2005 Ford Ranger Owner Complaints

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that upon arriving to the residence and applying the parking brake and exiting the vehicle, the vehicle started to roll backwards. The contact stated that the vehicle came to a complete stop after rolling across the street and through the neighbor’s fence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 223,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11640744

Incident

Feb 4, 2025

Mileage

223,000 mi

The contact owned a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle was rear-ended by a driver who ran the stop sign. The impact caused the vehicle to flip over multiple times. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact suffered severe head trauma and PTSD from the accident. It was unknown if the other driver sustained any injuries. The contact was taken to the local hospital where medical attention was received for his injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a local salvage junkyard. The VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number 23V306000 (Air Bags). The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11591400

Incident

May 29, 2024

Mileage

130,000 mi

See attached document for complaint

NHTSA ID

11585848

Incident

Sep 29, 2023

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact had taken the vehicle to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V125000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that while the vehicle was having the air bag replaced, the contact became aware that the passenger’s side air bag had not been seated correctly. The contact asked the Service Manager to return the vehicle to have the mechanic properly seat the air bag and secure the air bag correctly. The contact stated that the Service Manager attempted to adjust and tighten the air bag. The contact stated that the vehicle had been repaired but not in a safe manner. The manufacturer had been informed of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 228,000.

NHTSA ID

11551579

Incident

Sep 23, 2023

Mileage

228,000 mi

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V306000 (Air Bags) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list because the vehicle was totaled. The local dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not contacted.

NHTSA ID

11544124

Incident

Sep 12, 2023

The contact owned a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle struck the rear of another vehicle causing a fender bender. The contact stated that the front air bags deployed, and a powdery substance and metal fragments flew out of the air bag and landed on the contact. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was required. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and deemed a total loss. The contact stated that he then received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V880000 (Air Bags). An unnamed dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 205,000.

NHTSA ID

11526653

Incident

May 2, 2023

Mileage

205,000 mi

I was in an accident and the airbags did not inflate. I was going 30-35 MPH, there was a patch of ice, and I hit a tree. The truck was totaled. I smashed my face on the steering wheel, fracturing a bone. Some weeks later I received a letter in the mail from Ford Motor Company with regards to a passenger side airbag recall. I am afraid that this could perhaps be a bigger problem than just passenger side airbags.

NHTSA ID

11516807

Incident

Mar 15, 2023

The contact owned a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH during rain weather conditions, the contact lost control of the vehicle while going around a curve, causing the vehicle to crash into a ditch. No air bags deployed. The contact suffered a head injury and several other unknown injuries due to the seat belt. The paramedic had to cut the seat belt to release the contact from the vehicle. The contact was taken to the hospital to seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed and was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11516287

Incident

Oct 14, 2022

At 200k miles I got an air bag light on my guage cluster. The blinking code corresponded to a bad connection at the CLOCKSPRING. I also noticed my cruise control and horn were also inoperable, also an indicator of a bad CLOCKSPRING. Ford part number 1l5z-14a664-ab is the replacement part and is currently unavailable, for the last 6 months. This part covers a few different models and has been exhausted by the dealers when correcting the Airbag recall. The dealer can not give me a date on a replacement part.

NHTSA ID

11506987

Incident

Nov 18, 2022

My daughter called me screaming when her 2005 Ford Ranger FX4 Level 2 had unexplained runaway throttle while driving back to college in January 2022. The vehicle had the cruise control on for a couple hours and without warning, began to accelerate to the point that it was at the rev limiter, traveling at 90 miles an hour. She called me hysterical and I advised her to shut off the cruise and hit the brakes but nothing would stop her or turn off the cruise. I advised her to turn off the vehicle to ACC position and coast to the shoulder. When she had calmed down, I asked her to restart the truck, it started wide open throttle, so she immediately shut it off. I told my daughter then to mash the gas pedal a few times and restart the vehicle. It restarted at normal idle speed. 1/28/2022- my daughter came home from school today for a visit, the same thing happened again on her drive home. She was able to coast to the shoulder and restart after mashing the pedal a few times. I am advising her not to use the cruise control and to get it into a Ford shop to inspect. There are no lamps or warnings to indicate there is an issue or code/CEL. This is a deadly situation that apparently has occurred with Ford Explorers that have the 4.0 Liter engine and 5.0L engine. It appears from other forums (https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/threads/full-throttle-runaway-vehicle.442563/) that a throttle control cable may have an issue or defect that is causing the throttle spring to not release, or the cable is hanging up. Please see included Explorer forum link above.

