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.
This winter while washing the undercarriage of my 1999 Ranger, I noticed the frame at the drivers side rear shock mount is rusted through. After further inspection, I see that the frame at the rear bumper mounts is also severely rusted. The bed supports that run perpendicular to the frame are also severely rusted.
I have owned 4 Ranger over the past 15 years, a 1995, 1998,1999, and a 2001 and all 4 trucks have had the leaf spring hangers rot off. My latest truck the leaf spring hanger and now the frame has rotted away there is no way this is an isolated incident. The internet is full of comments about this problem. It is my understanding that Tundra had a recall on this same issue. Why is it different for a Ranger?
While driving on the highway, I was having difficulty steering. The car was pulling to the left and I had to pull over because it was too difficult to manage. Upon inspection, the right front tire was toed-in and the upper tire stabilizer arm broke away from the frame at the bracket. The bracket attaching the arm to the frame had snapped. The frame itself just below that bracket was cracked with severe rot on both sides. The rest of the truck is in perfect condition except for the frame. I was told that this cannot be fixed.
Wv state inspection found the rear frame and spring hangers rusted to the point of rendering the truck unsafe. The rest of the truck is rust-free and in great condition.
- Harrisville, Wv, WV, USA
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The contact owns a 1999 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that the bolts behind the rear wheels that were connected to the bed of the vehicle were completely rusted. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for a routine inspection when the dealer advised him of the failure. The dealer stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 102,000.
The far rear right spring shackle and mount fell out of the truck. I felt the body fall and heard a bang and in the mirror saw something fall on the ground. After investigating I found that those parts had rotted out and fell out. The spring was resting on the bottom of the truck bed. I'm a mechanic, so I got the parts to fix it, but found that as I took apart the frame parts, the frame had rusted through on both sides of the spring mount. The left side, though the shackle mount had not rotted off yet, was in bad shape. When I got the left side spring mount off, the frame was rotted through behind it and had rusted through on both sides of the spring mount. This isn't going to last long. Infact I'm looking into my options for repair. Ford should be made responsible for this. There is no way a truck frame should melt like this. To remove the rivots used from the factory to mount the frame parts, I used an air chisel. The vibration caused massive amounts of rust flakes to fall off of other parts of the frame, some an eighth in thick and the size of a large tire patch. This makes me wonder if the rest of the frame is safe to use.! if you go to a junk yard you can find truck frames that are 40 years old that don't have this kind of rot!!! please press Ford to do something about this...thank you.
Frame has rotted out behind the rear shackle mount and around the gas tank strap the whole rear section of frame is very thin and rusted and showing signs of deterioration all within 75K miles truck is only a 99 and has spent most of its life garaged by previous owner am surprised as to the amount of rot in the frame on such a low miles truck.
1999 Ford Ranger rear frame section rotted behind rear shackle mount. Broke off and caused rear axle to become disconnected from the rear frame section. Bumper fell to the ground.
You guys should make Ford motors replace every single frame on Ford Ranger pick ups. I have one now that I am trying to fix and it is just incredible the amount of rust and holes that are in a truck that is barely ten years old.
Truck lost brakes while going downhill. Frame corrosion had caused right spring hanger to fail, and corroded brake line burst. I was able to pump the brake pedal and avoid an accident. Brake warning light came on after the incident. Mechanic put the truck on a lift, and identified severe corrosion to the brake lines, differential, frame, and several other undercarriage components. Truck had been undercoated and washed regularly, and has less than 105,000 miles. Mechanic suggested all new brake lines, total frame, and rear end replacement.
I have a 1999 Ford Ranger 4 dr. Super cab. If you look at this truck on the exterior/interior you would think it was 3-4 years old!! absolutely gorgeous, you know this truck is cared for extremely well!! however put it up on a lift and you would swear it was sitting in a salt field for 20 years!! absolutely ridiculous! all cross members are completely de-tached from frame, tank straps are gone, the only thing holding up my gas tank is the skid plate! the spare tire hanger and C-member is rotted completely, and the rear C-member is almost rotted. Was told by my independent mechanic, the only thing holding frame together is the bumper!! rocker panels are in great cond., body is wonderful!!. this is crazy, how can Ford do this and get away with this"? Toyota stood up as a company and took care of there responsibilities!! guess that just shows who cares about standing behind there consumers.this is incredibly frustrating to know you have a beautiful vehicle that runs top-notch, that you absolutely adore and you have been told you probably can't drive it on the road because of premature rotted out frame!! yeah that's right pre-mature!!! I have seen 25-30 year old vehicles that were not this bad. I owned a 1984 Ford Ranger that was in better shape than this underneath!! what did Ford used to do in the past with there frames?" well, , figure it out and do it again!! that's not all you can't order the C-members from Ford! are you kidding me! don't build it right, then screw you on replacement parts! I believe Ford should step and fix these frames the way a company should fulfill there responsibilities! if Toyota can do it so can we on this side of the ocean!! I would love to drive my Ranger for awhile longer, and with the breakdown and reputation of these frames on this particular truck Ford should assume responsibility!
: the contact stated the metal frame on the rear passenger side deteriorated. As a result, the bumper hangs down from the frame. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection; however no repairs were made. When the vehicle wa sparked the passenger side of rear bumper was hanging down because the passenger's side frame was rusted. However, the driver's side frame and the vehicle's body were not rusted. The local Ford dealer could not find time to view the vehicle, but offered $1000 of the $3500 repair cost if repaired at the Ford dealership. Contact rejected it claiming it was a factory defect.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Monongahela, PA, USA