2025 Ford Ranger Owner Complaints

I have around 26000 miles on my 2025 Ford Ranger Lariat 2.7l V6. My drive mode has changed on its own multiple times without anyone touching the dial. Recently I was letting it idle to cool the cabin. I hopped in and heard some thunking and saw my drive mode change all the way to slippery mode. Nothing was touching the dial. It has also changed modes while I was exiting my driveway, leaving the Taco Bell drive-thru, and driving down the highway at about 50 MPH. It's scary to think I could be driving down the road and it automatically shifts into 4WD on its own. Sometimes I don't know it's in a different mode until the steering is hard to turn and the wheels chirp. Since then I have been able to trigger the drive mode changes by only pushing down the drive mode selector's bezel, not turning/twisting it. Pushing downwards on the bezel at or just below the 2H label can trigger the drive mode change for me. It's very inconsistent and won't trigger very often. But I was able capture a video of it in case someone is interested. [XXX] No modifications, No Forscan alterations, Happens before and after installing a ford performance tune Before me capturing it on video, I asked the dealer (Sunset Ford [XXX]) about getting it fixed. They told me if they cant reproduce it, then they cant do anything for me and I would be charged for the diagnosis and a car rental. My vehicle is still under factory warranty. Since I created the video I sent it to them and I had to call them multiple times to get them to look at it. I have an appt on XXX, we'll see what happens. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11765304

Incident

Sep 1, 2026

When I'm driving in standard mode on the highway the truck software will change to different drive modes on it own. I do not touch anything and it will try to change to crawl mode or 4 wheel low mode even going 65MPH on the freeway. One time it changed on the freeway going 65mph and switch to 4 wheel low and the tach raced up to 8K even though I had slowed down to 25mph. I had to turn the vehicle on and off to correct the issue. This is dangerous.

NHTSA ID

11764965

Incident

Sep 16, 2026

Brake fault warning light stays on. It will not reset and 2 different Ford dealers cannot figure out the problem. The dealerships cannot determine if the brakes are malfunctioning. The problem forst occured May 2026.

NHTSA ID

11763760

Incident

May 15, 2026

Yes this is my second time filing a complaint regarding my new truck switching drive modes on its own. The first time it tried going into 4 low while i was going over 45 mph, with only 800 miles. The next time it did it was at around 1200 miles it switched drive modes completely and tried switching into 4 wd while at hoghway speeds. This is clearly a safety issue, their are numerous threads on reddit, facebook and ranger forums regarding it. Ford cannot replicate so they dont fix, what will it take one of us getting killed before we get a recall for whatever part or module is broken.

NHTSA ID

11763583

Incident

Sep 4, 2026

2025 Ford Ranger XLT experienced an electrical short-circuit causing a persistent speaker hiss with the vehicle turned off, accompanied by an electrical burning smell. The radio and audio became very staticky and a constant hissing sound with the radio and the truck turned off. By the time the dealer looked at the vehicle it was operating normally. Dealership refused to inspect wiring or ACM due to intermittent nature of the failure.

NHTSA ID

11761748

Incident

Aug 28, 2026

I am not a mechanic or a 'car person', so I may not know technical terms. This has occurred 4-6 times since purchasing the truck in March '26. After initial start up, it has a tendency to accelerate when applying the break. This is only within the first several minutes after startup. The most recent incident caused the truck to "roll" into the main street rather than coming to a complete stop. I was applying the break, but the truck was 'resisting' to come to a complete stop. The local Ford mechanic found this to be "undesirable, but normal characteristic". The situation that is occurring is anything BUT normal. The Ford dealer was able to replicate the situation, but deemed it to be "no further instructions on fixes or issues related to this concern and no further action can be perfomed" The truck is available for inspection. This is a major safety issue as I was unable to stop the truck before entering the main road. Yes, the truck was inspected by the dealer. There were no warning messages

