1996 Ford Ranger XL review from North America

Over the 15 months that I owned this truck, it was at the dealership for repair 15 times. Most of the problems were minor, but all were unexpected for a brand new purchase.

Within 2 weeks of purchase, rust spots were appearing on the front bumper and front edge of the hood. The paint was flaking off the hood and rust was bubbling up from under the paint on the bumper. The dealer stated this was due to rocks hitting the truck while I was driving it and declined to repair.

The engine would rev up on its own while sitting at idle, even if no one was in the truck. The dealer advised this was because I didn't know how to properly operate the manual transmission. The problem was never corrected.

The windshield wipers would come on spontaneously when driving. The problem was with a faulty control module, but it took 2 trips to the dealer before they believed me.

The anti theft light would blink. I didn't have anti theft installed.

The air conditioner would drip cold water on my feet while I was driving. I was advised this wasn't possible. I sat in my truck in the service lane and made the service techs watch it drip. The problem was attributed to a clogged drain hose.

The radio would turn off if the door was slammed.

The ignition key wasn't always required to crank the truck. Ford is aware of the issue on that particular model ignition and has since changed the design. The only drawback to the replacement was that the door locks also had to be changed, and the service techs scratched the paint. This was also my fault, and I was given a bottle of touch up paint to correct it myself. It didn't match.

The check engine light came on and the emissions sensors had to be replaced. I was again told that I caused this problem by putting mid-grade fuel into the truck, which I never did.

At some times, the truck would not go into 2nd gear, other times, you could put it in gear and the gear stick would jump out of place with a good bit of force. It was bad enough that it left a bruise on my arm at one point. This was again attributed to my driving skills until one of the sales reps had to drive my truck across the lot. He said it felt like the clutch had some serious technical issues.

The headlight indicator lamp bulb fell out and had to be replaced.

The air conditioner would blow all the time, even if the heater was on, with the result being extremely cold air with the A/C on, and slightly warm air with the heater on. Needless to say, the A/C wore out early and was also replaced.

The Firestone tires were terrible, and I replaced them at 25,000 miles.

I finally wrote a letter to Ford's corporate office and included all the service invoices and maintenance records on the truck. The reply I received was basically a request to return to the dealership to discuss it. I was offered an extended warranty, but because it was only up to 75,000 miles and included a $50 deductible per service visit, I turned it down. The follow up offer was for Ford to pay off my existing loan and take the truck back, with the agreement that I would purchase another new Ford vehicle at actual cost. I bought another one, this time a 97 model, and the difference (in both the vehicle and the attitude of the dealer) has been incredible.