NHTSA ID

11449361

Incident

Jan 1, 2022

Incident was reported to me by an employee. Driving in traffic on a highway with normal, dry road conditions the accelerator pedal started moving down on its own. The truck accelerated on its own from 50 mph to 70+ mph. Applying the brakes the truck did NOT slow down. Eventually, the accelerator pedal corrected itself and started working normally. There was no indication on the dashboard of the issue. This could have resulted in a serious accident or death. The truck is waiting to be towed to the Ford garage for repair. Thank you, Wendy McNeill

NHTSA ID

11443366

Incident

Dec 9, 2021

THE PASSENGER SIDE MODULE - AIR BAG WAS REPLACED TWICE FIRST 3/17/ 2017 AND 8/23/2018 AND THE 2ND TIME THEY REPLACED IT WITH OUTDATED PARTS. REPORT RECALL PART 573 SAFETY - 21V-081. THE REPLACEMENT HAS NOT STARTED YET BUT I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A LAWSUIT ALSO BECAUSE THEY DID THE REPLACEMENT ANYWAY TO SATISFY THE GOVERMENT AND THEY PUT OUR LIFES AT RISK

NHTSA ID

11397544

Incident

Jul 23, 2018

Mileage

40,909 mi

TAKATA AIRBAG RECALL REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE STILL BACKORDERED FOR MY 2005 FORD RANGER WHEN IT WAS TAKEN TO MY LOCAL FORD DEALER.

NHTSA ID

11364773

Incident

Oct 16, 2020

Mileage

182,284 mi

THE REAR PORTION OF THE FRAME IS RUSTING AWAY AND THE LEAF SPRING SHACKLE FELL OFF WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET CAUSING THE BED OF THE TRUCK TO FALL ONTO THE BUSTED SHACKLE. THE SPARE TIRE MOUNT IS RUSTED SO BAD THAT WE REMOVED THE SPARE TIRE TO AVOID LOOSING THE SPARE WHILE DRIVING. THE REAR BUMPER SEEMS UNSTABLE AS THE FRAME IS RUSTED AND FALLING APART FROM THE REAR SHACKLE MOUNT ON BACK. THE FRONT PORTION OF THE FRAME SEEMS TO BE HOLDING UP OK.

NHTSA ID

11343487

Incident

Nov 15, 2019

Mileage

105,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD RANGER. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DOING A ROUTINE CHECK UNDER THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE SUBFRAME UNDER THE VEHICLE WAS SEVERELY RUSTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE INSPECTED BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 55,000.

NHTSA ID

11340976

Incident

Apr 8, 2020

Mileage

55,000 mi

THE LEAF SPRING BUSHINGS PUSHED THREW THE ROTTED FRAME AND POKED HOLES IN THE BED OF THE TRUCK .THE SPARE TIRE WAS HANGING ON THE GROUND WHEN I GOT HOME ONE DAY. NOW MY INSPECTION STATION WONT PUT A INSPECTION STICKER ON IT BECAUSE THEY SAY ITS TO DANGEROUS.TOYOTA HAD THIS PROBLEM AND ETHER REPAIRED THE VEHICLE OR REPLACED IT. *TR

NHTSA ID

11324694

Incident

Apr 22, 2018

Mileage

57,000 mi

TRUCK IS IN GOOD SHAPE W/123,600 MILES. FRAME ROTTED THROUGH AT REAR AXLE. SPARE TIRE AND HOLDER DROPPED RIGHT OUT OF IT AND WAS HANGING BY A THREAD. I WAS ABLE TO GET IT TO SHOP AND CUT SPARE TIRE AND HOLDER COMPLETELY OFF. *TR

NHTSA ID

11324538

Incident

Apr 15, 2020

Mileage

123,650 mi

I HAVE LEARNED THE HARD WAY THAT THE SHIFTER ON THE 2005 FORD RANGER EXTENDED CAB WILL JUMP OUT OF PARK TO REVERSE. THIS HAPPEN TO ME (JUST RECENTLY) AND CAUSED ME TO TEAR UP MY DOOR AND FENDER ON THE VEHICLE (WHICH WILL BE COSTLY)...

