There are 14 stored owner reports matching the electrical system leading-label group for the 2002 Ford Ranger in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 14 of 14 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING ON HWY 79FROM PALISTINE TX TO JACKSONVILLE TX THURSDAY 7/11/2016 WHEN WE NOTICED SMOKE COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE TRUCK WE PULLED OVER AND NOTICED FIRE UNDER THE HOOD I TRIED TO POOR WATER ON IT ALL IT DID WAS JUST GET WORSE AND OUR TRUCK ALL MY WORK TOOLS MY LIVELY HOOD BLEW UP.
DOOR AJAR LIGHT STAYS ON AFTER CAR IS STARTED AND INTERIOR LIGHTS STAY ON FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTES AFTER VEHICLE IS STOPPED BEFORE GOING OUT. DOES NOT HAPPEN IF VERY COLD 20 DEGREES F, OR LESS. ALSO DRIVERS DOOR WILL PARTIALLY OPEN OCCASIONALLY WHEN DRIVING TO THE SAFETY CATCH POSITION. DOOR OPENING IS NORMALLY AT LOWER SPEEDS, LESS THAN 30 MPH AND MOSTLY WHEN GOING AROUND TURNS. STARTED ALMOST A YEAR AGO.
CANT COTROL CAR WANT TO LUNGE FORWARD OR STALL HARD TO DRIVE LIKE THIS I AM TOLD IT IS THE (ETB) ALSO DOOR WILL NOT STOP CHIMING
PASSENGER POWER WINDOW WILL NOT WORK. REPLACED ALL COMPONENTS BY AN ASE TECHNICIAN INCLUDING SWITCHES,MOTOR,AND TRACK. WINDOW WILL STILL NOT OPERATE. TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THERE IS POWER TO THE WINDOW BUT IT JUST WON'T WORK.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD RANGER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC AND THE CONTACT WAS TOLD THAT THE DESIGN OF THE VEHICLE WAS SET TO WHERE THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL IF THE BATTERY HAPPENED TO DIE. THE CONTACT BELIEVED THAT THE MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFICATIONS WERE A SAFETY ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. UPDATED 02/14/12*LJ UPDATED 02/24/12
DOOR AJAR LIGHTS IS LIT ON DASH AND DOME LIGHT STAYS ON. SOMETIMES WILL EVENTUALLY GO OFF, BUT EVENTUALLY COMES BACK ON BY ITSELF OR IF JARRED. *TR
FAILURE TO PERFORM SAFETY RECALL. *TR
DOME LIGHT WONT SHUT OFF & DOOR AJAR LIGHT ON . THE DOME LIGHT COULD START A FIRE. *NM
I HAVE LEARNED OF THIS "AUTO REV LIMITER" FUNCTION ON MY 2002 FORD RANGER PICKUP. I NOTICED THIS WHEN CLEARING SOME CLEANING FLUID FORM THE INTAKE OF THE ENGINE. IT LIMITED THE ENGINE TO 3500 RPM WERE IT OSCILLATED. I HAVE HEARD OF OTHER INSTANCES OF A GOVERNOR SET AT 85 MPH ON THIS TRUCK. I FEEL THIS IS UN-NECESSARY FOR FORD TO INSTALL THIS AND NOT MENTION IT IN THE OWNERS MANUAL. IF IT IS MENTIONS I DO NOT SEE IT. I FEEL THIS PROPOSES A RISK FACTOR IN DRIVING OR PASSING WHEN A LITTLE EXTRA SPEED MAY BE NEEDED. I HAVE NOT EXCEEDED 85 MPH IN THIS TRUCK AND KNOWING IT IS LIMITED TO THIS SPEED HELPS ME JUDGE WEATHER OR NOT TO PURCHASE ANOTHER FORD WITH THIS RESTRICTION OR IF I NEED TO ACT IN AN EMERGENCY WHAT THE TRUCK IS CAPABLE OF. IT NEEDS TO TOLD TO THE BUYING PUBLIC BEFORE A PURCHASE IS MADE ON THIS TRUCK. *JB
CONSUMER WAS DRIVING TO THE STORE WHICH TOOK ABOUT 3 MINUTES. ON THE RETURN TRIP HOME HE BEGAN SMELLING SMOKE. THEN CONSUMER BEGAN TO SEE THE SMOKE COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD. CONSUMER OPENED THE HOOD, AND COULD SEE THE ENGINE ENGULFED IN FLAMES. CONSUMER CONTACTED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THE FIRE WAS OUT, BUT SMOKE CONTINUED FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE FIRE MARSHAL SAID THAT IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY UNDER WARRANTY. *AK THE DEALER DID NOT WANT TO LOOK AT THE VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD TO CALL THE INSURANCE COMPANY. FIRE REPORT ON FILE. *TC
