578 of the
10,502 complaints filed about the Ford Ranger
are about the throttle and cruise control —
6% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 1998.
578
Complaints
6%
Share of all complaints
74
Crashes
31
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
The 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission and the gear-shift linkage module are defective, and the truck remains available for inspection. Our safety is constantly put at risk because the transmission exhibits an extremely violent, highly intermittent powertrain lunging jolt during deceleration and stopping. The impact is so severe that it sounds and feels like a loud gunshot firing right next to the cabin occupants. Furthermore, the transmission simultaneously exhibits severe throttle hesitation and gear-skipping. This causes the vehicle to drop gears and completely fail to move when attempting to accelerate at busy stoplights, trapping us as a sitting duck in active traffic. Earlier in our timeline, the technician improperly reassembled the shift linkage, which caused the multi-ton vehicle to refuse to engage in Park and violently roll backward down a steep residential incline; an emergency parking brake deployment was required to prevent a catastrophic accident. The transmission defect was physically confirmed by [XXX] of Papillion, who verified scored, sticking fluid control valves inside the main control unit. Additionally, the hazard was officially confirmed by BBB AUTO LINE National Arbitrator Sharon Katt (Case XXX). The arbitrator officially signed a ruling certifying that our safety, use, and value concerns are completely valid, explicitly noting that the intermittent nature of this transmission failure does not minimize the extreme safety hazard. There were no warning lamps prior to the failure. The symptoms first appeared at ~49,000 miles. The dealer has since refused advanced diagnostics, executed an irrelevant radio reset instead, and willfully fabricated a fake service record on CARFAX on April 21, 2026, to force-close system safety alerts in their database. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11753464 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Several times while driving at highway speed, my vehicle transmission will shift all by itself into baha 4wd mode, or 4wd mode causing my truck to become a hazard on the road. Should someone be following me and my transmission implodes due to this issue, people could be seriously harmed or killed.
NHTSA complaint #11751297 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On multiple occasions while making a left or right turn and trying to accelerate, there is no input via the gas pedal. The truck will not accelerate at all. It takes a random amount of time before any throttle input is registered, which is usually followed by rapid acceleration.
NHTSA complaint #11749997 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On 6-7 separate occasions, my 2025 Ranger had a sudden and complete loss of accelerator response while slowing down to make a left turn. This also happens on occasion at traffic lights when the light turns and I attempt to turn left. The duration of loss of power has increased with each incident and is very frightening when it occurs. When attempting to accelerate across the road, there was no response or power from the engine to get me through traffic. On each occasions, the safety of everyone in my vehicle as well members of the public were at great risk. It is only by good luck that these engine failure incidents did not cause a serious crash. The local Ford dealer has been unable to identify the problem. Until and unless the Ford Dealer can replicate the problem, I am unable to get the problem resolved. In the meantime, I feel that I my life is at risk every time I drive my truck. There were no warnings from the vehicle about this loss of power and the randomness of this causes great fear when driving. The incident appears to be the same as Recall 26V343000, Loss of Drive Power from Engine Failure, which does not include my specific VIN.
NHTSA complaint #11744742 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Purchased this truck new and took on a trip over the weekend. Put on just under 800 miles no issues. This morning while driving to get my wondows tinted I noticed my truck flashing to apply brakes as it was trying to shift itself into 4wd low setting. Sure enough i looked over and the truck was switching drive modes when no one had touched it. Nothing in my cupholder either that could have accidentally bunped it either. I quickly pulled over and pressed the 2 wheel drive button and restarted the truck. I did a quick google search and found that others are having this issue too. I cant even imagine what damage it would have done to the vehicle or myself if it fully shifted over while driving at highway speeds.
NHTSA complaint #11744564 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Ford dealership completed repairs on my vehicle and returned it by parking it in front of my garage. I have a long driveway and additional parking and needed to park the vehicle somewhere else (maybe 20-30 feet away). I reversed the truck ~20 feet and when I tapped the gas lightly to turn the car left to pull into the parking space it accelerated rapidly. I pressed the brakes repeatedly and the car didn't stop and barely slowed down after noticing that continuing to turn the steering wheel to the left did nothing. I tried cutting the wheel and the tires seemed unresponsive and the vehicle didn't stop until it hit a small tree on the right side of the parking area. Upon trying to move the vehicle back to the original parking space the vehicle seemed to only allow steering to the right and hit a tree on the right passenger front door. The airbags, part of the service work previously completed from another recall, didn't deploy despite having an 85lb passenger in the vehicle. The dash flashed with many sensors when I initially tried to stop the vehicle when it was in drive. The vehicle is available for inspection. The safety of myself and my passenger were at risk. I was transported to the ER. The problem was not confirmed by anyone yet. The vehicle was inspected by police visually and damages documented in the police report. I have not spoken to the dealer as I'm now weary of their service center practices since this occurred the first time I drove the vehicle after they made the repairs for the passenger airbag and brake recalls.