NHTSA ID

11323211

Incident

May 3, 2020

Mileage

118,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD RANGER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED ON AN INCLINE, THE GEAR SHIFTER SHIFTED OUT OF THE PARK POSITION INDEPENDENTLY AND THE VEHICLE ROLLED DOWNHILL AND ENDED UP IN A DITCH. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. BOTH THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 116,732. *BF*JB

NHTSA ID

11323168

Incident

Apr 27, 2020

Mileage

116,732 mi

I WOULD BE DRIVING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE WHOLE VEHICLE WOULD JUST SHUT DOWN. THIS HAPPENED 3 OR 4 TIMES JUST GOING AT 25 TO 35 MPH. AT FIRST, I THOUGHT IT WAS A CLOGGED FUEL LINE SINCE IT WOULD SOMEHOW RESET ITSELF AFTER HAVING IT TOWED TO MY MECHANIC SO I REPLACED THE FILTER EVEN THOUGH I COULD SEE NOTHING WRONG. WHEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN ON A BACKCOUNTRY ROAD THE MECHANIC SAID IT WAS PROBABLY THE FUEL PUMP SO I HAD THE WHOLE THING REPLACED. IT HAPPENED ONE MORE TIME AFTER THAT, I WAS PULLING ONTO A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND HAD JUST GOTTEN UP TO SPEED 55 MPH AND THERE WAS A TRACTOR-TRAILER BEHIND ME WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN AGAIN EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN. LUCKILY I HAD ENOUGH MOMENT BUILT UP I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE GETTING HIT BY THE TRACTOR-TRAILER. I FINALLY LOOKED ONLINE AND FOUND THAT SOMEONE HAD MENTIONED THE SAME PROBLEM IT MAY BE THE INERTIA SWITCH. I CALLED UP A LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND HAD ASKED THE PARTS PERSON IF THE HAD A REPLACEMENT AND IF HE HEARD ANY PROBLEMS ABOUT IT. I WAS TOLD IT WOULD HAVE TO BE ORDERED BECAUSE THEY WERE OUT OF THEM, THEY HAD SOLD A FEW IN THE PAST MONTHS. WHEN I EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM I WAS TOLD OH YES WE HAVE HEARD ABOUT THAT HAPPENING BUT THERE WAS NO RECALL. I EXPLAINED HOW IT COULD BE A SAFETY PROBLEM AND WAS TOLD THAT IT MUST NOT BE HAPPENING ENOUGH FOR IT TO BE A RECALL. I RECENTLY FOUND THIS SITE AND HAVE SEEN THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD THIS HAPPEN SO AT LEAST I KNOW I WASN'T CRAZY. *TR

