1998 Ford Ranger problems
NHTSA has received 744 complaints about the 1998 Ford Ranger, and 20% of them involve tires. After that come cruise control (10%) and brakes (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 744 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Tires 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 85 and 38
- Injuries and deaths
- 44 and 7
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 146 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 | 7 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 13 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 25 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 17 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 16 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 17 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 12 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 7 |
What the data shows
Among the 146 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 100,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 85 complaints mention a crash; 38 complaints mention a fire; 44 injuries reported; 7 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 28 model years of the Ford Ranger with enough data (445 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
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.
Consumer's son was killed when airbags failed to deploy. Vehicle was going 45 MPH and hit a tree on the passenger's side. Also, fire broke out, and vehicle was totaled.
Dt: the consumer stated on july 10, 2003 there was a fatal roll over. The tires separated and the vehicle rolled over and blew out. According to consumer's investigation there was a problem with the fuel on the cruise control switch. This vehicle was a 1998, ford, ranger. The highway patrol came to the scene and issued a report. It was consumer's cousin vehicle. The tread came off from rear driver's side tire. Consumer thought the vehicle rolled over three times.
On july 10, 2003 my cousin's 1998 ford rangers left rear tire peeled apart, causing the truck to flip and blow-up. There was no warning, what-so-ever. My cousin and a passenger were both killed. The rear tires were cooper discoverer h/t tires. A tire expert later determined that this tire had both a manufacturing and design defect. The family attempted to mitigated this tragic event by contacting cooper tire & rubber company directly. Cooper tire company offered no defense, nothing. We are now in litigation.
The rear frame completely rusted off between the rear spring shackles and rear bumper, the spare tire mount if almost completely rusted away, and the gas tank cross member is also nearly rusted away,1/2 is missing on the passenger side. The rear springs detached when the shackled rusted away. The vehicle was stationary
"frame recall ? " while driving frame broke in half, both sides. Since owning I have replaced leaf spring and shock bracket,and also removed spare tire bracket before it fell off in roadway. This needs to be addressed before someone gets killed!!!