2004 Ford Ranger problems
NHTSA has received 463 complaints about the 2004 Ford Ranger, and 41% of them involve air bags. After that come body & structure (10%) and suspension (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 463 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 41% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 47 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 42 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 67,000 miles 260 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 | 40 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 41 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 20 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 50 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 36 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 23 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 12 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 19 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 9 |
What the data shows
Among the 260 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 67,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 89,000 miles (49 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 47 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 42 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 28 model years of the Ford Ranger with enough data (144 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 10 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.
Dt: the contact owns a 2004 ford ranger edge. The contact stated he has been having brake problems with this vehicle. While driving at 65 MPH and applying the brakes the vehicle would not stop. The pedal had a spongy feel when it was pressed down. The service dealer replaced the cap on the reservoir to the master cylinder. This did not remedy the problem. Then, the dealership replaced the reservoir, this still did not remedy the problem.
Consumer's wife was driving up a hill in arizona at 70-75 MPH and heard a noise coming from the rear tire. Later, discovered that driver's side rear tires tread came off. This caused the vehicle to skid and flip over. Both consumer and wife sustained injuries.
While driving 45 MPH vehicle suddenly accelerated. Consumer applied both feet to the brake pedal and vehicle continued to accelerate, causing the vehicle to hit an embankment and roll over more than twice. Driver and passenger sustained neck and back injuries and were transported by ambulance to the hospital. Vehicle was totaled out by the insurance company. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford ranger. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 14v787000 (air bags) and 14v343000 (air bags) however, the parts needed to repair the vehicle were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue.
I purchased this 2004 ford ranger this past winter in hopes to pull my boat to the lake with it. Yesterday. I pulled my small bass boat to lake chickamauga and back which is about a 40 minute drive. It was a straight drive on a highway only going 50 MPH. When I got back my hitch, bumper and all was hanging. The frame is so rusted it broke in half.