2020 Ford Ranger Complaint Log

Clicking sound coming from under the dash. I traced it to the blend door assy. Defrost intermittently will disengage. Vehicle has 29,600 miles on it

The cylinder #1 spark plug ignition coil. Check engine light came on and the vehicle began to vibrate while traveling 70 mph. The last 30 miles of the drive on an interstate required no speed higher than 50 to prevent the vibrations. Per the independent service center, Ford has issued guidance that water could enter this compartment and rust the part. A repair costing 847.00 was completed by the mechanic, verifying it was completely rusted. Flashing check engine light came on and then steady light.

Back up camera intermittently fails to operate giving a squiggly picture or a blank black screen. I have seen many articles involving the same issues with Ford Broncos and where recalls have been issued for those vehicles. When will the NTSB be calling for Ford to recall other vehicles models having the same issues?

Truck shifts from 1st to 3rd, hard shifting in 4th through 10th gears.

2020 Ford Ranger XL: Total failure of both rear leaf spring assemblies (detached from bushing). Discovered during routine maintenance at approximately 47K miles. Both rear leaf spring assemblies failed in the same location where spring meets the bushing at fwd spring attachment leaving the rear of the truck supported by the rear shock assemblies only. Technician assessment showed no damage to associated rear suspension components, minimal corrosion, and no sign of collision or impact causing failure - suspect latent manufacturing defect in original OEM part as OEM has since updated original part number. Local ford service center indicated that this is a known issue however no current recall or extended warranty covered by OEM. I am in possession of all failed parts. Happy to provide info or failed parts upon request for further analysis.

My 10 speed 10r80 transmission is failing and dangerous. Besides slipping bucking and delaying shifting it now revs up without moving. I've almost been hit more than 6 times. My ford dealer changed the fluid road tested and normal all that I'm complaining about is normal.

Hit a tree head-on going 30+mph. Impact point on the vehicle was next to the airbag sensor. Air bags did not deploy

Brought the vehicle to the dealer for standard 40,000 mile service. When it was raised on their lift, the rear end dropped out because both driver and passenger side leaf springs had broken at the mount bushings. The springs had been broken for some time, as there was significant rust at the broken points. The truck drove normally. This was only discovered once the truck was on a service lift. The weight of the truck was resting on the intact part of the springs, but may have completely disconnected if I had hit a large enough bump while the springs were broken. This would certainly have caused a loss of control, and likely resulted in a crash. The dealer confirmed that this was a manufacturer defect. Despite being past the warranty period, Ford agreed that this is a defect. They used the "Ford ESP" extended service plan to with the cost to perform the repair, though I did not have an extended service contract. I searched the internet, because this should not be possible on a vehicle with this age and mileage. I discovered many reports of similar occurrences on the 2019-2022 Rangers. [XXX] [XXX] I found similar reports on Reddit and other sites. This is dangerous and appears to be a common defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2020 Ford Ranger with transmission and engine (EGR cooler) issues resulting in hard shifting and surges makes it dangerous to drive. Happened on vehicle that was properly cared for and maintained. Issues present on truck that has less than 70k miles.

Rear view camera screen freezes, has distortion and is sometimes blank. This has been an issue for several months and I keep seeing articles regarding this problem and that Ford is recalling various vehicles for the same issue but have not been notified of a recall for my vehicle model and year.

all of these issues: Shuddering at the point of acceleration Inability to reach desired speed Gear lockout Failure to start Shifter “lockout” or being “stuck in park” Hesitation from a stopped position Sluggish performance, including during towing “Check engine” light “Juddering,” which involves shaking of the vehicle during normal operation Loss of power or failure to engage

Purchased used in 2024 with 44,000 miles. Transmission issues began at 79,000 miles. Hard shifting, slipping and then lurching when it goes in gear. Diagnosed after transmission service ($600) as a factory defect in the 10 speed transmission. Ford has issued Service Bulletins defining and outlining the issue but has offered no assistance in rectifying and repairing. Since so many vehicles are affected there should be a recall. I understand that in Canada a class action lawsuit has been initiated.