NHTSA ID

11759914

Incident

Aug 18, 2026

Vehicle received and installed an over-the-air software update to the Body Control Module, identified on the vehicle screen as BCM-26.6.3 and associated with Safety Recall 26S29 (A-pillar/sun visor wiring, NHTSA 26V238000). The update screen displayed a status of "Not Completed." Since that update the vehicle will not start and is inoperative. Current condition: opening the driver door wakes the center infotainment screen only. The instrument cluster does not illuminate. Pressing the brake pedal produces no response - no cluster illumination, no warning lamps, no chimes, no messages, no crank. 12V power is present; the manufacturer's telematics app still reaches the vehicle and returns status. Symptoms are consistent with a Body Control Module that is powered but not communicating on the vehicle network. No warning lamps, messages, or symptoms were present before the update. The vehicle operated normally until the update was installed. Safety risk: the vehicle became immobile without warning immediately following installation of a manufacturer-pushed safety recall remedy. The transmission cannot be shifted electronically, requiring the manual park release to move or tow the vehicle. Had this occurred away from home or in a traffic lane, the vehicle would have been stranded and unable to move under its own power. The BCM also governs exterior lighting and hazard lamp function. Note: the update screen header displayed "25S29" while the body text referenced completing Safety Recall 26S29. The vehicle has a dealer-installed Ford Performance ProCal calibration. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the dealer or manufacturer. It is available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA ID

11757184

Incident

Aug 15, 2026

Truck is randomly switching to Baja mode which engages the 4wheel drive making steering difficult

NHTSA ID

11755760

Incident

Aug 7, 2026

I was exiting the freeway, and as I was turning off of the freeway onto a side street, at approximately 20mph, my vehicle did not respond to throttle input, and left me slowing to a stop in the middle of a busy intersection. I had to shift my vehicle into neutral and then back into drive, to get it to respond to throttle input. When I slow down at intersections, turn and then attempt to throttle my vehicle, it hesitates and struggles to output power until I throttle about halfway.

NHTSA ID

11754755

Incident

Mar 1, 2026

No incident occurred. This is to report a safety issue related to the activation of the rear view camera while driving forward. There are times when a vehicle (automobile/motorcycle) may be following closely, and the rear view mirrors are inadequate to see the following vehicle clearly. If the rear view camera is activated, the image projected by the camera is obscurred by a message stating "Full View Not Available". There appears to be no way to remove this message so that the image in not obsurred. See attached photo.

NHTSA ID

11753447

Incident

Jul 29, 2026

2025 Ranger STX with 950 miles on odometer. When starting vehicle with transmission in park, a pronounced clunk/thump is heard and felt. The clunk/thump varies in intensity with the most intense episode resulting in the physical slight rearward movement of the truck. Symptom seems to be more prevalent when vehicle has been dormant for a few hours or overnight. Initially thought vehicle was going to lunge rearward by physical movement of truck. No warning lights were present with the event. Dealer appointment is scheduled later next week. vehicle is availabe for inspection upon request.

NHTSA ID

11752830

Incident

Jul 13, 2026

Rear view camera has significant delay, lag, or stutter at times, in reverse, more noticeably at faster that idle reverse speeds.

NHTSA ID

11751384

Incident

Nov 30, 2025

I believe this is a transmission problem; however, not sure if it could be program related. The main safety issue is after taking off from a stop, the truck just stopped accelerating and hesitated, as if though it got "stuck" trying to change gears. This issue has happened a few times, once with my Wife in the truck, who looked at me like what the heck was I doing. This definitely creates a situation for a rear impact collision if the person behind you didn't hit the brakes soon enough. The transmission also seems to "clunk" real hard at times when coming to a stop, as if though it is switching gears from say 4th down to 1st, skipping 3rd and 2nd gears. I did report this to Kendall Ford of Eugene and they said it shifts just the same as all of the other Rangers with this same transmission. I received no warning lamps, symptoms, or messages.

