898 of the
10,502 complaints filed about the Ford Ranger
are about the transmission —
9% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2019.
898
Complaints
9%
Share of all complaints
52
Crashes
8
Fires
Transmission & Drivetrain complaints by model year
The drive mode randomly changes by itself while drive. When this occurs it can shift to 4 wheel drive will moving on dry pavement. This this not been checked out by the dealer because based on online forums others have the same issue and Ford can not reproduce or provide any fixes. I'm assuming there have been other complaints for this same issue reported to NHTSA. I'm adding a date for when this happened below, but it has happened at least six times since I have owned the truck online forums [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11757275 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle received and installed an over-the-air software update to the Body Control Module, identified on the vehicle screen as BCM-26.6.3 and associated with Safety Recall 26S29 (A-pillar/sun visor wiring, NHTSA 26V238000). The update screen displayed a status of "Not Completed." Since that update the vehicle will not start and is inoperative. Current condition: opening the driver door wakes the center infotainment screen only. The instrument cluster does not illuminate. Pressing the brake pedal produces no response - no cluster illumination, no warning lamps, no chimes, no messages, no crank. 12V power is present; the manufacturer's telematics app still reaches the vehicle and returns status. Symptoms are consistent with a Body Control Module that is powered but not communicating on the vehicle network. No warning lamps, messages, or symptoms were present before the update. The vehicle operated normally until the update was installed. Safety risk: the vehicle became immobile without warning immediately following installation of a manufacturer-pushed safety recall remedy. The transmission cannot be shifted electronically, requiring the manual park release to move or tow the vehicle. Had this occurred away from home or in a traffic lane, the vehicle would have been stranded and unable to move under its own power. The BCM also governs exterior lighting and hazard lamp function. Note: the update screen header displayed "25S29" while the body text referenced completing Safety Recall 26S29. The vehicle has a dealer-installed Ford Performance ProCal calibration. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the dealer or manufacturer. It is available for inspection upon request.
NHTSA complaint #11757184 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and shifting gear, the transmission shifted hard. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the transmission was operating as designed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recalls on the VIN associated with the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.
NHTSA complaint #11756983 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was traveling south on I-35 going up a long steep hill and my transmission started to hard shift and then I would lose power and when I would accelerate, I had no power it would just stall out so I merged to the right side in case I had to pull over because I thought the engine had died. When I reached my destination, I looked under my truck to discover fluid on the under carriage at that point I knew the transmission had blown a seal or a high-pressure hose. So, I left the truck there and the next day had it towed back to my house. There were times I had slowed down so much that traffic almost hit me.
NHTSA complaint #11756209 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
1. Transmission is going out dealership never said a word about the 6 recalls on it one being transmission 2. Front seat belts are in backwards and the child safety hook in back seat has a recall on it that the 3 of the 6 I know of Ford had told alm to replace the entire transmission before they ever sold it they did not do that they didn't take care of any of the recalls
NHTSA complaint #11756331 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hello, I have a 24-ford ranger raptor, this incident happened twice, I was driving approximately 60 MPH and vehicle on its own started changing drive modes. It switched itself to baja mode which is 4-wheel drive and very dangerous at these speeds. I took my truck to local ford dealer in Valencia Ca, Dealer stated no codes or issues found. This is deeply concerning to me; I Have family that also drives this vehicle. I have read online that other same vehicle owners are experiencing same symptoms and heavy concerns. Not sure where to go from here, any help or feedback would greatly appreciated. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11755976 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Auto transmission is failing to shift when taking off from a stop or hesitating to shift to next year causing traffic behind me to get close to rear bumper.
NHTSA complaint #11755076 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Transmission hard shifts in low gear and sometimes slips gears or revs up engine without accelerating then slams into gear lurching forward. Had transmission oil checked by dealer and they said it looked great. Happened 29 July several times and again 5 Aug all throughout the day.
NHTSA complaint #11755122 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was exiting the freeway, and as I was turning off of the freeway onto a side street, at approximately 20mph, my vehicle did not respond to throttle input, and left me slowing to a stop in the middle of a busy intersection. I had to shift my vehicle into neutral and then back into drive, to get it to respond to throttle input. When I slow down at intersections, turn and then attempt to throttle my vehicle, it hesitates and struggles to output power until I throttle about halfway.
