Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1996 Ford Ranger submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 13 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY IN THE DARK, LIGHTS WILL GO OUT WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING, CONSUMER HAD TO TOUCH DIMMER SWITCH SO THAT LIGHTS WILL COME BACK ON. SWITCH HAD BEEN REPLACED BEFORE UNDER WARRANTY. BUT, CURRENTLY WAS NOT WORKING AGAIN, CONSUMER FEES IF IT GETS FIXED AGAIN, IT WILL NOT WORK AGAIN LATER ON. *AK *YD
DIMMER SWITCH CAUSES LIGHTS TO SHUT OFF. *AK
BOTH HEADLIGHTS GO OUT WHILE DRIVING, COME BACK ON WITHIN TEN SECONDS. OCCURS ONLY ONCE OR TWICE IN 3 TO 4 MONTH TIME FRAME. FORD AND DEALER CAN NOT HELP. OIGINALLY TAKEN TO DEALER FOR REPAIR ON 5/16/97. COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM. FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS NO INFO RELATED IN THEIR DATA BASE. VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM. I HAVED TRIED TO IDENTIFY PROBLEM ON MY OWN (ELECTRICAL ENGINEER) BUT WIRING DIAGRAMS DO NOT EXPLAIN THE PROBLEM. I BELEIVE THERE IS A CIRCUIT BREAKER INLINE THAT DOES NOT SHOW IN THE FORD WIRING DETAILS FOR THIS TRUCK. I CANNOT VERIFY THIS THRU FORD. WOULD HAVE TO TEAR TRUCK APPART TO FIND.*AK
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN 2 YEARS THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH ON THE END OF THE TURN SIGNAL ARM HAS FAILED. WASHER SWITCH ON ARM STILL WORKS, BUT WIPERS DO NOT WORK IN ANY MODE. I HAVE CONTACTED A LOCAL FORD DEALER AND THEY WILL ONLY OFFER TO REPLACE AGAIN FOR AROUND $300.00
ENGINE. KNOCKING ROD AT ONLY 56,000 MI. OVER $3,000 FOR NEW ENGINE. HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO TURN ON BEFORE LEAVING DRIVEWAY. CAME ON AFTER TURNING ON HIGH BEAMS AND TURN SIGNALS. ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, I'M ABOUT TO DOWNSHIFT TO MAKE A TURN AND THE ENGINE CUTS OFF. NO POWER STEERING, NEARLY LOST CONTROL.
HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT WHEN USING TURN SIGNAL SWITCH TO SIGNAL LANE CHANGE WHILE OVERTAKING SLOWER MOVING VEHICLE AT NIGHT. HEADLIGHTS CAME BACK ON AFTER TOUCHING TURN SIGNAL SWITCH STALK. SWITCH STALK HAS EXCESSIVE UP-AND-DOWN PLAY; ABLE TO REPRODUCE INCIDENT AT WILL BY SLIGHTLY MOVING SWITCH STALK UP (TOWARD STEERING WHEEL). VEHICLE NOW AT DEALER FOR REPAIR.
VEHICLE HAS A BAD HEADLIGHT SWITCH. SWITCH HAS TO BE JIGGLED AROUND TO GET THE LIGHTS TO COME ON. ALSO, WHEN HIGH BEAMS ARE ACTIVATED THE LIGHTS GO OUT COMPLETELY. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
WHILE DRIVING HEADLIGHTS WENT OFF. AFTER PUTTING THE HEADLIGHTS ON HIGH BEAM, THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON. PROBLEM WAS REPORTED TO THE MANUFACTURER. CONSUMER HAS NOT EXPERIENCED ANY PROBLEMS AT THIS TIME. *AK
DRIVING DOWN ROAD ALL HEADLIGHTS GO OUT. *AK
WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD WORK INTERMITTENTLY, SOMETIMES NOT AT ALL. HEADLIGHTS WORK SOMETIMES. A/C WOULD NOT WORK ALL THE TIME. DEALER BEING CONTACTED. *AK
THE TURN INDICATOR CANNOT BE TURNED ON WHEN STEERING WHEEL IS AT THE 11 AND 2 O'CLOCK POSITIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE TURN SIGNAL WHEN ENGAGED, DOES NOT ALLOW MUCH MOVEMENT OF THE STEERING WHEEL BEFORE SIGNAL CANCELS.
THE TURN INDICATOR CANNOT BE TURNED ON WHEN STEERING WHEEL IS AT THE 11 AND 2 O'CLOCK POSITIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE TURN SIGNAL WHEN ENGAGED, DOES NOT ALLOW MUCH MOVEMENT OF THE STEERING WHEEL BEFORE SIGNAL CANCELS.
VEHICLE IDLES FAST.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .