My 2021 Ranger with 1620 miles sits on side of road waiting for tow truck!

[paval3]

Started up fine in the driveway. Got about 3 miles down the valley and a warning came up, something to the effect Check Battery Charging System. About 30 seconds later, another warning... something about Coolant Above Temperature. Then I started losing power. I pulled off side of road, called dealership. I was told to call Roadside Assistance. I thought, well I'm only a couple miles from home, let me see if I can drive it home. I got about 3/4 of a mile, and the same sequence of events happened. So it sits in the berm of a well traveled road. I got through to Road Assistance and the first tow was supposed to be there in an hour. After an hour, I got a text that the "provider" cancelled.... so I call Roadside Assistance again. They line another one up. I sit another 45 minutes and get a text from them that the "provider" cancelled! By this time, I need to pee badly! So I called my husband to come get me with his Sierra before I have to deal with this any further. After taking the needed break at the house (we're in the middle of Ida aftermath with torrential rains her in central PA), I jump in the ole 18 year old Mountaineer (so glad I kept it) and drive back to where my Ranger sits. On the phone with Roadside Assistance again, they said they'll try to line now a 3rd truck up but that some are refusing calls in this weather! I finally get a call back that someone will be here in an hour. I told the guy I'm 3 miles from home, I'm going to drive my old vehicle home and to tell the tow driver to call me when he's 15 minutes from where my Ranger sits. So it's going on an hour and I'm still waiting for the call.

Oh and while sitting in the cab of my Ranger, I notice the roof must have a leak on the passenger side front as there is a small puddle of water in the foot well near the door side! I had not had the passenger side door open all day, I checked the window to make sure it was all the way up.. has to be dripping down from somewhere.

Also during all the hours I was sitting waiting, I got the owner's manual out.... I forgot to mention a little yellow icon lit up after the truck shut down, and according to the manual, means engine oveheated and the automatic shut down was to prevent engine damage.

I'm so disgusted. First words out of my mouth were, my 2003 Mountaineer never let me sit on the side of the road in 18 years

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[D Fresh]

Why on earth would you try to drive it again?


Also, sounds like an alternator failure to to water to me.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Hmm, that really sucks!
Are you sure that puddle is water and not coolant from your heater core? Soak it up with a tissue - if it’s clear and has no odour, it’s likely water. If it’s green or orange and smells kinda sweet, it’s likely coolant.

 

[dtech]

That's terrible and hope you get your truck back , I know most women react to getting stranded differently than most men, when my wife was stranded for hours driving my old 1991 Taurus SHO she refused to drive the car again, so it was up to me to endure being stranded in that car and it did happen more than once.

 

[Rp930]

Did you drive through any deep water?

 

[Ds_2020Ranger]

That sucks. I too have that same passenger side leak. My guess is one of the door seals is sealing properly or something. Only happens when it rains and yes, ive confirmed its water not coolant. I live in SoCal and it doesnt rain much so its a low priority for me.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

For the water, if it is clear as @DukeCanBuildit mentioned look at the bottom of the door card under the speaker where it meets the painted part of the door. Look for water or water spots trailing down. If you see water there, the issue is with the harness in the door being in the wrong place and water is leaking past the foam weather seal behind the door card. Mine had the same issue on the driver's side.

 

[Hellrazor]

Sell it

 

[paval3]

Why on earth would you try to drive it again?


Also, sounds like an alternator failure to to water to me.

Because I wanted to see what it would do and if I could make it 2 or 3 miles home but warning messages came on back on rather quickly. So yea, I let it sit there... I did know that much... 4 hours before I could get it towed (never trying to use Ford Road Side assistance again after today's experience)... in a torrential down pour. Not a fun day.

BTW when I called Ford dealership garage the first time and told them what it did, told them I was pulled off the road with vehicle turned off... even they asked if I tried it again. At that point no, but after I hung up I thought I'd try it. Unfortunately same warnings came on as I said pretty quickly.

 

[paval3]

So here is my experience from today with Ford Road Side Assistance. This all started around 11 a.m. or so. First tow Assistance lined up didn't show up, they declined doing the tow... second one was lined up, no show after an hour, then text from Assistance saying it was declined.... third one lined up by Assistance, no show, got a text they declined and they would try another one. So I called the one that was the third one that was supposed to come out and asked what happened... they told me a lot of towing companies won't deal with Ford Assistance because of how they pay, slow whacky way of doing things (his words). This third guy was real nice though and told me he just saw a local tow truck sitting at the firehall and to quick give a call, maybe they are free now. So it happened to be it was the first tow company Ford Assistance tried to line up! I called, explained what was going on, they too told me they had declined because they won't deal with Ford Assistance because of how they pay. So they did agreed to come right out if I paid and were there within 10 minutes. So 4 hours later my Ranger was on the way to the Ford dealership.

I do have road side assistance on my vehicle's insurance... don't know how much they will cover, but I'll call tomorrow and find out.

 

[RBTremor]

Man, Waiting for my 2021 to be built. Seeing all the issues lately, Im a little worried.

 

[103]

Did you drive through any deep water? Just water shouldn't kill an alternator, but I have had it happen. Thankfully I was still able to drive it about 25 miles to the nearest town (it got dicey towards the end). Yours dying that fast likely means there are other problems beside the alternator being dead.

 

[paval3]

Did you drive through any deep water?

t that time of the morning, there wasn't much water puddling on the roads, so no, no splashing water into engine.... till 3 pm when I went I drove the Mountaineer into town to pay the towing company, roads were treacherous and you really had to watch you didn't hit water running across the road in spots.

 

[paval3]

Sell it

I hope it doesn't come to that because I really love the truck... I hope it's not one of those problems that becomes chronic.

 

[paval3]

wouldnt be surprised to find out theres debris all jammed up under there, and possibly a broken belt...

*edit: only if you drove through water

I've had the truck since April 27th, 2021, and only 1600 miles on it (since i have 2 vehicles and hubby has his own). So shouldn't be any debris... unless some critter has been getting in and building a nest or chewing on something.

When i told my brother about the truck today, he said the same thing about maybe a loose or broken belt. I do hope it's an obvious and simple fix. Dealer service said soon as they get the Ranger they'd hook it up to see if it throws a code.

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