What are your thoughts on the Ranger's long-term durability?

[KJ Mick]

Perhaps your biggest problem is condensation caused by short trips....

Please don't tell me that (in the year 2021) I have to drive a $40K+ vehicle (that already doesn't hit it's advertised MPG numbers) long and hard, CONSTANTLY, for it to meet my absolute MINIMUM (mechanical) expectations.

If that's the case, I'll never buy a vehicle like this again, and I'll be ditching THIS one very soon.

I drove a Ford Ranger for 20 years... that truck had no minimum driving distance requirement.

I've driven a very particular MINI Cooper S for 13 years... no minimum driving distance requirement.

Why would anyone accept that as "normal operating procedure"?

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[KJ Mick]

Don't get me wrong... I love this truck. I know it's tough to interpret "tone" in a message reply... I'm not upset.

I'm just REALLY hoping "not driving long and/or hard enough" is not the reason for my truck's mechanical issues ??

 

[Cabose-1]

Well, i bought a Ranger for a reason. I like ford pickups, and the ranger perfectly fit my needs. Cleaning the valves. Maintenance. All direct inject engines need this done. Nature of the beast. I do know. Unless this model is a lemon, like pt cruisers or neons, this truck is a keeper. Unless i get the f250 with the Godzilla engine from the cleveland plant. (canada, place of the old 351 cleveland engines)

 

[toddiscdn]

I guess time will tell, but over 2 years and 58,000km(36,000miles) of rode hard and put away wet, so far so good.

 

[KJ Mick]

dont get your panties in a knot...

I haven't achieved a completely knotted-up panty, but I may have the beginnings of an inconvenient wedgie ?

 

[WOADKIL]

Well, i bought a Ranger for a reason. I like ford pickups, and the ranger perfectly fit my needs. Cleaning the valves. Maintenance. All direct inject engines need this done. Nature of the beast. I do know. Unless this model is a lemon, like pt cruisers or neons, this truck is a keeper. Unless i get the f250 with the Godzilla engine from the cleveland plant. (canada, place of the old 351 cleveland engines)

Drove my '02 PT for 13 Trouble free years. Non-ownwers mainly had a prob with car...

Enjoy!

 

[Motorpsychology]

Please don't tell me that (in the year 2021) I have to drive a $40K+ vehicle (that already doesn't hit it's advertised MPG numbers) long and hard, CONSTANTLY, for it to meet my absolute MINIMUM (mechanical) expectations.

Dunno...
Average this tank:

Average since new:

Oil level 7/30/21 ~5300mi

My EPA spec:

A few things I learned driving over 4M+ miles in a semi, I think help my milage:

• Coast more, brake less
• Patience, Grasshopper. Read the traffic; why pass this guy if the car 200 yards ahead is also going the same speed? Mpg drops with hard acceleration. Every time.
• Maintain proper tire inflation & clean air filter
• Drive 'em long right outta the gate. When I drove OTR semi, We'd take a brand new tractor from our shop after installing our equipment (PTO, APU, etc) back it under a heavily loaded trailer and drive it 3000++miles its first week. Fewer problems over their lifetimes (1.5-2 million mi).

I have the FX4 Package on mine, which I like to think helps smooth the airflow under the truck, also a tonneau cover

I joined this forum long before I ordered my Ranger, just to get a feel for the ownership experience. It became apparent to me that the folks who are driving long distances, or at least with the engine at full operating temperature had fewer incidents of fuel in oil, and overall ok with their mpg.
So when ours came in, we took off on a 1400 mile trip including secondary roads and 80mph I-90 against the wind. 15.6 mpg empty on that stretch-uff da!

 

[remtv]

I am hoping for the best like everyone else and the truck seems to pretty reliable overall from all the anecdotes out there.

I honestly did not really try any other trucks at the time as I had decided to wait on buying a new vehicle mid 2021 but ended up needing one last September after my KIA temporally died (1/2 of which was my fault) and the XLT I have happened to show up at a dealer in AL just in time. So maybe I will regret no trying out a Tacoma or Colorado etc, and while I do have some doubts on if the ranger will have the overall long term longevity of something like a tacoma with an NA V6, overall all the parts of the truck seen to have been pretty well vetted at this point.

No idea on how long I will be keeping it (I was just driving my parents old 2001 outback before it broke a timing belt right before the planned service interval with 223k miles) but I hope these trucks do end up being good 200k vehicles like the old rangers.

