Ford Ranger Steering Problems
Owners have filed 167 complaints with NHTSA about steering problems on the Ford Ranger across 23 model years. The 2000 model year has the most (25). The words owners use most often: “lost control” (8% of reports).
- 167steering complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 28mention a crash
- 19mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 34%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Lost control: mentioned in 13 of 167 complaints (8%)
- Steering pump: mentioned in 10 of 167 complaints (6%)
- Rack pinion: mentioned in 9 of 167 complaints (5%)
At what mileage do steering problems happen?
Based on 57 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 167 complaints, 28 mention a crash, 4 a fire, 19 an injury.
Ford Ranger steering complaints by model year
| Model year | Steering complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Ranger | 2 | 5% | — |
| 2024 Ranger | 6 | 6% | — |
| 2022 Ranger | 1 | 3% | 38,000 |
| 2021 Ranger | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2020 Ranger | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2019 Ranger | 5 | 2% | 26,500 |
| 2011 Ranger | 1 | 0% | 61,000 |
| 2010 Ranger | 1 | 1% | 2,600 |
| 2009 Ranger | 3 | 2% | 975 |
| 2008 Ranger | 1 | 0% | 60,000 |
| 2007 Ranger | 1 | 0% | 245,000 |
| 2006 Ranger | 5 | 2% | 67,500 |
| 2005 Ranger | 5 | 2% | 41,469 |
| 2004 Ranger | 3 | 1% | 40,550 |
| 2003 Ranger | 7 | 3% | 61,300 |
| 2002 Ranger | 8 | 2% | 45,556 |
| 2001 Ranger | 7 | 1% | 50,000 |
| 2000 Ranger | 25 | 4% | 61,000 |
| 1999 Ranger | 16 | 2% | 94,160 |
| 1998 Ranger | 19 | 3% | 121,932 |
| 1997 Ranger | 21 | 5% | 85,000 |
| 1996 Ranger | 17 | 4% | — |
| 1995 Ranger | 9 | 3% | 136,500 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists steering for the Ford Ranger. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
My truck has selectable drive modes. These drive modes control steering effort, suspension, shift points, the four-wheel drive system, ABS, and exhaust. My truck changes drive modes on its own without any input. Going down the highway, my truck is tried to go into rock crawl modes several times. If…
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…
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.
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…
VIN: [XXX] Recall data refreshed on Aug 09,2025 0 Unrepaired Recalls associated with this VIN Please Amber alert the following for NATIONAL BROADCAST NHTSA 2025 Ranger Safety Recalls* Inspect seat bolt presence and torque - recall is unable to be performed at this time. Please check the fsa landing…
Frequently asked questions
Do all Ford Rangers have steering problems?
No. NHTSA has 167 owner complaints about steering for the Ford Ranger. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Ford Ranger steering?
No recall currently lists steering for this vehicle.
What do owners say about steering problems on the Ford Ranger?
The most frequent phrase is “lost control”, in 13 of 167 complaints, followed by “steering pump” (10).
Other Ford Ranger problems
- Air Bags problems (1,882)
- Power Train problems (745)
- Tires problems (701)
- Structure problems (668)
- Suspension problems (523)
- Vehicle Speed Control problems (486)
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic problems (483)
- Electrical System problems (434)
See all Ford Ranger problems.