TRUCK COMBUSTION WHILE PARKED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO INVESTIGATION BY INSURANCE COMPANY. FIRE DEPT CLASSIFIED CAUSE AS UNKNOWN. *JB
I NEED HELP. I WAS DRIVING FROM MY CHILDS SCHOOL THE OTHER DAY, WHILE ACCELERATING DOWN THE HILL THE CAR SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. I LOST COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE CAR AND IF IT WASNT FOR THE PARKING LOT TO THE RIGHT I WOULD HAVE COME UPON A RED LIGHT MAY HAVE BEEN IN A MAJOR CAR ACCIDENT. ON AUGUST 11, 2003 I WAS DRIVING TO A SCOUT MEETING, WHILE COMING UPON A STOP SIGN I PROCEEDED TO TERN ON MY HEAD LIGHTS AND THE SAME THING BEGAN TO OCCUR. ALL OF THE INSTRUMENTS WENT OFF AND SUDDENLY CAME BACK ON. BUT BECAUSE WE BOUGHT THIS CAR FROM A USED CAR DEALER I DONT KNOW IF IT IS STILL COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. BUT AFTER READING A LOT OF THE HORROR STORIES ON THIS SITE ABOUT PEOPLE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THERE RANGERS ALSO I AM CONSIDERING GETTING RID OF THE TRUCK. *AK
ON 2 OCASSIONS IN JULY 2002; FORD RANGER JUST STOPPED RUNNING...ALL SYSTEMS NON FUNCTIONING; RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, WITH MILEAGE< 15,000. THERE WAS NO TIME TO PULL OFF ROAD AS NO WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON; ALL SYSTEMS SIMPLY FAILED. FIRST TIME IT WAS REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY, IT HAPPENED AGAIN A WEEK LATER. I MIGHT ADD THEIR ROADSIDE SERVICE COULD NOT BE PROVIDED AS THEY HAD NO ONE AVAILABLE. I SAT FOR 2 HOURS UNTIL POLICE CAME BY & OBTAINED A TOW FOR ME. VICTORY FORD IN STOUGHTON MA. DID FIRST REPAIR & TRUCK WAS NOT RUNNING RIGHT. WHEN I BROUGHT IT BACK THE NEXT DAY; THEY STATED IT WAS ROAD TESTED. HOW CAN THEY ROAD TEST WHEN IN MILEAGE WAS THE SAME AS OUT MILEAGE? SECOND TIME REPAIR WAS DONE AT A DIFFERENT FORD DEALERSHIP, WHICH I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH EXCEPT IT TOOK OVER A WEEK BEFORE THEY COULD GET TO IT. THE REPAIR WAS COMPLETED AND I WAS TOLD IT WAS THE MAIN COMPUTER CHIP. BUT IN CASE IT HAPPENED AGAIN THEY GAVE ME AN EXTRA CHIP AND SHOWED ME HOW TO INSTALL IT !!! REAL CONFIDENCE BUILDER!! TRUCK CONTINUED TO RUN ROUGH BUT I WAS TOLD THIS WAS TYPICAL OF FORD BY THE MECHANIC. SECOND COMPLAINT...ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND WHEN I WENT TO FORD GARAGE THEY TOLD ME THEY COULDN'T GET TO IT FOR DAYS, BUT THAT IT WAS PROBABLY ALRIGHT TO DRIVE, BUT THAT I SHOULD HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. HOW DO I GET IT CHECKED OUT WHEN NO LOCAL FORD GARAGES COULD DO IT. TOOK MY CHANCES AND WENT ON VACATION. WHEN I ARRIVED AT MY DESTINATION; A MALE RELATIVE CALLED A FORD GARAGE IN N.H. THE PROBLEM..A DPFE SENSOR & IT WAS PROMPTLY REPAIRED. THIS GARAGE IN CONWAY N.H. (MACDONALD MOTORS) TREATED ME THE WAY I FELT ALL CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE TREATED. MUST I GO OUT OF STATE NOW TO GET TRUCK FIXED WHICH IS STILL UNDER WARRENTY AND <18,000 MILES ON IT. THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME OUT & ALLOWING ME TO VENT. I HAVE BEEN A FORD OWNER FOR MANY YEARS & TRADE VEHICLES EVERY 2 YEARS. GUESS IT'S TIME TO SEEK ANOTHER AUTO MAKER.*AK
CONSUMER NOTICE WHILE TRAVELING ELECTRICAL WAVES BURNING CONSUMER ON THE LEGS. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. TS
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 29, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.