 

[VTRanger]

If you have ever ridden a motorcycle with an open face helmet or no helmet down a highway or freeway with moderate to heavy traffic, you can feel the sandblast on your face and to a lesser extent on bare hands. Even on a "clean" roadway, you can't see any grit coming at you but you can feel it.
The 3&4G Rangers were very durable, given reasonable care. My brother-in-law put 226,000 miles on his 2000. When I lost my job at Whirlpool in 1984,, I drove a Ranger 2wd reg cab with a courier shell on the back. 2.3L(?)4cyl and a 3-speed automatic. I got an '83 with 78000 urban miles to start with and later got an '84 with about 30,000 after that driver quit. they also had E-150s and E-250s with the 4.0L I-6. they ran those about 400,000 miles than shipped them to Argentina to finish them up .

I feel like Subaru wins for worst paint. I had some sap on one and when I finally got it off with some rubbing alcohol, it took the paint down to the metal.

I think this truck feels typical ford reliable so far (having had an explorer in the past), I have under 3000 miles though. Only issue I have had so far is the negative temp issue when I didn't let it warm up and it had no power for a bit.

Wouldn't mind driving a new Tacoma to compare, but they don't have any on the lots.

 

[slowmachine]

Build-quality and design are critical components of durability, but so is sustainability over time. Since the COVID supply chain disruptions began, it has been difficult to get many repair parts. With a redesign coming in 2023, I have doubts about sustainability of the North American variant of this Ranger generation. Hedging my bets, I bought a used Toyota last week. I’m at 20,000 miles now, and I’ll be fully-prepared to trade this Ranger for something with more of a future before my 3/36 warranty expires.

 

[20Ranger4wd]

Honestly, I don’t trust it long term. Besides all the low quality exterior and cosmetic issues the OP is concerned about which I agree with, I’ve already had to take mine in for a failed driveshaft bearing at only 2000 miles. Lots of stories about the fuel in the oil issue, but I haven’t even paid attention to that on mine yet, don’t really care. Ive decided I’m going to probably get rid of it right around the 3 year/36000 mile mark, so if anything happens before then, I’m not worried, after it’ll be someone else’s problem. The whole truck seems like a maintenance nightmare waiting to happen.
All that being said, I like the looks, I like how it handles and performs on and off road. I love the size, and I generally love driving it. But between the issues I’ve already had with this truck, and past maintenance headaches with a 2016 Mustang GT I owned previously, this may be my last Ford.

I just wanted to revisit this post from over a year ago. So far so good, no further issues. And I USE this truck, it’s not babied. Camping, fishing, down trails, on the beach, and towing a +4100 lb boat regularly, launching and retrieving from some pretty steep ramps, some pretty rough. This thing just makes quick work out of anything I do with it. I’ll say my confidence has increased. This thing can handle heavy use.
I’m not going to brag on it, or I’ll have problems for sure?, but so far I’m feeling a lot better about it..

 

[alazar14]

I just wanted to revisit this post from over a year ago. So far so good, no further issues. And I USE this truck, it’s not babied. Camping, fishing, down trails, on the beach, and towing a +4100 lb boat regularly, launching and retrieving from some pretty steep ramps, some pretty rough. I’ll say my confidence has increased. This thing can handle heavy use.
I’m not going to brag on it, or I’ll have problems for sure, but so far I’m feeling a lot better about it..

Haha, man I just posted about my driver side trim rusting ... yeah. I baby my truck, freeway only, outdoor kept (but car port to protect from sun), wash every 2 weeks, wax once a month. Have only driven it 15k miles in almost 3 years.

Likely my first and only Ford TBH.

 

[20Ranger4wd]

Haha, man I just posted about my driver side trim rusting ... yeah. I baby my truck, freeway only, outdoor kept (but car port to protect from sun), wash every 2 weeks, wax once a month. Have only driven it 15k miles in almost 3 years.

Likely my first and only Ford TBH.

Oh man, no way! I’ll have to look up there on mine. Haven’t noticed anything, but I better check while it’s still under warranty.

 

[Wytchdctr]

I have had some initial quality issues, but the parts that count seem pretty robust. Understressed engine and trans (with stock tune). A real frame. I hope to keep this around as long as I had my last daily, 7 years or so. Then it's off to an electric vehicle probably.

 

[alazar14]

I have had some initial quality issues, but the parts that count seem pretty robust. Understressed engine and trans (with stock tune). A real frame. I hope to keep this around as long as I had my last daily, 7 years or so. Then it's off to an electric vehicle probably.

I would concur, engine and transmission have been awesome so far.

Most of my issues have had to do with paint quality, trim quality, and the little rust spots. I also had an electrical problem early on after about 500 Miles which was resolved.

Everyone seemed convinced that the truck would be Rock solid, but I had my concerns, still I ended up getting the 2019 version. On the one hand I guess it's a good thing because the prices have shot up so much lately. On the other hand though, the year of release probably had a lot of small quality control problems.

I picked up my ranger in early July of 2019.

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