NHTSA ID

11750277

Incident

Jul 11, 2026

While driving at highway speeds vehicle changes the drive mode at random. Even attempting to go into 4 low at high speeds. If the vehicle is able to change into 4 low at high speeds this could send the vehicle into uncontrollable lock down to the drive train and potently creating uncontrollable spin out. Car has been at the dealership for this issue, but they cannot find any problems or able to replicate the issue.

NHTSA ID

11744966

Incident

May 21, 2026

On 6-7 separate occasions, my 2025 Ranger had a sudden and complete loss of accelerator response while slowing down to make a left turn. This also happens on occasion at traffic lights when the light turns and I attempt to turn left. The duration of loss of power has increased with each incident and is very frightening when it occurs. When attempting to accelerate across the road, there was no response or power from the engine to get me through traffic. On each occasions, the safety of everyone in my vehicle as well members of the public were at great risk. It is only by good luck that these engine failure incidents did not cause a serious crash. The local Ford dealer has been unable to identify the problem. Until and unless the Ford Dealer can replicate the problem, I am unable to get the problem resolved. In the meantime, I feel that I my life is at risk every time I drive my truck. There were no warnings from the vehicle about this loss of power and the randomness of this causes great fear when driving. The incident appears to be the same as Recall 26V343000, Loss of Drive Power from Engine Failure, which does not include my specific VIN.

NHTSA ID

11744742

Incident

Apr 10, 2026

Purchased this truck new and took on a trip over the weekend. Put on just under 800 miles no issues. This morning while driving to get my wondows tinted I noticed my truck flashing to apply brakes as it was trying to shift itself into 4wd low setting. Sure enough i looked over and the truck was switching drive modes when no one had touched it. Nothing in my cupholder either that could have accidentally bunped it either. I quickly pulled over and pressed the 2 wheel drive button and restarted the truck. I did a quick google search and found that others are having this issue too. I cant even imagine what damage it would have done to the vehicle or myself if it fully shifted over while driving at highway speeds.

NHTSA ID

11744564

Incident

Jun 16, 2026

My Ford Ranger is on a safety recall. They sold it to us on May 9,2025 then kept the truck. June 1 they told use the recall issue was solved. We were not given documents on this. We are now seeing the parts needed are not available until the end of June. A Fedaral and State law was broken in selling us a vehicle on a safety recall. We were not aware of this issue until we research the recall. I am so frustrated. We lost a month of use of this vehicle In waiting. So frustrated.

NHTSA ID

11742182

Incident

May 9, 2026

The Ford dealership completed repairs on my vehicle and returned it by parking it in front of my garage. I have a long driveway and additional parking and needed to park the vehicle somewhere else (maybe 20-30 feet away). I reversed the truck ~20 feet and when I tapped the gas lightly to turn the car left to pull into the parking space it accelerated rapidly. I pressed the brakes repeatedly and the car didn't stop and barely slowed down after noticing that continuing to turn the steering wheel to the left did nothing. I tried cutting the wheel and the tires seemed unresponsive and the vehicle didn't stop until it hit a small tree on the right side of the parking area. Upon trying to move the vehicle back to the original parking space the vehicle seemed to only allow steering to the right and hit a tree on the right passenger front door. The airbags, part of the service work previously completed from another recall, didn't deploy despite having an 85lb passenger in the vehicle. The dash flashed with many sensors when I initially tried to stop the vehicle when it was in drive. The vehicle is available for inspection. The safety of myself and my passenger were at risk. I was transported to the ER. The problem was not confirmed by anyone yet. The vehicle was inspected by police visually and damages documented in the police report. I have not spoken to the dealer as I'm now weary of their service center practices since this occurred the first time I drove the vehicle after they made the repairs for the passenger airbag and brake recalls.

NHTSA ID

11741145

Incident

Apr 13, 2026

When using the rear camera while towing a trailer, the image is partially blocked by a persistent message stating “full view not available”. This creates a safety issue as it obscures the driver’s view of the trailer and/or the trailer load. It is critical to be able to monitor the trailer and the load during towing to ensure a hazardous condition is not developing. I believe the rear view camera is working as designed, that is I do not believe there is a defect or failure in the hardware. However the design of the message is the problem. If the driver needs to know that “full view not available” then the message should be moved to a different part of the screen to not obscure the view of the trailer.

