1997 Ford Ranger problems
NHTSA has received 536 complaints about the 1997 Ford Ranger, and 13% of them involve fuel system. After that come tires (12%) and brakes (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 536 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 13% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 43 and 10
- Injuries and deaths
- 49 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 140 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 8 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 14 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 26 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 14 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 22 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 19 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 14 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 5 |
What the data shows
Among the 140 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 100,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 103,000 miles (48 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 43 complaints mention a crash; 10 complaints mention a fire; 49 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 28 model years of the Ford Ranger with enough data (287 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Vehicle was stopped and rearended by another vehicle, driver's seat went backwards, hit daughter, knocked her face into back window; passenger's seat broke &passenger was swung into back window; seats stuck in reclining position. Also, no deployment of driver's air bag.
Vehicle was in a collision, it was hit from behind which made it hit another vehicle in the rear; and the airbag didn't deploy.
Bracket holding gas pedal detached from car sheet metal that is between engine and passenger compartment. Unit hanging by accelerator cable. There look to be 3 spot welds btn backet and sheet metal that broke. Driver was driving on freeway at the time and decelerated in traffic.
Tl*- the fuel leaks when the vehicle is completely refueled. The problem stems from the fuel filler assembly. The dealer said that the parts for the vehicle were not available. The contact was told he needed to bring the vehicle in to be looked at, and would be charged an $80 fee. The contact feels that this a safety issue and that the $80 fee is appropriate.