2011 Ford Ranger problems
NHTSA has received 260 complaints about the 2011 Ford Ranger, and 76% of them involve air bags. After that come lighting (4%) and brakes (3%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 260 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 76% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 14 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 85 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 | 18 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 17 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 21 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 12 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 85 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 50,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 50,000 miles (35 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 14 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2011 ranks 15th most-complained-about out of 28 model years of the Ford Ranger with enough data (138 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.
My vehicle (1 )was involved in collision with another vehicle( 2) failing to yield at an intersection, the non-yielding vehicle(2) was sideswiped as I was not going to take him head on, the front end and side panels on the drivers side of vehicle (1) and the passenger side front and quarter panels received extensive damage from force of impact, driver, passenger, and side airbags failed to deploy upon impact causing injury to vehicle (1) occupants.
Driving 40 MPH down city street, straight, the vehicle in front of me, which I had 4 car length between him and me, stop fast, I put me brakes on and my truck was not responding. I putt both of my feet on the break peddle and it went to the floor and still no respond to the brakes. Well, my truck hit the truck in front and the front of the truck was all messed up, not able to drive it and transmission fluid leaking to the street.
I was driving on a straight road. The front wheel on drivers side fell off causing the truck to roll going airborne and landing upside down in a creek down a 20 ft embankment. The airbag was recalled and replaced at a local ford dealer. The airbag did not deploy. Last thing I remember was gently tapping my brake.
Traveling west on I-80 in nebraska, saw in my side view mirror blue smoke coming from my vehicle. Drove approx. 4 miles to a safe place to pull over at a reduced speed. Found that the fill plug for the transfer case was missing. Prior to this incident, I had already drove approx. 670 miles from oklahoma city oklahoma, that day. Dealer says the transfer case is "burned up" and that the repairs are not covered under ford's platinum warranty. Photos available upon request.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford ranger. When the vehicle was taken to be inspected, the inspector observed that the brake lamps failed to illuminate. The failure recurred continuously. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the multifunction switch failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: (exterior lighting). The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.