2003 Ford Ranger Edge from North America - Comments

Oil Leak from Rear Seal - Vehicle owned less than 6 months and under 6,000 miles. Have taken this vehicle back to the dealer 5 times to have this leak fixed. The first time I was told that it was residual oil from my first oil change (2500 miles ago) They cleaned up the underside of the truck with brake cleaner and sent me on my way. Two days later I was back at the dealer. Same leak - same place. They finally admited that I "might" have a leak. They ordered a rear seal and asked me to bring the truck back in a few day when the part arrived. A few days later with my new seal in place I drove home. Next day there was a huge puddle of oil under my truck. Called the dealer and had them send a tow truck out to get my truck. They towed my truck in and had it up on the rack before I got there. Cleaned the whole underside of the truck again with brake cleaner and started the "residual oil" conversation again. After about 30 minutes of heated conversation between me and the service manager they put infared dye in the oil. Drove the truck around for a few minuted. Hit the underside with the light and would you believe it? The whole underside of the truck was stained with - yellow dye! Got another loaner and they kept my truck for three days. picked my truck up and drove home (approximately 35 miles). Looked under my truck and......drip....drip.....drip. Called the service manager back and told him that the residual oil leak was still there. brought it back the next day. They did caliper checks on the crank shaft. Checked the shaft for nicks or burs. Did just about every check you could do on the truck. They could not find anything wrong. The dealers final decision was - my oil filter "might" have been a little loose. Funny how the only oil that was leaking was comming out from the bell housing on the transmission, not down the side of the engine from the oil filter. Took my truck home again and am currently keeping a daily eye on the underside.

I am very disapointed in ford service on this one. I exclusively owned ford vehicles my entire driving life. I am seriously going to shop around for my next vehcile. This entire episode has left a very bad taste in my mouth regarding the quality of service ford offers.

This is a sharp good looking truck.

Ride and performance are excellent.

Sound system is top notch.

Layout of the cab is somewhat wasted. Big huge center console sticks up pretty high and makes it difficult to reach things on the other side of the truck.

I too own a 2003 edge. I have had the same exact problem with the same leak and spent countless trips to the ford dealership. They told me all of the exact same things from, oil residual from oil change, filter not tight enough and also did the dye test. It never leaked to the point where it would puddle under the truck, but at 4 months old and less than 5000 miles this was not acceptable to me. I finally had the the transmission pulled and a new oil pan gasket replaced. That seemed like it did the trick until I started noticing a leak from the rear seal on the transmission where they tore the seal replacing the drive line. They tried to tell me it was just residual, again they were wrong and did correct the problem. I am happy to say it no longer leaks. I have had the truck for 19 months now and have 23,000 miles on it with an oil change done every 3,000. I also do the oil changes myself now. Funny, since I started doing the changes myself I've never had the problem again. I do love my truck. it is pampered beyond belief and is also used to pull wave runners, camping etc. The only modifications I have done is a small lift and increased the tire size to 32". I will say the gas mileage is not all that great, I get about 16 mpg on average. overall I am happy with my choice in the purchase of the truck, but it does drive my wife nuts on how much time I spend detailing it etc ha ha!!!

Sheldon Metler

Ventura, Calif.

I just got a 2003 ford ranger and it made the trip back and forth to work just fine. But it is where I got the ruck that impresses me. I got it form e-bay, where is had been on a head on. It needed a whole new front side, nd I got it replaced, no leaks, no problems of any kind. This truck really impresses me!