between 5-10 mph on a dry, smooth paved road, the transmission began cycling through 4wd modes and began shifting from normal mode to 4wd sand mode, I was able to pull over and park, but the transmission continued shifting and fully transitioned to 4wd mode. This is the second time it has occurred, the first time the transmission fully switched 4wd and I was barely able to pull off the road to reset it. After first issue, dealership noted the following "3131 confirmed concern. Pulled codes with fdrs and found p05d3 in abs module. Referred to workshop manual and run pinpoint test ah for concern. Ah1 yes. Ah2 had me reconfigure abs module with as-built data rerun self test. No codes returned and system operating correctly at this time. " there multiple online forums with owners having the same problem. . Read more...

Truck looses gear when pulling into traffic. It will shift out of gear and only allow coasting. At speeds of 40 mph and higher it will down shift causing dramatic reduced speed with no brake warning to other drivers behind. It will also randomly loose power. It will have delayed shifts squealing tires upon shifting and excessive jerking that is uncontrollable.

I was slowing down, foot off of throttle, to make a left turn. After completing turn and wanting to speed up, I had no throttle response for 2 or 3 seconds. Then all of a sudden back to normal. There was no accident. This has happened before, at least 3 times. Same/similar circumstances and result. I have not taken it to the dealer yet after reading other owners doing so and was not resolved.

Hood/cowling along the windshield allows water to leak under the hood of the vehicle and wets the coils and plugs causing the engine to mis fire and shutter violently. This engine mis fire and sudden lack of power can cause the vehicle to obstruct the flow of traffic resulting in an accident. Problem was reproduced by the dealer and they replace coils, plugs, and installed an accessory engine cover to prevent the issue in the future. All at my cost. The problem remains that there are many Ford Rangers on the road unaware of this problem. This problem is documented in a Ford TSB but a more aggressive approaching is needed to resolve this issue.

On more than one occasion but still infrequently, I have been coming to a stop and while braking, the engine revs and lurches forward while I'm attempting to stop. It is rare that it happens but it is very scary when it does happen. No warning lights appear. I have submitted a request to the dealer who sold us the truck. But it happens to infrequently that it would be difficult to reproduced by a dealer. It has happened approximately 5 times since purchasing the vehicle in December 2020. Approximate date of most recent event below.