2004 Ford Ranger problems and complaints

Owners have filed 404 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Ford Ranger. The most-reported areas: Air Bags (189), Structure (46), Suspension (29).

Key takeaways

  • 404 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 42 involve a crash, 3 a fire, 35 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Air Bags18947%
Structure4611%
Suspension297%
Power Train277%
Service Brakes236%
Vehicle Speed Control195%
Hydraulic195%
Tires174%
Engine And Engine Cooling174%
Electrical System164%
Fuel System164%
Unknown Or Other133%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2004 Ford Ranger Regular CabNot ratedNot ratedNot ratedNot rated
2004 Ford Ranger SupercabNot ratedNot ratedNot ratedNot rated

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Tires - filed 2026-03-10

After driving for 45 minutes on smooth highway, my front driver's side tire blew while I was going 75mph. Had I been closer to the vehicle I had just passed, there could have easily been a bad wreck as I had little control of the vehicle. I was fortunately able to pull over and slam on my brakes safely. The tires have ...

Unknown Or Other - filed 2025-11-19

since 2020 i have owned this ford ranger edge and have replaced drivers side exterior door handle 4 times, interior drivers side door handle 2 times and exterior passenger door handle 2 times. they keep breaking at the clip on the left side. It has been so bad that i actually had drivers side interior and exterior door...

Air Bags - filed 2025-11-19

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving on the highway in rainy weather at 60 MPH, she lost control of the vehicle and drove off the road. The contact stated that she could not recount what happened moments after she drove off the road; she did recall that she pulled up to a stop sign...

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More for the 2004 Ford Ranger

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.