1998 FORD RANGER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 496 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL (63 complaints · 12.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 56
  • Fires 28
  • Injuries 34
  • Deaths 5
Compare with 1997 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL appears in 63 of 496 owner complaints (12.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 63 complaints, 12.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 63 · 12.7% · 7 crash reports 7 fire reports TIRES: 53 complaints, 10.7% of reports TIRES 53 · 10.7% · 3 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 52 complaints, 10.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 52 · 10.5% · 5 crash reports 2 fire reports ENGINE: 44 complaints, 8.9% of reports ENGINE 44 · 8.9% · 5 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 44 complaints, 8.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 44 · 8.9% · 8 crash reports SUSPENSION: 36 complaints, 7.3% of reports SUSPENSION 36 · 7.3% STRUCTURE: 33 complaints, 6.7% of reports STRUCTURE 33 · 6.7% AIR BAGS: 30 complaints, 6.1% of reports AIR BAGS 30 · 6.1% · 24 crash reports 3 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 22 complaints, 4.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 22 · 4.4% · 7 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 355 complaints, 71.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 355 · 71.6% · 42 crash reports 13 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 63 12.7% 7 crashes · 7 fires
TIRES 53 10.7% 3 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 52 10.5% 5 crashes · 2 fires
ENGINE 44 8.9% 0 crashes · 5 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 44 8.9% 8 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 36 7.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 33 6.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 30 6.1% 24 crashes · 3 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 22 4.4% 0 crashes · 7 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 355 71.6% 42 crashes · 13 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 1997. 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 1998-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 1998-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 1999-Q1: 45 owner reports 45 1999-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 1999-Q3: 32 owner reports 32 1999-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2000-Q1: 23 owner reports 23 2000-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2000-Q3: 39 owner reports 39 2000-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2001-Q1: 24 owner reports 24 2001-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2001-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2001-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2002-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2002-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1997 Apr 2021 Investigation PE99045 ● Investigation PE99045
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 11
1998-Q3 Owner reports 21
1998-Q4 Owner reports 19
1999-Q1 Owner reports 45
1999-Q2 Owner reports 17
1999-Q3 Owner reports 32
1999-Q4 Owner reports 14
2000-Q1 Owner reports 23
2000-Q2 Owner reports 16
2000-Q3 Owner reports 39
2000-Q4 Owner reports 18
2001-Q1 Owner reports 24
2001-Q2 Owner reports 12
2001-Q3 Owner reports 15
2001-Q4 Owner reports 5
2002-Q1 Owner reports 8
2002-Q2 Owner reports 9
2002-Q3 Owner reports 10
2002-Q4 Owner reports 6
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 4
2003-Q3 Owner reports 8
2003-Q4 Owner reports 6
2004-Q1 Owner reports 5
2004-Q2 Owner reports 8
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 4
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 3
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 3
2007-Q1 Owner reports 4
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 4
2007-Q4 Owner reports 3
2008-Q1 Owner reports 6
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 5
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 3
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 6
2011-Q3 Owner reports 5
2012-Q1 Owner reports 3
2012-Q2 Owner reports 3
2012-Q4 Owner reports 2
2013-Q1 Owner reports 4
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 2
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 2
2015-Q1 Owner reports 3
2015-Q2 Owner reports 6
2015-Q3 Owner reports 3
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE99045
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 496 complaints · page 1 of 20

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources