This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 1998 Ford Ranger. While driving various speeds, a knocking type noise was present coming from the bed of the vehicle when the brakes were applied. The contact indicated that the vehicle failed inspection due to rusting and corrosion of the subframe and cross members. The cause of the failures was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 169,000.
The contact owns a 1998 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that the frame was completely rusted. The dealer was notified of the failure but did not return the contacts call. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 98,000 and the current mileage was 125,348.
Spare tire carried under truck completely rusted away and spare fell on highway and rear frame completely rusting away. Original rims had to be changed also because they rusted so bad wouldn't hold air.
Frame on my 1998 Ford Ranger rusted into at the rear spring shackles, and bumper. I have never had a truck to do this. The steel crossmember that runs behind the cab over the gas tank from side to side is also completely gone from rusting away. They must have received a bad batch of steel when making this year. The spare tire holder is also rusted away, placed the spare tire in the bed so that it would not fall off when traveling down the highway. I suspect that this was very common for this year.
The rear bumper in my 1998 Ford Ranger (80K miles) is about to fall off, as the rear of the frame is rusted & broken. I have cables holding it on now. I found this out after the rear leaf spring shackle & bracket rusted off the frame and broke in two. The spare tire also looks like it is about to fall off from rusted brackets. I did an internet search and found that there are probably thousands of Ford Ranger in which the rear bumper actually did fall off, or the spare fell off while driving. This problem seems to be much worse that the Toyota trucks. In fact someone said that the Ford frames were bought at the same factory as the Toyota's, but I do not know fore sure. Everything else on my truck is in beautiful condition, not a speck of rust on the body, and it runs great. I bought it brand new.
Clutch slave cylinder bolts came out knocking hole through transmition case.transmission cross member had to be cut out after speed nuts broke loose.heater failed three times.thermostat replaced twice didn't help.bolts holding cooling fan on came out.switch for dome light failed, and brake rotors warped.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cochranville, PA, USA