FORD Ranger Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

Transmission is awful jerky, jumps in and out of gear, causing engine rpm’s to go really high. Shifts erratically, causing me to almost rear end other vehicles. Very dangerous situations a many occasions. Won’t accelerate at times when pulling out in to traffic, causing other drivers to slow down or get in to another lane suddenly. This has happened on many occasions

Truck was shifting weird the day before incident got really bad. The next day on the way home from my newborns dr appointment it began shuddering really badly and would make a loud thud noise when shifting so I had to pull off to the side of the road. There was never a warning lamp or message prior. I took the truck to a reputable transmission shop and they found the issue to be the CDF drum that had shifted out of place. CDF drum and valve body was replaced. Truck had just over 35000 miles at time of repair. I can provide receipt from shop if needed. While speaking to the mechanic at the shop he informed me that this is a common occurrence for these 10 speed transmissions and there was another vehicle there for the same issue

In May of 2025, the transmision of my 2020 Ford Ranger with 35,000 miles jolted and bucked expectadly at traffic lights, I had full loss of engagement of the transmission several times, engine would rev to 4000rpm and no transmission enagement. These issues happened while at traffic stops and while driving in normal conditions. This presented on one occasion with powertrain warning light and the truck going into "limp" mode. This then reverted to no light but the issues continued, with inconsistent jolts, unable to gain speed. The jolting was abrupt and truck "leapt" forward at speed. During loss of power incidents, I was left with no ability to accelerate away from road hazards. This would have been extemely dangerous if I were turning across traffic. Ford refused to acknowledge any issues. An independent mechanic diagnosed this as a full transmission failure.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving, at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to shift hard when downshifting and upshifting. The vehicle jerked. The vehicle went into limp mode. There was a reduction of power. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The local dealer was contacted regarding parts, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was approximately 91,955.

Bought 2020 Ford Ranger Lariat in March 2024 with 13k miles. I have had no issues and have kept up maintenance needed. Vehicle currently has 19,128 miles and on 4/17/26 while driving the vehicle lost power. I was able to pull over and immediately called the dealership where vehicle was purchased and had towed to their facility for diagnosis. There we no warning lights prior to losing power. The dealership informed me a new transmission is needed pulling codes P0751 and P2700. The cost they informed me for replacement was $10k +/= indicating the Power Train warranty had expired in 2025. (5 yr/60,000) I find this appalling that at 19k I am responsible to replace something that has clearly had issues in past. Their only option was to replace transmission or they could take apart and overhaul to fix the codes which could be cheaper but also may result in transmission replacement anyways which will cost more in long run.

Clicking sound coming from under the dash. I traced it to the blend door assy. Defrost intermittently will disengage. Vehicle has 29,600 miles on it

The cylinder #1 spark plug ignition coil. Check engine light came on and the vehicle began to vibrate while traveling 70 mph. The last 30 miles of the drive on an interstate required no speed higher than 50 to prevent the vibrations. Per the independent service center, Ford has issued guidance that water could enter this compartment and rust the part. A repair costing 847.00 was completed by the mechanic, verifying it was completely rusted. Flashing check engine light came on and then steady light.

Back up camera intermittently fails to operate giving a squiggly picture or a blank black screen. I have seen many articles involving the same issues with Ford Broncos and where recalls have been issued for those vehicles. When will the NTSB be calling for Ford to recall other vehicles models having the same issues?

2020 Ford Ranger XL: Total failure of both rear leaf spring assemblies (detached from bushing). Discovered during routine maintenance at approximately 47K miles. Both rear leaf spring assemblies failed in the same location where spring meets the bushing at fwd spring attachment leaving the rear of the truck supported by the rear shock assemblies only. Technician assessment showed no damage to associated rear suspension components, minimal corrosion, and no sign of collision or impact causing failure - suspect latent manufacturing defect in original OEM part as OEM has since updated original part number. Local ford service center indicated that this is a known issue however no current recall or extended warranty covered by OEM. I am in possession of all failed parts. Happy to provide info or failed parts upon request for further analysis.

Truck shifts from 1st to 3rd, hard shifting in 4th through 10th gears.

My 10 speed 10r80 transmission is failing and dangerous. Besides slipping bucking and delaying shifting it now revs up without moving. I've almost been hit more than 6 times. My ford dealer changed the fluid road tested and normal all that I'm complaining about is normal.

Purchased used in 2024 with 44,000 miles. Transmission issues began at 79,000 miles. Hard shifting, slipping and then lurching when it goes in gear. Diagnosed after transmission service ($600) as a factory defect in the 10 speed transmission. Ford has issued Service Bulletins defining and outlining the issue but has offered no assistance in rectifying and repairing. Since so many vehicles are affected there should be a recall. I understand that in Canada a class action lawsuit has been initiated.

I bought my 2020 Ford Ranger preowned with around 64k miles on it. After having owned it for about 6 months or so, I started to notice lots of problems with the transmission. After first noticing it, the problems persisted for a couple more months until I finally decided to address it. The problems were very characteristic of transmission slippage, and they got progressively worse week by week, which it what ultimately prompted me to address it. When accelerating and shifting through the lower gears (15-30 MPHs, approximately), the shift would be delayed and lag a couple seconds. This would often cause stalling in the acceleration, particularly when going from a stop to a start, such as through traffic lights. There were also very rough and aggressive shifts at higher gears when driving on the highway. It would feel like rough jolts that would rock the truck a little. Also transitioning the truck into reverse often caused serious jolts as the transmission shifted very aggressively. Eventually, I took my truck into an AMCO transmission shop for inspection. They confirmed that my transmission was damaged and needed replaced. This was at about 86k miles. I took the truck into a Ford dealership to get a second opinion and they also confirmed my transmission needed replaced. I went ahead and had the transmission replaced at that point. The replacement was done with the truck at 86k miles. The Ford dealership replaced the 10R80 transmission with a re-manufactured 10R80. It has now been about 8k miles and 9 months since the transmission was replaced, and the re-manufactured transmission is starting to experience similar problems. Mostly with a lag when shifting in lower gears and hard jolts when placing it in reverse. The problems are not as bad as the original transmission before I had it replaced, but some still remain. There were no warning lamps or messages with this problem. Ford's 10R80 transmission is notorious for failing and being a safety problem to the public.