NHTSA complaint #11741145 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2025 Ford Ranger Lariat FX4 has experienced sudden and complete loss of accelerator pedal response while driving at low speed on at least 4 to 6 separate occasions. The engine continues to run normally, but pressing the accelerator produces no power and no vehicle response. The condition has consistently occurred while pulling into my subdivision, which has an inclined entrance. The truck also feels noticeably sluggish nearly every time I make this turn, even when full dropout does not occur. No warning lights, check engine light, or messages in the instrument cluster illuminate during these events. No diagnostic trouble codes have been stored that I am aware of. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The symptoms closely match two active Ford recalls — 26S10 (EGR valve failure causing unexpected loss of drive power, stated by Ford to be most likely at speeds under 13 mph) and 25V-239 (PCM reset causing temporary loss of acceleration). My vehicle is not currently listed as included in either recall per Ford’s VIN lookup. Numerous owner reports on public Ford Ranger forums describe identical symptoms on 2024 and 2025 Ranger trucks, many of which are also not covered by the existing recalls and for which dealers have been unable to find stored codes. A sudden, unannounced loss of drive power at low speed on an incline or while turning into traffic represents a clear crash risk. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether the affected vehicle population should be expanded.
NHTSA complaint #11733498 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while idling at the red traffic light, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle was accelerating unintendedly. The contact continuously depressed the brake pedal; however, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly at approximately 1 MPH and crashed into the rear of another occupied vehicle. There was no injury sustained. The air bags did not deploy. No police report was filed. The contact and the other driver pulled into a gas station and exchanged the vehicle's insurance information. The contact stated that there was no visible damage on either vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer informed the contact that no failure was found. The contact noticed that the dealer service report stated that the contact had stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough shifting while idling; however, the contact had only described the incident to the dealer and had not mentioned rough shifting while idling. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact requested buy-back assistance. The manufacturer informed the contact that the buy-back request was denied because neither the State where the vehicle was purchased, nor the State where the contact resided, required the buyback of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact was advised to take the vehicle to another dealer for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
NHTSA complaint #11711247 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am the original owner of this vehicle and the engine and controls have not been modified in any way. Yesterday while driving at approximately 30 mph on a surface street with dry road conditions in the “2H” setting on the Drive Modes Selection Dial my truck spontaneously shifted into four-wheel drive high and then attempted to switch into four-wheel-drive low – “Rock Crawl Mode.” The rear differential locked, speed was suddenly reduced, and the steering became more difficult. Luckily, I was able to safely pull over. I captured a video at this time documenting the control settings and display image. It took multiple attempts, even in Park and Neutral, to get out of 4WD and back into the 2H setting. Once back in 2H, the truck drove normally. I have had similar experiences at least twice before in this truck with months between them. In those cases, I wondered if I had accidentally bumped the dial control. I am certain that this was not the case yesterday, so this was a spontaneous event initiated by the truck’s computer and/or mechanical controls. I consider this to be a very serious safety hazard, as it dramatically and unexpectedly affected the speed and handling of my truck. I did some online searching today and found that multiple other Ranger Raptor owners have experienced this issue, suggesting that this may be a serious design flaw affecting multiple vehicles. I plan to schedule a service appointment with Ford and notify them directly of this problem and hazard.
NHTSA complaint #11709682 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Truck looses gear when pulling into traffic. It will shift out of gear and only allow coasting. At speeds of 40 MPH and higher it will down shift causing dramatic reduced speed with no brake warning to other drivers behind. It will also randomly loose power. It will have delayed shifts squealing tires upon shifting and excessive jerking that is uncontrollable.
NHTSA complaint #11704234 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving my 2022 Ford Ranger, the transmission failed to engage Drive. I started my morning as usual, letting the vehicle warm up and the RPMs settle before leaving my neighborhood. As I pulled onto the main road, the truck began acting strangely—I noticed it wasn’t accelerating normally and felt constant gear shifting without gaining speed. To avoid blocking traffic, I pulled over at a local store and shifted into Park. When I tried to shift back into Drive, the transmission would not engage. Pressing the gas felt like the truck was in Neutral. I turned the vehicle off for about a minute and restarted it, but the same issue occurred. I then called my local dealer, who suggested using Sport mode and manually selecting gear 2. This worked, and I was able to drive home safely since I was only about a minute away. After that, I contacted the warranty company and arranged for a tow. Component/System: Transmission Safety Risk: Loss of acceleration on a main road created a risk of collision with other vehicles. Reproduced/Confirmed: UNKNOWN until December 15th if the issue has been reproduced or confirmed by the dealer. Inspection: Dealer is scheduled to inspect the vehicle on December 15. Warning Lamps/Messages: None appeared prior to the failure. None After. Until repairs are completed, I am without a vehicle and will only be reimbursed for a rental while repairs are worked on
NHTSA complaint #11702974 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Factory Driver's Side Floor Mat does not stay snapped in. This causes the Floor Mat to slide forward towards the pedals. This causes the Floor Mat to lodge underneath the accelerator pedal, which can cause an inability to accelerate. The Fllor Mat could also lodge undermeath the brake pedal, not allowing the full use of the brakes.
