My Observations of the Ranger Lariat After 5 year.

[JHC14]

I purchased my Ranger on 4/20/19. I was in awe of the vehicle from the time I sat down. The first year I made 2 trips to Raleigh with it and loved how it handled on the WV Turnpike. The hills were unnoticeable. The Ranger did me well for 2 years.

The2nd year I put up with the bucking/surging problem at 33k. That took 2 months to get corrected. A few months later Sync3 problems started to plague me as it would lose SiriusXM from time to time and default to and obnoxious AM station every time the vehicle started. The first attempt to correct it the dealer installed a new part. It than worked for about 2 months and started messing up again. Seemed like every 6 months there was a problem that would show up.

The end of the 3rd year the heater box messed up only giving the driver heat and passenger AC. This was fixed with the extended warrantee and it took the dealer 3 days. The dealer told me it was a good thing I had the extended coverage. The 4th year the truck was plagued with Sync3 problems again.

In April 24 I got an email that my extended coverage ended at 60k and I had 61k. The very next day and after 16 months since being repaired the heater box messed up again. A trip to the dealer didn't help. I was told this repair was on me and would likely run $1200. I was also advised to pick up another Ford Extended warrantee at a cost of $2700 plus $200 for an inspection before coverage. They wanted to know when I wanted to schedule the inspection and repair. Told them I'd get back later week.

That was the last straw. I drove that truck to the Toyota dealer near me and drove away in a Tacoma. I'm done with Ford Vehicles. My biggest complaint is the tech stuff. All if it kept going bad for 5 years. The only way to own a Ranger is to avoid all the high tech accessories.

Sorry to hear you had such a rough experience with your Ranger. I love mine. If it died on the side of the road tomorrow, the first thing I would be looking for is another Ranger. I am not a fanboy, but I have really enjoyed mine. It is the third Ranger I have had over the years, one was even the Mazda version back in 90's. Hope you enjoy the Tacoma. When I got this Ranger, I looked at and test drove three Tacomas. I could not get them back to the dealership fast enough. They did not suit me or feel comfortable at all. But, with a model year change, who knows. The new Ranger may not suit me either. To each their own...happy driving.

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[Canadian Ranger]

I purchased my Ranger on 4/20/19. I was in awe of the vehicle from the time I sat down. The first year I made 2 trips to Raleigh with it and loved how it handled on the WV Turnpike. The hills were unnoticeable. The Ranger did me well for 2 years.

The2nd year I put up with the bucking/surging problem at 33k. That took 2 months to get corrected. A few months later Sync3 problems started to plague me as it would lose SiriusXM from time to time and default to and obnoxious AM station every time the vehicle started. The first attempt to correct it the dealer installed a new part. It than worked for about 2 months and started messing up again. Seemed like every 6 months there was a problem that would show up.

The end of the 3rd year the heater box messed up only giving the driver heat and passenger AC. This was fixed with the extended warrantee and it took the dealer 3 days. The dealer told me it was a good thing I had the extended coverage. The 4th year the truck was plagued with Sync3 problems again.

In April 24 I got an email that my extended coverage ended at 60k and I had 61k. The very next day and after 16 months since being repaired the heater box messed up again. A trip to the dealer didn't help. I was told this repair was on me and would likely run $1200. I was also advised to pick up another Ford Extended warrantee at a cost of $2700 plus $200 for an inspection before coverage. They wanted to know when I wanted to schedule the inspection and repair. Told them I'd get back later week.

That was the last straw. I drove that truck to the Toyota dealer near me and drove away in a Tacoma. I'm done with Ford Vehicles. My biggest complaint is the tech stuff. All if it kept going bad for 5 years. The only way to own a Ranger is to avoid all the high tech accessories.

I dislike the tech in all modern vehicles, and knew what I was getting into after having my '07 Ranger for 15 years and seeing friends and families modern vehicles and them praising all the toys their new cars had imbedded into them. I stuck with the XL Ranger.

 

[ThatsAMonkey]

Wow alot of bad luck that can happen with any vehicle. I like fords tech but it's an after thought in the ranger. The F150 was very nice.

I hate the climate control on this pos ranger. It's like an after thought. I came to the conclusion that I'm not doing any extras to this thing because I'm not going to keep it.

Our 23 Rav4 XSE Hybrid is bad arse. I'm waiting for there hybrid trucks... My ranger stays in the garage most of it's life. LOL

If I went back to an SUV I'd choose the Rav4 Hybrid in XSE. Not a huge fan of the piano black plastic molding on the exterior but overall very sporty looking and comfy! I couldn't believe how quiet the cabin is. I really hope nothing happens drastically to my 22' Ranger but if it's the case I'd probably trade in for the Rav4.

 

[JimJa]

My '19 was delivered about the same time as the OP's, 04/19. It now has 65K on it and has met every expectation. Just to get to the highway the truck has to deal with six mile of potholed gravel raod. Everything works like it should and the truck has never been back to the dealer. OEM tires lasted about 60K and replaced with, VREDESTEIN PINZA ATs which removed about 90% of the somewhat sloppy rear suspension concerns. The OEM battery is still working fine (fingers crossed). Although I still have the '19, two weeks ago I took delivery of a new Ranger Raptor ($2K under MSRP). Comparing the two the new one seems as though Ford really worked on NVH. Not that the '19 is bad, , just that the new is so much better. It was built in January and came with 66 miles on it which I hope was Ford's new emphasis on QC. They've needed it.

