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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
77,511 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Ford Ranger steering problems

steering problem

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2003 Ford Ranger Owner Comments

problem #5

Oct 232017

Ranger

  • 155,680 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was recently an accident during which 3 things occurred that contributed to my injuries. The first thing that happened was steering wheel lockup preventing me from turning out of the way. The 2nd & 3rd things occurred when the truck was in free fall. First of all the seatbelt failed to restrained my body during the accident sending me straight into the steering wheel during which time the air bag failed to deploy. So there was nothing to brake my impact to said steering wheel. All of the this took place on a freeway at high speeds I was lucky that my injuries were not worse then they are and in time they will heal. I was lucky, but the next person may not be so, you need to look into this matter thoroughly because the next person may die as a result of these safety failures, and that is something none us want.

- Spring Valley, CA, USA

problem #4

Mar 232016

Ranger

  • 277 miles
Carquest water pump new 18420011 (T4188) complete failure after 100 miles. A new water pump was installed onto a 2003 Ford Ranger V6 3.0 VIN-V truck. He vehicle was driven between 25 - 60 mph off and on for approximately 1 week totaling about 100 miles. Under normal driving conditions (30-35 mph) and with slight acceleration, the bearing housing sheared off from the water pump body launching the cooling fan/clutch into the radiator. Power steering failed (no drive belt) and the cooling system dumped it's contents. The body of the pump is still intact to the vehicle, but the rest of it came off. Upon inspection of an identical part from the same store, there is an apparent casting color difference on the pump. It appears that there is a casting defect present in the pump and the installed pump broke almost perfectly aligned to the casting color differentiation.

- Troy, OH, USA

problem #3

Dec 232015

Ranger

  • 109,000 miles
"takata recall" driving home on Dec 23, 2015 and turning in my driveway something in the steering column on rhe drivers side of fire wall let go and there was no way to control the steering. The steering wheel would just spin around. Very scarey but no accident.

- Rustburg, VA, USA

problem #2

Sep 032014

Ranger

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owned a 2003 Ford Ranger. While driving approximately 50 mph, the steering wheel became extremely loose and failed to operate. The contact crashed the vehicle into a barricade. The air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a broken jaw, three broken ribs, and his spine was injured, which required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

- Galveston , TX, USA

problem #1

Feb 122005

Ranger 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 22,600 miles
2003 Ford Ranger [xxx] I was driving home from work at night. It was raining lightly. I was driving between 30 and 35 mph. I hit a pothole with my left front wheel. I lost control of my vehicle and was not able to regain control. After swerving back and forth a few times my vehicle struck a light pole and stopped. The police officer, my coworker who stopped to see if I was ok and I were able to locate the pothole. It was big but not huge, maybe 16" in diameter and 6 to 7 inches deep at its deepest point. The repair shop called me a few days later and reported that the impact with the pothole had broken the rack and pinion steering system on my vehicle. My insurance company agreed to pay for repairs estimated at $7591. The repair shop has begun work. They were not able to retain the steering box because Ford needed it as a core. I contacted Ford. They only replied that they are very busy and will get back to me. It has been more than two weeks. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Lincoln, NE, USA

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