2024 Ford Ranger Powertrain (other) Problems

The truck randomly starts changing drive modes while at speed. It moves from normal mode and goes into baja mode then trys going into 4H and 4L, Rock Crawl mode, etc. Safety problem is that you are at speed and it tries to put itself into 4L or Rock crawl or any 4 wheel mode. This happens on pavement which can create catastrophic traction problems. The problem is random and has not been reproduced. It has been to the dealer a couple of times for this issue. They say that it is probably related to the Drive Mode Selector. They ordered the part in June and still have not received it. The problem exposes itself by showing the changes to drive modes going across the speedometer area and on the drive mode selector.

NHTSA ID

11767113

Incident

Sep 3, 2026

My truck has selectable drive modes. These drive modes control steering effort, suspension, shift points, the four-wheel drive system, ABS, and exhaust. My truck changes drive modes on its own without any input. Going down the highway, my truck is tried to go into rock crawl modes several times. If this happens, my truck will go into four low and the components above will be affected. A cursory Google search leads to a forum where 10 pages of people have reported this problem. It is scary to think that my truck has the potential to change drive modes on its own. This could lead to loss of steering control, sudden acceleration, or a locked differential can make me lose control of the vehicle. Here is the page referenced above: [XXX] Despite having an effect on the powertrain, Ford does not consider this to be covered under the 36,000 mile powertrain warranty, of which my vehicle is beyond. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11766512

Incident

Sep 23, 2026

Filed a complaint that Rangers had a recall on wiring harness and this vehicle was made in the Michigan plant where other Rangers had the recall. This particular Ranger should have been included in the recall. The dealership refused to do their due diligence. I filled a complaint and have a case number. CXH09344864X2D6B2. These issue needs to be resolved in a timely manner as it can cause fires and children are riding in this vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11765333

Incident

Sep 14, 2026

The drive mode selector, which changes vehicle handling behavior, can change modes without driver intervention causing the vehicle to shift between 2 and 4 wheel drive unexpectedly causing a crash or injury. Widespread reports of the issue exist online as well: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11764615

Incident

Sep 16, 2026

lariat ranger 2024 changes modes without input from driver. This has happened dozen times btu not consistent It has happened at 80mph on interstate ,35 mph on road, leaving parking space, and turning corner after stopping for stop light This time went in to 4wheel drive low on dry pavement very difficult to steer until stopped and put back into 2 wheel drive. Has happened in dry weather and rainy weather. 50 degrees and 100 degrees dealer says ford has no reported problems to dealers. dealer says can not do anything without replicating problem while they test drive I am not leaving my Ranger with them to test drive for weeks. It is an inconsistent problem that can not be replicated by any one action

NHTSA ID

11763219

Incident

Dec 31, 1969

The vehicle occasionally will change drive modes while in motion. In the past three months, it has switched from Normal to Baja mode three times and from Normal to Rock Crawl mode one time. The issues occured while driving on the freeway in construction traffic, driving slowly down rural county roads, and driving slowly in my subdivision.

NHTSA ID

11760253

Incident

Jun 7, 2026

On multiple occasions while driving the vehicle will randomly change drive modes by its self. It will try to go into 4x4 low gear (rock crawl mode) at highway speeds. This has happened a dozen times since I purchased the vehicle new.

NHTSA ID

11760214

Incident

May 1, 2024

The transmission under several circumstances will just stall out. Will NOT allow the vehicle to accelerate. Flooring the gas pedal does not do anything. RPM may go up a couple hundred RPM (not thousand) but the truck just will not move. After this now happening several times I can tell you that it happens when making a left or right hand turn without coming to a complete stop and the area turning into is an up hill section. Watching the gear indicator normally shows a very high gear of 8 or higher. Trans needs to down shift but it will not. Stomping accelerator to the floor does nothing. On and off to the floor does nothing. Pulling the shifter to manual and flicking the change gear does work and if you don't have on coming traffic bearing down that's fine. But if you have on coming traffic and you can't move it is a major safety issue in my mind. The vehicle feels like you have pulled up to a parking curb and after stopping you try to go over it with little to no power being applied. This has happened now seven times. Ford dealer says the vehicle shows no codes.

