Now that the Honeymoon is over....

[Craigmri]

So we've had our Ranger XLT 4 X 4 now for a couple months and now that the novelty has worn off, below are a few of the issues I have discovered that I'm unhappy with.

1) Hood alignment is pathetic. Mostly where it meets the fenders and grill/headlights.
2) Both rear doors appear they close too much? Wish they could be adjusted outward a few MM.
3) Brake pedal is mush. I obviously test drove the truck and knew what I was getting into but its getting on my nerves.
4) Wind noise from drivers side rear door.
5) Bouncy ride. Makes my wife seasick.
6) Transmission shifting abrupt/Harsh. I hoped the adaptive logic thing would have helped after 1000 miles of gentle driving.

Overall my opinion is Ford had the chance to build a world class amazing truck but just missed it. If I had to do again I probably would have gone new Frontier or Tacoma.

BTW, I already forscanned the auto start/stop cause I couldnt stand that. I read about the ABS bleed that some have done for the mushy brake pedal but not sure I want to go down that path.

Craig

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[TBR17]

Sorry to hear. I have none of those issues.
I drove the Taco and what an antiquated TuRD that tranny and V6 combo are.

 

[Utah_Bound]

Sorry you are having a rough run mate. I've owned new vehicles from several brands and can say they all have their quirks, including Honda, Toyota, Jeep, and even BMW's. Ford missed the mark on a few things on the ranger, of course. But overall It is still a very reliable vehicle. For me, I find it near impossible to find a stock vehicle that ticks all my boxes.

If you have a forscan already, I highly suggest the abs bleed, I did it in my driveway in less than 5 minutes and brakes are perfect now. They are bouncy, there are very affordable F/R Shock/Strut replacements, from eibach and fox. I understand it is more money spent, but it would be less than buying a different truck and finding its not perfect either yeah? A FPP or Livernois tune would fix the shifting, even putting it in tow mode probably would, as you are probably feeling the abrupt gear-skip shift. Other than that you may need a door adjustment, and hood adjustment, both simple adjustements a body shop or dealership could perform. Im sure if you asked, there are a lot of people here with suggestions to work out a specific quirk! No vehicle is perfect, much less the ranger, but good thing the aftermarket is very large for these

 

[RedlandRanger]

So we've had our Ranger XLT 4 X 4 now for a couple months and now that the novelty has worn off, below are a few of the issues I have discovered that I'm unhappy with.

1) Hood alignment is pathetic. Mostly where it meets the fenders and grill/headlights.
2) Both rear doors appear they close too much? Wish they could be adjusted outward a few MM.
3) Brake pedal is mush. I obviously test drove the truck and knew what I was getting into but its getting on my nerves.
4) Wind noise from drivers side rear door.
5) Bouncy ride. Makes my wife seasick.
6) Transmission shifting abrupt/Harsh. I hoped the adaptive logic thing would have helped after 1000 miles of gentle driving.

Overall my opinion is Ford had the chance to build a world class amazing truck but just missed it. If I had to do again I probably would have gone new Frontier or Tacoma.

BTW, I already forscanned the auto start/stop cause I couldnt stand that. I read about the ABS bleed that some have done for the mushy brake pedal but not sure I want to go down that path.

Craig

#5 can be fixed by new shocks - While the bouncy ride didn't bother me too much I am much happier with new rear shocks. Some people feel all 4 need to be replaced but I'm fine with just new rear shocks.

#6 - is this all the time or just when cold? If just when cold, there may be a TSB to fix it. I get a very harsh shift from 1-2 or 1-3 (depending on how it decides to shift) but only when it is cold. Once it warms up it shifts fine. The only exception I've found is very occasionally under light accel/decel I will get kind of a weird shift into 8th gear - not terribly harsh but not smooth like the normal shifts.

I don't know about the Frontier, but I'm WAY happier with my Ranger than I would have been in a Tacoma - that engine/tranny combo is HORRIBLE - and gutless.

Hope you can get some of your concerns figured out.

