"How reliable is the 2001 Ford Ranger?"

"Based on 685 NHTSA complaints, the 2001 Ford Ranger has a median complaint mileage of 84000 miles. The most common issue is Suspension."

"What are common problems with the 2001 Ford Ranger?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2001 Ford Ranger is Suspension, accounting for a significant portion of the 685 total complaints filed."

2001 Ford Ranger: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 685 complaints

685

Total Complaints

84,000mi

Median Mileage

Suspension

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

46,163 25th Percentile

84,000 Median Mileage

115,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Suspension

Body

Vehicle Speed Control

Frontal

Air Bags

Underbody Shields

Automatic Transmission

Unknown Or Other

Seat Belts

Tires

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"FUEL TANK LEVEL SENSOR DOES NOT ACCURATELY INDICATE LEVEL. FORD CLAIMS THEY KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM BUT CANNOT TELL ME WHEN THEY WILL PROVIDE A REPLACEMENT PART AND FIX THE VEHICLE. *AK"

"WHILE DRIVING 65 MP CONSUMER HAD TO APPLY BRAKES, AND THEY LOCKED UP. WOULD NOT RELEASE UNTIL ENGINE WAS SHUT OFF. DUE TO ABS LOCKING UP, VEHICLE SPUN AND HIT A GUARDRAIL. *AK"

"FUEL TANK OVER FLOWS WHEN FILLED, CAUSING GAS TO RUN ONTO THE GROUND. THIS. IN TURN, CREATES A SERIOUS FIRE HAZARD. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Suspension 74 complaints

25th: 87,182 mi Median: 110,000 mi 75th: 120,500 mi

Body 54 complaints

25th: 83,750 mi Median: 111,000 mi 75th: 135,000 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 47 complaints

25th: 42,000 mi Median: 80,664 mi 75th: 115,000 mi

Frontal 33 complaints

25th: 27,800 mi Median: 46,500 mi 75th: 66,750 mi

Air Bags 25 complaints

25th: 33,050 mi Median: 78,000 mi 75th: 99,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 60 NY: 48 PA: 45 OH: 42 MA: 36 MI: 32 CO: 25 TX: 20 FL: 20 TN: 20

Who Files Complaints?

30.4%

Original Owners

69.6%

Second+ Owners

Ford Ranger — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	141	60,000	Switch	10
1991	145	100,000	Exterior	10
1992	231	97,000	Exterior	16
1993	272	93,000	Tires	40
1994	531	110,000	Conventional	57
1995	451	140,000	Windshield Wiper/Washer	34
1996	533	117,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	53
1997	536	100,000	Interior Lighting	43
1998	744	100,000	Tires	85
1999	966	95,000	Tires	110
2000	848	85,000	Tires	109
2002	449	57,000	Vehicle Speed Control	53
2003	307	56,186	Vehicle Speed Control	48
2004	462	66,803	Air Bags	47
2005	353	58,500	Air Bags	29
2006	315	63,600	Air Bags	16
2007	281	61,150	Air Bags	12
2008	334	57,000	Air Bags	8
2009	178	36,250	Air Bags	4
2010	170	45,000	Air Bags	5
2011	259	50,000	Air Bags	14
2019	327	19,000	Power Train	22
2020	139	20,000	Power Train	10
2021	132	19,408	Power Train	13
2022	49	12,000	Power Train	1
2024	67	2,000	Power Train	2
2025	24	-	Service Brakes	4

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28