NHTSA ID

11321490

Incident

Aug 15, 2014

Mileage

55,000 mi

I BOUGHT A USED 2005 FORD RANGER XLT 4X4 IN JULY OF 2018 BEING A ONE OWNER VEHICLE AND LOW MILAGE AT THE TIME WHICH WAS ABOUT 65000 MILES I SAW IT ONLINE IN ONE OF THE LOCAL DEALERSHIPS IN TOWN. HE HAD A GREAT REPUTATION AND I WENT TO SEE HIM GOT A GREAT DEAL SO I BOUGHT IT.. THE TRUCK PASSED MA STATE INSPECTION WITH NO ISSUES. I KEPT GETTING NOTICES FROM FORD FOR AN AIR BAG RECALL SO I WENT TO A LOCAL FORD DEALER TO HAVE MY AIRBAGS REPLACED FOR RECALL AND WANTED THEM TO CHECK THE UNDERCARRIDE AS WELL AS I HAVE SEEN HORROR STORIES ONLINE AS HOW BAD THESE UNDERCARRIDGES WERE ON THE FORD RANGERS. THE LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP DID A SAFETY INSPECTION AND FOUND THAT MY ENTIRE UNDERCARRIDGE HAS BEEN RUSTED OUT. THERE IS A MISSING CROSSMEMBER BAR WHICH I GUESS SUPPORTS THE VEHICLE THAT IS COMPLETELY GONE AND ALL HOIST POINTS ARE BAD VEHICLE IS COMPRIMISED DUE TO ALL THE RUST AND IS NOT SAFE FOR DRIVING. A CERTIFIED FORD DEALER GAVE ME THIS WRITTEN ESTIMATE AND I ASKED IF FORD WOULD HELP ME HERE ABOUT MAYBE RECALLING THE FRAMES AS I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF ONLINE STUFF THAT THESE FRAMES WERE AS BAD AS THE TOYOTA TUNDRAS AND TOYOTA AT LEAST RE-CALLED THE FRAMES CAN FORD DO THE SAME THEY SAID NO. I WOULD THINK A REPUTABLE FORD DEALER WHO GAVE ME THIS ESTIMATE WOULD AT LEAST TRY TO HELP ME BUT NO. I HAVE WRITTEN TO FORD BUT NO ANSWER AS OF YET. I AM FIGHTING NOW WITH THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP WHO SOLD ME THE VEHICLE IN THE FIRST PLACE AS IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN SOLD AND ALSO LOOKING INTO ANY RECOURSE I HAVE WITHIN MA LAW. THIS DOESNT SEEM RIGHT YOU HAVE AN ENTIRE UNDERCARRIDGE THAT HAS BEEN ROTTED OUT FOD KNOWS ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND WILL NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT WHAT ARE THEY WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO GET SERIOUSLY HURT OR EVEN DIE IN AN ACCIDENT HERE. THES TRUCKS SHOULD BE RECALLED.

NHTSA ID

11277758

Incident

Oct 29, 2019

Mileage

71,000 mi

THE LEAF SPRING SHACKLES ROTTED THREW THE FRAME AND THE SPARE TIRE HOLDER DROPPED THE SPARE TIRE WHILE DRIVING THIS IS DANGEROUS

NHTSA ID

11270139

Incident

Aug 20, 2018

Mileage

58,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD RANGER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, AN ABNORMAL NOISE WAS COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT BOTH LEAF SPRING SHACKLES WERE ROTTING THROUGH THE FRAME AND NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 59,000.

NHTSA ID

11241102

Incident

Dec 1, 2018

Mileage

59,000 mi

THE FRAME IS BADLY RUSTED, ESPECIALLY IN THE REAR. THE DRIVER SIDE REAR LEAF SPRING SHACKLE FELL OFF ABOUT 12 MONTHS AGO. WITHING THE LAST WEEK , THE REAR BUMPER BECAME DETACHED ON THE DRIVER SIDE. THE PASSENGER SIDE IS NOT FAR BEHIND EITHER. THE LEAF SPRING SHACKLE PROBABLY HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING, BUT DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT VEHICLE PERFORMANCE. THE REAR BUMPER FELL OFF WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY.

NHTSA ID

11230530

Incident

Jul 1, 2019

Mileage

105,000 mi

THE REPAIR SHOP INFORMED ME MY LEAF SPRING SHACKLES COULD NOT BE REPAIRED DUE TO SEVERE ROT OF THE FRAME IN THE REAR.TRUCK ONLY HAS 59000 MILES ON IT AND WAS WELL TAKEN CARE OF.THE REST OF THE TRUCK IS IN VERY GOOD SHAPE. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IS THERE A RECALL I DONT NO ABOUT? THANKYOU

NHTSA ID

11217257

Incident

May 28, 2019

Mileage

59,000 mi