Automatic transmission Available for request Accelerating and stoping proves to be a safety issue on the roadways Confirmed by anyone that drives the vehicle Not inspected, out of warranty and can not afford replacement No lamps

Backup camera isn't working a recall on some 2020 rangers has been issued but not mine. Parking collision warning isn't as loud as it used to be. Took it t ford garage but they wanted to charge me to do diagnostics. Warning onbackup camera call your service department

I bought the 4x4 Ford Ranger specifically to be towed behind my motor home and followed the directions on how to set up the Flat-tow feature that allows the Ranger to be towed behind my motorhome. I had traveled to a number of Good Same Rallys without any trouble with the Ranger. I use it also as my main vehicle at home to go to store, church etc. On my last trip to Branson, MO while coming home there was a noise that sounded like my brakes on the Ranger were locked up. I took my foot off the gas pedal and it stopped, I proceeded on home when it did this several times. Each time it would stop. I got home disconnected the Ranger and it started fine, I drove it almost 200 miles when I began to notice a jerking from the transmission and took it to my dealer. They proceeded to check it out and told me that the transmission and universal were bad and needed to be replaced at a 17k price. According to the computer readout my battery had failed 2 times. HOW CAN A BATTERY FAIL TWO TIME??? Apparently this caused my flat tow in nuetral tow to go into normal range and at that time made my truck act like it was in normal range, towing a dead truck. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED ME TO HAVE A BAD ACCIDENT, END UP IN A DITCH. The shop checked and the batter was low but ok. The computer on board did this to my truck and lied on the readout. Three (3) other Rangers had this happen to them and one blew up. I am sure other Ranger owners have had this happen to them too. This can cause a serious accident. I have filed a complaint to our attorney General in my state.

Internal component failure of the 10R80 transmission. While driving one evening on a highway the vehicle while in cruise began bucking, surging and reduced gears. The vehicle began spraying transmission fluid on vehicles behind me and what was once a 10 speed transmission became a 7 speed transmission. Prior to failure there was zero indication of an issue. Nearly getting into an accident I had to make my way to the side of the road where there wasn’t much of a flat shoulder. Not only could my sudden decline in speed have caused an accident but the transmission fluid spraying on vehicles behind me could have reduced others visibility. Dealership near the incident area has confirmed internal failure which is extremely common for these transmissions. Vehicle is currently awaiting a replacement transmission.

The dri er side leaf spring broke at the fro t bushing attachment. The bushing is completely rusted and cracked.

On more than one occasion but still infrequently, I have been coming to a stop and while braking, the engine revs and lurches forward while I'm attempting to stop. It is rare that it happens but it is very scary when it does happen. No warning lights appear. I have submitted a request to the dealer who sold us the truck. But it happens to infrequently that it would be difficult to reproduced by a dealer. It has happened approximately 5 times since purchasing the vehicle in December 2020. Approximate date of most recent event below.

Rough shift and jerkings around 35 to 40 mph

When accelerating from a stop, there is a lag in the engine shifting into gear, it causes the RPM's to climb before eventually shifting gears and once it does that the whole vehicle jolts forwards. There is also a noticeable lag when the vehicle is shifting from 1st and second, as well as a jolt when it does shift but not as much of a jolt as the initial 1st to 2nd. Once the vehicle is up to 3/4th gear, it does not appear to have the same issue shifting. This poses a safety issue in numerous situations. One example being, when stopped at an intersection and trying to make a left hand turn, I have to be extremely cautious that I have plenty of space as to account for the potential lag and not being able to accelerate quickly.

Rearview camera malfunction. Screen on rearview mirror goes from blue color to blank. The vehicle's air conditioning does not blow cold air. Stays at warm temperature. Cannot hear pump kick on for A/C.

On the freeway cruise control at 75 mph, truck started down shifting in to 7th gear, then back up and continued to do this several times until i reached my destination. Took it out of cruise control and still did it. It did it again about 3 days later. I took it to ford dealership, they test drove it and it wouldn't do it for them.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse(R), the vehicle jerked before the transmission responded as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle returned to normal functionality afterwards. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the gear shifter assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving 50 MPH, there was an abnormal humming sound coming from the vehicle before the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. The contact stated that unknown warning lights were intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and was diagnosed with an internal leak in the transmission which caused the failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired after the latest failure. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 242046. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

Rear brake lights did not work, but high mount brake light functioned normally. I found a safety recall for the 2019 Ford Ranger for the same condition (19S43). This safety recall identifies connector C442 as the root cause for the incident. Based on this information, I located the connected. I disconnected the connector, did visual inspection. Visual inspection did not find any bent pins, so I reconnected connector. After inspection and reconnection of connector C442 the brake light now work. A little background on me. I’m a retire Service Engineer from Nissan and I have extensive background in vehicle service issues, recalls and campaigns. Based on my experience, I believe that the incident I confirmed on my vehicle may indicate that the Ford Ranger may continue to have brake light inoperative condition beyond the current Safety Recall window of vehicle. I have already contacted Ford to advise them of this condition. I offered to make my vehicle available to Ford for inspection, Ford declined.

Rear camera sometimes freezes or blacks out. Have seen recall notices for this issue on 2024 year models of the same vehicle model but not for the 2020 model

Transmission issues since purchasing used. Has been in once for Transmission reprogramming. Less than 6 months later, