Newbie question

[HenryG]

Just did my first detail clean of the new Ranger Lariat Sport and noticed something that I just can't figure out. There appears to be a covered key slot on the rear bumper just to the right of the license plate. Any thoughts on this one?

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[RangersLeadTheWay]

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/thre...-right-of-the-license-plate-in-the-back.2220/

Check here for the answer.

 

[HenryG]

Thanks for that!!

 

[Ace Holliday]

There is a lot of stuff you’ll need to know in the owners manual. Read it when you get a chance.

 

[Radioman]

There is a lot of stuff you’ll need to know in the owners manual. Read it when you get a chance.

I absolutely agree with you regarding the owner's manual (I have mentioned this in other threads); it should be read and understood when acquiring a new-to-you vehicle.

However, the manual that came with my Ranger is the worse by far of any owner's manuals that I have seen and I have purchased many new vehicles. It appears to have been hastily put together and not checked for errors or correctness.

I have reviewed the manual regarding accessing the spare tire and there is no mention (or picture) of needing a key to gain access to the guide hole.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I absolutely agree with you regarding the owner's manual (I have mentioned this in other threads); it should be read and understood when acquiring a new-to-you vehicle.

However, the manual that came with my Ranger is the worse by far of any owner's manuals that I have seen and I have purchased many new vehicles. It appears to have been hastily put together and not checked for errors or correctness.

I have reviewed the manual regarding accessing the spare tire and there is no mention (or picture) of needing a key to gain access to the guide hole.

Hi Kent,

I am in total agreement that the Engineering Manager in charge of the 5G Ranger totally screwed up. I was responsible for the owners manual when at Ford and I took it seriously. I divided the manual transcripts into parts and had my engineers read and critique. The swapped the parts for another review. Then I read the transcripts several time before sending the draft manual back to the publisher with tons of red pencil remarks. Then got the final draft...still F*cked up. Back again. A very time consuming process. And Yes...we still missed things. Who ever was in charge of 2019 needs to be strung up by their ankles as they did a PISS POOR job of reviewing the manual. It is a total embarrassment in my opinion. WRT the spare tire, I am a stickler in understanding how to change a tire on the side of the road and the owners manual is so poor, the customer has no idea in an emergency, which is when the read the owners manual and it lets them down.

A pox on the person at Ford that allowed this abomination to be published.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Radioman]

Hi Kent,

I am in total agreement that the Engineering Manager in charge of the 5G Ranger totally screwed up. I was responsible for the owners manual when at Ford and I took it seriously. I divided the manual transcripts into parts and had my engineers read and critique. The swapped the parts for another review. Then I read the transcripts several time before sending the draft manual back to the publisher with tons of red pencil remarks. Then got the final draft...still F*cked up. Back again. A very time consuming process. And Yes...we still missed things. Who ever was in charge of 2019 needs to be strung up by their ankles as they did a PISS POOR job of reviewing the manual. It is a total embarrassment in my opinion. WRT the spare tire, I am a stickler in understanding how to change a tire on the side of the road and the owners manual is so poor, the customer has no idea in an emergency, which is when the read the owners manual and it lets them down.

A pox on the person at Ford that allowed this abomination to be published.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

I wish the 2019 and 2020 Ranger owner's manuals had been reviewed by someone with your dedication and knowledge. That said, one of the great things of this forum is that we can help each other gain the knowledge we need concerning the new Ranger and also run new ideas pass each other.

 

[Ace Holliday]

I absolutely agree with you regarding the owner's manual (I have mentioned this in other threads); it should be read and understood when acquiring a new-to-you vehicle.

However, the manual that came with my Ranger is the worse by far of any owner's manuals that I have seen and I have purchased many new vehicles. It appears to have been hastily put together and not checked for errors or correctness.

I have reviewed the manual regarding accessing the spare tire and there is no mention (or picture) of needing a key to gain access to the guide hole.

Wow! I just looked at my manual and you are correct. I just assumed (a big mistake on my part in this case) that the key for the spare would have at least been mentioned.
My apologies to the OP for my assumption. You would think that an old guy like me would have learned by now that assuming anything is not a good idea.

 

[HenryG]

I tried to read the manual and have not really enjoyed that read! Having said that, the index for me is where the action really is. I have generally been able to find out what I need to know by flipping to the index and going from there. It seems that manufacturers are spending less time and money on their owners manual production and are counting on internet forums to fill their void; hence the reason that I join forums for just about everything I own, motorcycles, boats, trucks ... there are usually a bunch of people that are a lot smarter than I am and I glean their intelligence to supplement my stupidity! Thanks for the reply's, just happy to be part of another great forum where there are a lot of smart, imaginative and mechanically incline people willing to share their information. And when all else fails, it seems that there is always at least ten people on YouTube that have fixed what I just broke.

 

[Radioman]

I tried to read the manual and have not really enjoyed that read! Having said that, the index for me is where the action really is. I have generally been able to find out what I need to know by flipping to the index and going from there.

I find that downloading the manual from the manufacturer's website as a pdf and then using the pdf's seach function to find a particular item is helpful and easier than combing through the printed manual.

It seems that manufacturers are spending less time and money on their owners manual production and are counting on internet forums to fill their void; hence the reason that I join forums for just about everything I own, motorcycles, boats, trucks ...

I couldn't agree more.

there are usually a bunch of people that are a lot smarter than I am and I glean their intelligence to supplement my stupidity!

Stupid is lacking intelligence or common sense. I'm sure you meant to say to supplement your knowledge.

Thanks for the reply's, just happy to be part of another great forum where there are a lot of smart, imaginative and mechanically incline people willing to share their information. And when all else fails, it seems that there is always at least ten people on YouTube that have fixed what I just broke.

I use YouTube so much when I am uncertain how to proceed with a particular project; gaining knowledge is so much easier now that we have the web.

 

[JimJa]

As long as the discussion is concerning the spare tire. Phil, perhaps you can enlighten the group as to why on earth did Ford to choose to make the spare a DIFFERENT SIZE than what is on the four corners? It was the same way on my '05 Ranger as well. Of course the spare never got used but it would be nice to be able to purchase three tires instead of four and put the best used on as a spare.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

As long as the discussion is concerning the spare tire. Phil, perhaps you can enlighten the group as to why on earth did Ford to choose to make the spare a DIFFERENT SIZE than what is on the four corners? It was the same way on my '05 Ranger as well. Of course the spare never got used but it would be nice to be able to purchase three tires instead of four and put the best used on as a spare.

Hi Jim,

The spare is still a temp spare, not a true road wheel unfortunately. Your 05 had a space saver spare which was done for weight reductons why back when. The current Ranger spare is likely used for complexity reasons at the plant. This tire is tested for vehicle dynamics at all 4 corners of the Ranger and is a compromise between rim sizes etc. It is still a limp along spare.

Not being associated at all with the Aussie designed and developed 5G makes the above somewhat speculative.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Montana Ranger]

However, the manual that came with my Ranger is the worse by far of any owner's manuals that I have seen and I have purchased many new vehicles. It appears to have been hastily put together and not checked for errors or correctness.

Amen. I downloaded the manual after purchasing my 2019 and went through most of it before taking delivery. A lot of it looked as though it had been clipped-and-pasted from a F-150 manual; a lot of stuff that didn't apply to the Ranger was in there.

But I only learned about the key when my salesperson pointed it out. Nice to know about that before needing to swap a wheel in what typically tends to be an uncomfortable situation to begin with.

 

[JimJa]

Phil, My '05 had a full sized spare, slightly smaller than those on the truck, but still identical to the size as noted on the door sticker. Same for my '19 On both the rim and tire diameter were the same as those on the ground but the aspect ratio was (is) different . I did turn the current spare upside down IOT be able to check the air pressure from time to time without having to drop the tire. The tire looked identical to the tires on the ground, but of a slightly smaller size. While I was turning it over I did not note any markings indicating the tire was for temporary use - but I didn't look closely either. Certainly will next time.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Phil, My '05 had a full sized spare, slightly smaller than those on the truck, but still identical to the size as noted on the door sticker. Same for my '19 On both the rim and tire diameter were the same as those on the ground but the aspect ratio was (is) different . I did turn the current spare upside down IOT be able to check the air pressure from time to time without having to drop the tire. The tire looked identical to the tires on the ground, but of a slightly smaller size. While I was turning it over I did not note any markings indicating the tire was for temporary use - but I didn't look closely either. Certainly will next time.

Hi Jim,

My 07 had the space saver spare. Weird.

best,
Phil

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