NHTSA ID

11758986

Incident

Jul 15, 2026

The drive mode randomly changes by itself while drive. When this occurs it can shift to 4 wheel drive will moving on dry pavement. This this not been checked out by the dealer because based on online forums others have the same issue and Ford can not reproduce or provide any fixes. I'm assuming there have been other complaints for this same issue reported to NHTSA. I'm adding a date for when this happened below, but it has happened at least six times since I have owned the truck online forums [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11757275

Incident

Aug 3, 2026

Hello, I have a 24-ford ranger raptor, this incident happened twice, I was driving approximately 60 MPH and vehicle on its own started changing drive modes. It switched itself to baja mode which is 4-wheel drive and very dangerous at these speeds. I took my truck to local ford dealer in Valencia Ca, Dealer stated no codes or issues found. This is deeply concerning to me; I Have family that also drives this vehicle. I have read online that other same vehicle owners are experiencing same symptoms and heavy concerns. Not sure where to go from here, any help or feedback would greatly appreciated. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11755976

Incident

Aug 2, 2026

While driving at 60 MPH Drive Mode Selector changed to Baja Mode and switched to 4WDHI. Had to stop and shut off truck to resume normal driving. While driving at 25-30 MPH in Normal Mode, Drive Mode changed to Rock Crawl Mode, engaged rear axel lock, and attempted to engage 4WD Low Range (several times). My local dealer Service Dept. is unaware of any other instances of this, although it appears to be fairly common according to posts on internet forums.

NHTSA ID

11754162

Incident

Jul 29, 2026

The vehicle changed it's drive mode on it's own without user interaction. The event happened while driving at 70MPH on the Interstate. Vehicle changed to the Baja drive mode by itself which also tries to change from 2H to 4H at speed. I was able to quickly move drive selector back to Normal drive mode before the 4H change occurred, but it also tried to change to the Rock Crawl mode which would result in a 4L mode. Severe damage to the drivetrain could have occurred and could also result in loss of control of vehicle if it was able to slam into 4H or 4L at speed. This type of behavior has been reported by many other drivers at the Ranger6G forum. [XXX] I will be scheduling a service appointment with my local dealer for inspection and documentation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11753943

Incident

Jul 31, 2026

When turning vehicle will intermittently lose power for 1 to 2 seconds, and then it suddenly returns.

NHTSA ID

11753907

Incident

Jul 31, 2026

The vehicle went into BAJA Mode 4wd high then 4wd low range out of nowhere while driving. It shot me off the road , and ive been researching it. There is a 6 page thread about new rangers and ranger raptors doing this on 6G ranger forum, tons of people with the same issue. Super scary. Fear injury or fatality will happen from this as it shoots you hard off the road

NHTSA ID

11752831

Incident

Jul 24, 2026

Making turn at approximately 10 mph, and as I applied the throttle to resume acceleration, the vehicle seemed to "stall." Engine was still running, but no response to throttle input for 2-3 seconds. This has happened twice, and my truck only has 30,000 miles

NHTSA ID

11752374

Incident

Jul 18, 2026

The contact owns a 2024 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the 4WD message was displayed and the 4H warning light illuminated before the screen went blank, and the rear wheels locked up, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and drive into a ditch. The vehicle came to a stop after driving into the ditch. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was winched out of the ditch and towed to a Collision Center. The contact stated that the drivetrain and the front end needed to be replaced, and the passenger’s side fender and driver’s side front fender were damaged, and the front driver’s side step was bent. No injuries were reported. The contact stated that the vehicle was involved in another crash in March 2026. The contact stated that while driving in the rain and coming to a stop, the screen displayed the message “Slippery”, and the vehicle shifted into 4H independently and the rear wheels locked up, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and the vehicle drove into a ditch. The vehicle came to a stop 20 feet away from the road in the ditch. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was not towed. The front bumper and the passenger’s and driver’s side fender wheel openings were damaged. No property damage was reported. The message “Slippery” was displayed, and the 4H warning light was illuminated. A Police report was not filed. No injuries were reported. The failure had occurred several times. The dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer prior to the crash; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was repaired by the insurance provider. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 3,000.

NHTSA ID

11751668

Incident

Jan 10, 2025

Mileage

3,000 mi

Several times while driving at highway speed, my vehicle transmission will shift all by itself into baha 4wd mode, or 4wd mode causing my truck to become a hazard on the road. Should someone be following me and my transmission implodes due to this issue, people could be seriously harmed or killed.

NHTSA ID

11751297

Incident

Jul 18, 2026

While driving, randomly and intermittently the vehicles drive mode will change on its own, usually requiring the driver to slow down to allow for a 4X4 shift, as called out by messages on the dash and an audible warning. This has happened multiple times and ford cannot replicate this issue. I was going to just replace the drive mode selection knob but as it turns out it's on national backorder.