NHTSA complaint #11698045 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The head rest leans out so far at the top that my chin hits my chest. It doesn't matter if I try to lean the seat back of forth. Please evaluate the head rest as I believe it will cause serious injury as there is no back and forth adjustment. This can cause severe damage to the neck. You insisted on head rests for safety and I am very concerned about this. Also they are leaning the window so far back that with the sun out its impossible to see out with the reflections from the dash board showing in the window. The glare though the side drivers window is blocking me from seeing the odometer and gages. I really don't understand the use of so much computer that distracts drivers. If this is not your department send it to might be of assistance. I am talking about the 2025 ford ranger truck.
NHTSA complaint #11697252 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The truck randomly loses power, sometimes after rounding a corner, getting into turn lane, or over a speedbump the accelerator is dead for 1-2 seconds and the truck does not move forward. It has left me in a precarious position in the middle of the road with on coming traffic.
NHTSA complaint #11681991 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2021 Ford Ranger with 10R80 transmission showing following codes P0733 P0734 90,000 miles on truck. jerky and slipping gear change between 3-4 and 5-6 occasionally no drive. have service records showing my truck was maintained properly.
NHTSA complaint #11673377 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH in the driveway and depressing the brake pedal to make a turn, the vehicle lunged forward and accelerated unintendedly. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact continuously depressed the brake pedal until the vehicle responded as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a related recall. The contact stated while her husband was in the process of parking the vehicle in the driveway, the contact's husband depressed the accelerator pedal to drive forward, and the failure recurred, causing the vehicle to crash into two other unoccupied vehicles that were parked in the driveway. The air bags did not deploy. There was no injury sustained. No police report was filed. There was no property damage. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 11,055.
NHTSA complaint #11648177 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The ten-speed transmission "10R80" has Rough and harsh shifting, "upshifts and downshifts," which sometimes causes the vehicle to lunge forward unexpectedly. The dealer has reprogrammed the transmission twice with no change.
NHTSA complaint #11644508 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Date/Time: [XXX] Approximately 3:00PM local Weather: About 10F, light wind. No precipitation. Event Description: Vehicle had sat for > 12 hours. Started vehicle and operated wipers to clear snow. Vehicle was in 2WD; Shifted to “D” and began driving forward down driveway slowly; normal throttle response. Shifted from 2WD to 4WD. 4WD engaged, and there was normal throttle response. After driving for about 15 seconds, near end of driveway, removed foot from accelerator to slow to see if there was traffic. I saw that there was none and tried to accelerate. No throttle response; the vehicle came to a stop in the snow. Note: when I state “no throttle response”, I mean no engine revving; it was not simply that the drivetrain wasn’t sending engine power to the wheels, the engine wasn’t increasing throttle as I commanded. Momentarily surprised, I pressed harder to about 30% throttle, still no response. I removed my foot from the accelerator and applied the brake. As I did so, looked at the center console display. It was showing that it had lost connection with my phone (I had left it in the house) and it was trying to reconnect. At that moment I felt a slight “bump” of acceleration. The time between first noticing no throttle response and feeling the “bump” was about 3 seconds. I decided to go back for my phone (and I also didn’t want to get on the road with a wonky throttle) so I backed up to the house; normal throttle response. I retrieved my phone and everything operated normally after that. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11643926 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When turning on to another road and accelerating, engine will suddenly loose all power. releasing accelerator will regain some power until vehicle speed increases. Throttle control is often erratic and transmission shifting is inconsistent resulting in hard clunks during shift. Pulling into traffic with a sudden loss of power leaves me vulnerable to a collision.
NHTSA complaint #11636744 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2021 Ford Ranger - 10R80 Transmission Failure while driving. Hard shifting, lurching, slipping gears then abrupt failure. It is available. Currently at Diehl Ford in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. - It went from being 90% drivable to coming to complete stop with no transmission engagement at all. Break down occured while climbing a grade and the complete stop happened over a blind crest with guard rails on either side. Leaving myself vulnerable to being struck from behind and another driver having minimal time to see then avoid me or potentially have no where to go but through me. Can I add documents later as I get them?
NHTSA complaint #11609840 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.