 

[briwill70]

First thing I did was replace the factory tires with Falken Wildpeaks and I run 34psi. That helped the ride a lot more than I expected. I then replaced the rear shocks with Eibachs. I also put 2 60lbs sand bags in the bed. That combo got rid of 90% of the annoying bounce.

Do the ABS purge with FORSCAN. It helps!

I don't have any panel alignment issues but I would get the dealer to fix those.

My transmission still annoys me on occasion but it has improved in the first 5k miles.

 

[RangerPNW]

No reason to be apprehensive with the ABS system purge, it just makes a horrible noise for a few moments when you're doing the process, and its pretty dummy-proof if you follow the guides on here.

 

[Joeiconic]

In addition to what others have said, take it back to the dealer to look at the body panels. Hoods usually have some adjustment potential, not sure about the doors. Also, my transmission continued to smooth out over the first 5000 miles, just keep driving it.

 

[jflogerzi]

No reason to be apprehensive with the ABS system purge, it just makes a horrible noise for a few moments when you're doing the process, and its pretty dummy-proof if you follow the guides on here.

Agree on this. Also try just replacing the rear shocks. Super simple and seems to really help ride quality.

https://www.stage3motorsports.com/24-294225-19-22-ranger-bilstein-b8-5100-rear-shock-0-1in-lift.html

5100's from Bilstein should fix this. Less than 200$ fix and can be done in garage with basic hand tools.

Also consider either FP Tune or get a tune from livernois with soft shifts.

 

[chuck s]

So we've had our Ranger XLT 4 X 4 now for a couple months and now that the novelty has worn off, below are a few of the issues I have discovered that I'm unhappy with.

1) Hood alignment is pathetic. Mostly where it meets the fenders and grill/headlights.
2) Both rear doors appear they close too much? Wish they could be adjusted outward a few MM.
3) Brake pedal is mush. I obviously test drove the truck and knew what I was getting into but its getting on my nerves.
4) Wind noise from drivers side rear door.
5) Bouncy ride. Makes my wife seasick.
6) Transmission shifting abrupt/Harsh. I hoped the adaptive logic thing would have helped after 1000 miles of gentle driving.

Overall my opinion is Ford had the chance to build a world class amazing truck but just missed it. If I had to do again I probably would have gone new Frontier or Tacoma.

BTW, I already forscanned the auto start/stop cause I couldnt stand that. I read about the ABS bleed that some have done for the mushy brake pedal but not sure I want to go down that path.

Craig

agree with several... hood alignment is terrible on mine as well... mushy brakes..well mine have actually improved a bit over time and not as bad as when new.. had it 9 months now.. the bouncy ride ..well it is a little bouncy but kinda get use to it overtime and it doesnt bother me much now... mine is fairly quiet and i dont really have any other issues

 

[Trigganometry]

So we've had our Ranger XLT 4 X 4 now for a couple months and now that the novelty has worn off, below are a few of the issues I have discovered that I'm unhappy with.

1) Hood alignment is pathetic. Mostly where it meets the fenders and grill/headlights.
2) Both rear doors appear they close too much? Wish they could be adjusted outward a few MM.
3) Brake pedal is mush. I obviously test drove the truck and knew what I was getting into but its getting on my nerves.
4) Wind noise from drivers side rear door.
5) Bouncy ride. Makes my wife seasick.
6) Transmission shifting abrupt/Harsh. I hoped the adaptive logic thing would have helped after 1000 miles of gentle driving.

Overall my opinion is Ford had the chance to build a world class amazing truck but just missed it. If I had to do again I probably would have gone new Frontier or Tacoma.

BTW, I already forscanned the auto start/stop cause I couldnt stand that. I read about the ABS bleed that some have done for the mushy brake pedal but not sure I want to go down that path.

Craig

I have some of your gripes and here is what I did to fix mine
1) My hood was low on one side, no bumper adjustment like the old Ranger I had. Used a felt furniture bumper 1/4 thick and stuck it on the frame where hood bumper makes contact. Perfect level now. Also loosened my front quarter panels and pulled them out on top as far as they would go to eliminate hood overhang over fenders.