NHTSA ID

11745023

Incident

Jun 13, 2026

Vehicle experienced unintended transmission gear change without driver input from the gear selector. While driving, the transmission shifted unexpectedly into 4H even though the selector was not touched. This created a safety hazard due to sudden change in vehicle behavior, including: loss of acceleration, lurching and unexpected movement. Issue occurred at approximately 30 mph. Concern is potential electronic transmission control or shift-by-wire malfunction causing unintended gear engagement.

NHTSA ID

11739691

Incident

May 23, 2026

The vehicle has had hard down shift at slow speeds. Sometimes so hard that i thought I got rearended when stopping. Sometimes you can feel it but not horrible, other times it's bad! I've been trying 6 months to get Coggin Ford to look at it and they keep putting me off.

NHTSA ID

11734739

Incident

Feb 10, 2025

My 2024 Ford Ranger XLT 2W has been suddenly losing power or stumbling upon initial acceleration. This has been occurring intermittently. My truck now has approximately 20,000 miles. The problem has become increasingly frequent. It seems to occur most often when accelerating from a complete stop. The loss of power can last for several seconds, then normal power is regained. Several times, the truck has lost power while making a left turn. It simply will not accelerate, and I find that I am stuck, unable to complete my turn and clear the oncoming traffic. I have taken my truck to a local dealer who attempted to diagnose the problem and they didn’t offer a solution since they were unable to reproduce the problem during their road test. It has happened many times since then and I am scheduled to return the vehicle to the same dealership to attempt to diagnose and fix the problem again soon. The problem seems to occur, regardless of which drive mode the truck is in and also occurs with Electronic Stability Control both enabled and disabled. There are no warning lights or check engine codes shown.

NHTSA ID

11731068

Incident

Apr 10, 2026

My 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor has been suddenly losing power or stumbling upon initial acceleration. This has been occurring intermittently since it was nearly new. My truck now has approximately 10,500 miles. The problem has become increasingly frequent. It seems to occur most often when accelerating from a complete stop. The loss of power can last for several seconds, then afterwards, normal power is regained. It poses a safety risk since it has nearly caused collisions. Several times, the truck has lost power while making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic. It simply will not accelerate, and I find that I am stuck, unable to complete my turn and clear the oncoming traffic. Once when accelerating away from a stoplight, the truck lost power, and I was nearly struck by following vehicle. I have taken my truck to a local dealer who attempted to diagnose the problem and they didn’t offer a solution since they were unable to reproduce the problem during their road test. It has happened many times since then and I am scheduled to return the vehicle to the same dealership to attempt to diagnose and fix the problem again soon. The problem seems to occur, regardless of which drive mode the truck is in and also occurs with Electronic Stability Control both enabled and disabled. There are no warning lights or check engine codes shown.

NHTSA ID

11728371

Incident

Sep 1, 2024

I am the original owner of this vehicle and the engine and controls have not been modified in any way. Yesterday while driving at approximately 30 mph on a surface street with dry road conditions in the “2H” setting on the Drive Modes Selection Dial my truck spontaneously shifted into four-wheel drive high and then attempted to switch into four-wheel-drive low – “Rock Crawl Mode.” The rear differential locked, speed was suddenly reduced, and the steering became more difficult. Luckily, I was able to safely pull over. I captured a video at this time documenting the control settings and display image. It took multiple attempts, even in Park and Neutral, to get out of 4WD and back into the 2H setting. Once back in 2H, the truck drove normally. I have had similar experiences at least twice before in this truck with months between them. In those cases, I wondered if I had accidentally bumped the dial control. I am certain that this was not the case yesterday, so this was a spontaneous event initiated by the truck’s computer and/or mechanical controls. I consider this to be a very serious safety hazard, as it dramatically and unexpectedly affected the speed and handling of my truck. I did some online searching today and found that multiple other Ranger Raptor owners have experienced this issue, suggesting that this may be a serious design flaw affecting multiple vehicles. I plan to schedule a service appointment with Ford and notify them directly of this problem and hazard.

NHTSA ID

11709682

Incident

Jan 7, 2026

Truck will shift into offroad modes unexpectedly. Will shift into these modes at highway speeds

NHTSA ID

11701809

Incident

Dec 31, 1969

The contact owns a 2024 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while reversing, the differential indicator independently moved, and there was an abnormal sound coming from the transmission. The abnormal sound could be heard for a short while, and then the sound dissipated. The contact stated the sound could be heard intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 4,200.

NHTSA ID

11695500

Incident

Nov 21, 2024

Mileage

4,200 mi