Ford Ranger - Problems, Statistics, and Analysis

Ford Ranger owners have reported a total of 7,384 problems for their cars built in the 28 model years listed in the chart below. The chart shows the number of problems reported across all service years for each given model year of the Ford Ranger. The 1999 Ford Ranger cars have the most problems reported (809 problems).

Table 1. Total number of problems by model year for Ford Ranger

🔍 Common problems of Ford Ranger

The following chart shows the 31 most common problems for Ford Ranger cars. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's air bags (1,857 problems). The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's tires (636 problems).

Table 2. Common problems of Ford Ranger

Problem Category Number of Problems
  Air Bag
1,857
  Tire
636
  Power Train
616
  Structure
530
  Suspension
454
  Engine And Engine Cooling
451
  Service Brakes
450
  Electrical System
384
  Vehicle Speed Control
382
  Equipment
318
   
  Gasoline Fuel System
208
  Visibility
175
  Seat Belt
148
  Steering
131
  Exterior Lighting
128
  Other Fuel System
117
  Interior Lighting
70
  Seats
68
  Wheel
66
  Unknown Or Other
49
  Latches/locks/linkage
40
  Parking Brake
29
  Forward Collision Avoidance
25
  Back Over Prevention
18
  Air Brake
12
  Lane Departure
10
  Electronic Stability Control
6
  Diesel Fuel System
2
  Child Seat
2
 
1
  Traction Control System
1

📉 Compare Reliability Across Model Years Using PPMY Index

It would not be fair to compare the Ford Ranger of an older model year to newer model years since older vehicles have been in service longer and thus are expected to have more problems. In order to compare the reliability across Ranger model years, we use the PPMY index which is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. A smaller PPMY index indicates greater reliability of the given model year cars.

    PPMY = P / S / Y * 1000,

where P = total problems reported during the life of a Ford Ranger model year; S = total units sold of the model year; Y = years since the debut of the model year (the age of the vehicle).

The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Use PPMY Index to Compare Reliability Across Ranger Model Years

Ranger
Model Year
Problems Sales [1] Vehicle
Age
PPMY Index
  2022 5050,9844    
0.25
  2021 14792,7985    
0.32
  2020 15288,4276    
0.29
  2019 334116,0807    
0.41
  2011 25399,61515    
0.17
  2010 16558,82016    
0.18
  2009 17549,84117    
0.21
  2008 33585,74318    
0.22
  2007 27978,38719    
0.19
  2006 30784,09320    
0.18
  2005 333104,27521    
0.15
  2004 435173,29922    
0.11
  2003 275226,82823    
0.05
  2002 382238,98924    
0.07
  2001 580269,50925    
0.09
  2000 714348,95526    
0.08

📊 Number of Problems Reported During the First Year

Another way to measure the reliability across the model years of the Ford Ranger is to use the total number of problems reported during the vehicle's first year in service, as shown in the Table 4.

Table 4. Number of problems in vehicle's; first service year

Model YearProblems Reported
  2026 Ranger
6
  2025 Ranger
20
  2024 Ranger
18
  2023 Ranger
13
  2022 Ranger
13
  2021 Ranger
27
  2020 Ranger
14
  2019 Ranger
37
  2017 Ranger
1
  2016 Ranger
1
  2011 Ranger
8
  2010 Ranger
11
  2009 Ranger
10
  2008 Ranger
10
  2007 Ranger
9
  2006 Ranger
12
  2005 Ranger
15
  2004 Ranger
38
  2003 Ranger
38
  2002 Ranger
47
  2001 Ranger
56
  2000 Ranger
146
  1999 Ranger
119
  1998 Ranger
94
  1997 Ranger
24
  1996 Ranger
67


Ranger Service Bulletins
Ranger Safety Recalls
Ranger Defect Investigations
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