2) That’s a dealer adjustment if you’re not comfortable doing it yourself.

3)As mentioned already, Forscan ABS bleed does wonders. Like a totally different breaking system afterwards.

4)I’m in a SCAB and if my half door isn’t closed tightly holding door edge at top I get wind noise. Check your gaskets for proper placement

5)Upgrade shocks. Some are worse than others in this complaint. I’m in a Sport model and mine are fine.

6)I feel for you here. I had the same behaviors. Started locking out gears in drive and after some few 1000 miles doesn’t do it as much now. I thin I was at about 5K before it really settled down.

 

[Iowa Guy]

Sorry to hear. I have none of those issues.
I drove the Taco and what an antiquated TuRD that tranny and V6 combo are.

same for the Nissan

 

[TBR17]

same for the Nissan

Haven’t driven the new one, but from the performance specs I’m sure you’re right.

 

[Lone]

If you did any research, you know you bought a 10 year old truck designed in Australia. Sure, they did some tweaking for the US market. But facts is facts - it's a truck and would be much happier in the outback.

 

[Frenchy]

So we've had our Ranger XLT 4 X 4 now for a couple months and now that the novelty has worn off, below are a few of the issues I have discovered that I'm unhappy with.

1) Hood alignment is pathetic. Mostly where it meets the fenders and grill/headlights.
2) Both rear doors appear they close too much? Wish they could be adjusted outward a few MM.
3) Brake pedal is mush. I obviously test drove the truck and knew what I was getting into but its getting on my nerves.
4) Wind noise from drivers side rear door.
5) Bouncy ride. Makes my wife seasick.
6) Transmission shifting abrupt/Harsh. I hoped the adaptive logic thing would have helped after 1000 miles of gentle driving.

Overall my opinion is Ford had the chance to build a world class amazing truck but just missed it. If I had to do again I probably would have gone new Frontier or Tacoma.

BTW, I already forscanned the auto start/stop cause I couldnt stand that. I read about the ABS bleed that some have done for the mushy brake pedal but not sure I want to go down that path.

Craig

The Transmission is a different animal being a 10 speed and unfortunately it will take close to 5,000 miles to smooth out(annoying I know).

The suspension definitely needs improvment but a simple change of the shocks can greatly improve this(Bilstein and Eibach are great options if you dont want to lift or level the truck).

The brakes apparently can be fixed using ForScan and performing an ABS bleed. I haven't done this myself but others have and notice improvements.

The body alignment will just be annoying to anypne but also understand that this is not an expensive exotic made by Royal virgins. This is a ford truck that is meant for doing work and getting you around.

With that said in time tou will most likely make the necessary changes to have the truck at your liking.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

So, I’ve owned my Ranger for more than two years now…

1) Hood alignment is fine - would have had my dealer re-align it if it wasn’t
2) Both rear doors close just right - would have had my dealer re-align them if they didn’t
3) Brake feel is fine - different than my car, different than my older Ranger - I adjust how I brake when driving my Passat vs my Ranger
4) My door seals are fine - no wind noise - likely because my doors close just right
5) Suspension had less rebound damping than previous trucks but more than my car - I upgraded to FOX Performance 2.0 when I levelled it
6) I came from a 5-spd manual to this transmission - it’s different - but I don’t have the abrupt shift at 3-4 - others had that issue and had the TSB performed

I bought a truck that drives like a truck, just as I expected it to. It has the fit and finish of a vehicle in its class and price range. By truck standards, the Ranger is pretty cheap to buy and delivers big in a lot of ways. Lots of tech, even in a stock XLT.

If it had any deficiencies, I’d be visiting my dealer. When I felt it needed some performance improvements, I took care of that.

Are all the panels aligned to pass the ball bearing test? Nope, but then, I can’t really tell and they look good to me. Does it glide along like a Mercedes S-Class? Nope. Does it have an interior that can get muddy and then clean up nice? Yep. Can it haul all kinds of stuff to all kinds of places? Yep. Did it surprise the pants off that guy who thought his Audi was all that? Yep - surprised me too! ?

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