NHTSA ID

11739677

Incident

May 14, 2026

Newly purchased truck, less than 3 weeks old, with 987 miles. A few blocks from my home, the driver's side front control arm broke while going over a speed bump at approximately 4 miles per hour. The vehicle was towed to Walker Ford in Clearwater, Florida. Notes on the repair order stated that it looks like the control did not cure all the way, leading to the weakness. The vehicle was repaired. The tire was hanging off the vehicle, and hopefully did not damage any other components. The dealership stated that Ford requested the part back for inspection.

NHTSA ID

11738798

Incident

Mar 10, 2026

Complete power loss from transmission. Yes available for inspection. Power loss was experienced on at least 4 separate occasions. This occurred during either slowing down or stopping to make a left hand turn while yielding to oncoming traffic. When re-engaging the accelerator to get across oncoming traffic zero power transfer occurred putting my self, my passengers, and the oncoming vehicles and passengers at risk for a head on or Tbone collision. The loss of power has not been replicated but a ford dealership did note high pitched transmission whine and hard shifting when during deceleration during inspection. Inspected by authorized ford dealer. No lights or warnings present, prior to, during, or after incidents.

NHTSA ID

11736073

Incident

Apr 20, 2026

Coolant hose on bypass valve came off. Dumped coolant and engine overheated. Tech said it just came off, service advisor said I “hit a bump”.

NHTSA ID

11734992

Incident

Apr 24, 2026

Became aware of open recalls circa 09.2025, and requested the parts be ordered at Ford Auto Nation (FAN) Panama City, FL. Was told by John, dealership would call when parts became available. Parts have not either been available and/or there have been no calls. Calling the dealer is ludicrous as all calls are answered by an incompetent call center. Dropped by the dealership today 04/25/2026, and Taylor could not book a service appointment, did not know if parts to fix recalls were available for my vehicle, and said I would need to speak with John whom was off today. It appears that Ford/FAN-PC is not interested in safety or repairing my vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11733759

Incident

Sep 10, 2025

My 2025 Ford Ranger Lariat FX4 has experienced sudden and complete loss of accelerator pedal response while driving at low speed on at least 4 to 6 separate occasions. The engine continues to run normally, but pressing the accelerator produces no power and no vehicle response. The condition has consistently occurred while pulling into my subdivision, which has an inclined entrance. The truck also feels noticeably sluggish nearly every time I make this turn, even when full dropout does not occur. No warning lights, check engine light, or messages in the instrument cluster illuminate during these events. No diagnostic trouble codes have been stored that I am aware of. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The symptoms closely match two active Ford recalls — 26S10 (EGR valve failure causing unexpected loss of drive power, stated by Ford to be most likely at speeds under 13 mph) and 25V-239 (PCM reset causing temporary loss of acceleration). My vehicle is not currently listed as included in either recall per Ford’s VIN lookup. Numerous owner reports on public Ford Ranger forums describe identical symptoms on 2024 and 2025 Ranger trucks, many of which are also not covered by the existing recalls and for which dealers have been unable to find stored codes. A sudden, unannounced loss of drive power at low speed on an incline or while turning into traffic represents a clear crash risk. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether the affected vehicle population should be expanded.

NHTSA ID

11733498

Incident

Apr 24, 2026

When i move my foot from the gas to the brake several times the shoe has caught the plastic trim above the gas pedal, and several times it has also caught the plastic trim piece on the right side of the gas pedal. This has kept me from braking quickly because the shoe gets stuck on the trim and i have to move the shoe away from me and down towards the gas pedal, and then keep it lower while i move it over to the brake pedal. Very unsafe and possible accident causing design.

NHTSA ID

11726015

Incident

Nov 1, 2025