NHTSA complaint #11754755 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving at 60 MPH Drive Mode Selector changed to Baja Mode and switched to 4WDHI. Had to stop and shut off truck to resume normal driving. While driving at 25-30 MPH in Normal Mode, Drive Mode changed to Rock Crawl Mode, engaged rear axel lock, and attempted to engage 4WD Low Range (several times). My local dealer Service Dept. is unaware of any other instances of this, although it appears to be fairly common according to posts on internet forums.
NHTSA complaint #11754162 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle changed it's drive mode on it's own without user interaction. The event happened while driving at 70MPH on the Interstate. Vehicle changed to the Baja drive mode by itself which also tries to change from 2H to 4H at speed. I was able to quickly move drive selector back to Normal drive mode before the 4H change occurred, but it also tried to change to the Rock Crawl mode which would result in a 4L mode. Severe damage to the drivetrain could have occurred and could also result in loss of control of vehicle if it was able to slam into 4H or 4L at speed. This type of behavior has been reported by many other drivers at the Ranger6G forum. [XXX] I will be scheduling a service appointment with my local dealer for inspection and documentation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11753943 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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.
Vehicle was placed into Ford’s Neutral Tow mode according to the owner’s manual before being recreationally towed behind a motorhome. The instrument cluster displayed Ford’s confirmation that Neutral Tow was enabled and the vehicle was ready for four-wheel-down towing. The transmission failure occurred during the second day of towing. After highway travel, the transmission severely overheated, expelled transmission fluid and lost all ability to move in forward or reverse. Diagnostic code P0218, transmission over-temperature, was present. Neutral Tow was no longer enabled when the vehicle was subsequently checked. The Ford dealer states that the vehicle does not retain logs confirming whether Neutral Tow was enabled or remained enabled. Ford’s GSB 22-7086 directs the dealer to inspect for transmission damage associated with the drivetrain being rotated during recreational towing. However, the resulting damage cannot establish whether the owner failed to activate Neutral Tow or whether Ford’s electronically controlled Neutral Tow system confirmed activation and later failed to maintain the required mechanical state. The fact that the vehicle was successfully towed during the first day before failing on the second day raises concern that the transfer case, shift-control system or related electronics may have lost or failed to maintain Neutral Tow after it had been successfully activated. There are other reported incidents involving Ford Ranger, F-150 and Bronco vehicles in which owners state that Neutral Tow was confirmed but the drivetrain subsequently re-engaged, overheated or suffered catastrophic transmission damage during recreational towing. This condition presents a safety risk because Ford’s system may display that the vehicle is ready and safe to tow while potentially failing to keep the drivetrain mechanically isolated. In this incident, extremely hot transmission fluid was expelled onto the vehicle, tow equipment and surrounding roadway, creating a poss
NHTSA complaint #11753520 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
1st I reported to Ford that when my truck was in park and off, it started rolling down a hill. I jumped in and stopped it. Ford said they see nothing and everything looks fine. Since then I use the emergency break every time. 2nd, you feel the transmission shifting hard. Jerks truck. Also, if you drive around 25 mph, the truck starts jerking like it cant make up its mind what gear to be in.
NHTSA complaint #11752783 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle went into BAJA Mode 4wd high then 4wd low range out of nowhere while driving. It shot me off the road , and ive been researching it. There is a 6 page thread about new rangers and ranger raptors doing this on 6G ranger forum, tons of people with the same issue. Super scary. Fear injury or fatality will happen from this as it shoots you hard off the road
NHTSA complaint #11752831 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2025 Ranger STX with 950 miles on odometer. When starting vehicle with transmission in park, a pronounced clunk/thump is heard and felt. The clunk/thump varies in intensity with the most intense episode resulting in the physical slight rearward movement of the truck. Symptom seems to be more prevalent when vehicle has been dormant for a few hours or overnight. Initially thought vehicle was going to lunge rearward by physical movement of truck. No warning lights were present with the event. Dealer appointment is scheduled later next week. vehicle is availabe for inspection upon request.
NHTSA complaint #11752830 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Making turn at approximately 10 mph, and as I applied the throttle to resume acceleration, the vehicle seemed to "stall." Engine was still running, but no response to throttle input for 2-3 seconds. This has happened twice, and my truck only has 30,000 miles
NHTSA complaint #11752374 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.