@ThatsAMonkey. Don't want to hijack the thread, but ... My wife drives a '22 Escape Hybrid AWD and a very close friend and neighbor drives a '23 RAV4 Hybrid AWD. The RAV4 has more power and is much quieter. At 6'2", the Escape is MUCH easier for me to get in a out of and has more room inside. I also like the dash layout of the Escape better, but that an individual thing. Both have about 40K on them and neither have been back to their respective dealer. There is something I've never heard even mentioned about EVs or Hybrids - the tires wear earlier than expected because of added weight, but ... also because the car never coasts. It is either accelerating or recharging, causing drag on those same tires. Ours wore out at less than 35K.

 

[RedlandRanger]

My '19 was delivered about the same time as the OP's, 04/19. It now has 65K on it and has met every expectation. Just to get to the highway the truck has to deal with six mile of potholed gravel raod. Everything works like it should and the truck has never been back to the dealer. OEM tires lasted about 60K and replaced with, VREDESTEIN PINZA ATs which removed about 90% of the somewhat sloppy rear suspension concerns. The OEM battery is still working fine (fingers crossed). Although I still have the '19, two weeks ago I took delivery of a new Ranger Raptor ($2K under MSRP). Comparing the two the new one seems as though Ford really worked on NVH. Not that the '19 is bad, , just that the new is so much better. It was built in January and came with 66 miles on it which I hope was Ford's new emphasis on QC. They've needed it.

@ThatsAMonkey. Don't want to hijack the thread, but ... My wife drives a '22 Escape Hybrid AWD and a very close friend and neighbor drives a '23 RAV4 Hybrid AWD. The RAV4 has more power and is much quieter. At 6'2", the Escape is MUCH easier for me to get in a out of and has more room inside. I also like the dash layout of the Escape better, but that an individual thing. Both have about 40K on them and neither have been back to their respective dealer. There is something I've never heard even mentioned about EVs or Hybrids - the tires wear earlier than expected because of added weight, but ... also because the car never coasts. It is either accelerating or recharging, causing drag on those same tires. Ours wore out at less than 35K.

That is interesting - I took delivery of mine on 4/14/2019! As with yours, mine has been trouble free - still on the original battery too, but I do have a new one in the garage waiting for when mine finally shows signs of dying.

OP, I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with your ranger - it goes to show sometimes it is just a roll of the dice. Good luck with your Tacoma - hopefully it was the new 4G and hopefully Toyota didn't have any growing pains with the new model. I test drove the 3G Tacoma and couldn't stand how it drove - that engine and trans was horrible. The new 4G Tacoma is interesting - I'd be interested to hear how you like it after a few months.

 

[Todd Chapin]

The only issue I have had with my 2019 lariat is I wished I had done all my mods sooner???

 

[Jason B]

What a bummer, but it's the reason I'll never buy first year models. I get tempting offers for a 24 6G,
but I'm not biting.
Did you get an ESP on the new Toyota? Because they ain't what they used to be, mainly because of all the electronic gadgets every new vehicle has these days.

 

[buzzleo]

Hate to hear that, my Lariat is a 06/19 build date with 60k miles and has been relatively problem free.
The only "issues" I've had are the squeaky brake "feature" going 0-8 mph, and some surging.
1st year model woes I reckon?

What was the fix for the "squeky" brake issue?

 

[Trash Panda]

What was the fix for the "squeky" brake issue?

Earplugs, LOL. ?

But seriously though, my service advisor mentioned recently there was a guy with a 2020 F-150 with the same exact issue and they replaced pads, rotors, and re-lubricated and it still squeaks at crawling speeds.

My pads still have 7-8mm of material and the rotors are fine so at least no obvious damage is occurring.

 

[buzzleo]

Earplugs, LOL. ?

But seriously though, my service advisor mentioned recently there was a guy with a 2020 F-150 with the same exact issue and they replaced pads, rotors, and re-lubricated and it still squeaks at crawling speeds.

My pads still have 7-8mm of material and the rotors are fine so at least no obvious damage is occurring.

Same as far as rotors and pads. Still good at 48k. I had to check them in case the wear tab was scraping!

 

[Trash Panda]

Same as far as rotors and pads. Still good at 48k. I had to check them in case the wear tab was scraping!

So yours (I guess several on the forums too) does the same thing?
If that’s the case not even worth disassembling because they claimed they checked it at the dealership Saturday.

 

[buzzleo]

So yours (I guess several on the forums too) does the same thing?
If that’s the case not even worth disassembling because they claimed they checked it at the dealership Saturday.

I thought it was the back brakes. I took them apart but didn't need it. Cleaned them and lubed appropriately. Pretty sure It's the front....

 

[Dean]

I have a 2019 XLT with 18k miles.

No complaints really. The only thing I don't like is the positioning of the 4wd knob on the center console.

However I am concerned about the heater box failures mentioned. What specifically fails in this instance?

 

[EJH]

I have a 2019 XLT with 18k miles.

No complaints really. The only thing I don't like is the positioning of the 4wd knob on the center console.

However I am concerned about the heater box failures mentioned. What specifically fails in this instance?

The actuator(s) that adjusts blend door(s) bind up and start clicking or tapping, then they fail, or they just outright fail with a snap. When they fail, the HVAC temp cannot be controlled. It is stuck in whatever position the door(s) binded up in. Seems like this happens to most people in the 30k-40k milage (if it happens) There are a couple of threads here on it.

Edit. Here's the thread:
SSM 49264 - Climate Control Temperature Will Not Adjust With Clicking/Snapping Noise From The Dash

 

[Dean]

That's funny. My Merkur Scorpio had that same problem. There was a little plastic gear in the blend motors that would break with age.

OK, so this might possibly be a DIY repair, (3d print a new part perhaps?) but I bet the real bugger is tearing down the dash and getting to the items in question.

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