2005 Ford Ranger problems
NHTSA has received 353 complaints about the 2005 Ford Ranger, and 37% of them involve air bags. After that come fuel system (14%) and body & structure (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 353 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 37% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 29 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 29 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 59,000 miles 206 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 | 35 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 24 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 51 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 31 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 14 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 11 |
What the data shows
Among the 206 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 58,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 84,000 miles (26 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 29 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 29 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 18th most-complained-about out of 28 model years of the Ford Ranger with enough data (92 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 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.
I am the owner of a 2005 ford ranger there was a problem with the transmission. It was taken to the dealer after approximately 5 days we were able to pick the ford up and the transmission was replaced. Shortly after this the vehicle started to shut down while driving for no apparent reason .during one of these times it shut down I was rear ended,it was taken back to the dealer was there for 3 days, and they said there was nothing wrong with the vehicle as they could not duplicate the problem the dealer informed me…
Purchase vehicle july 2005, vehicle never had a good pull to it and I thought it was the way the truck just pulled until may 2006 when I was hit from behind by a ford explorer, my truck got worse. In june 2007 engine light came on wouldn't go off. Gas cap light came on wouldn't go off. Tried to tighten cap, lights still haven't went off.
The contact owned a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle struck the rear of another vehicle causing a fender bender. The contact stated that the front air bags deployed, and a powdery substance and metal fragments flew out of the air bag and landed on the contact. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was required. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and deemed a total loss.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 2 MPH in reverse, the vehicle nearly struck a pedestrian due to the seat backs of both the driver and passenger seats blocking out most of the visibility through the rear window. A service dealer was consulted, who instructed the contact to contact the manufacturer.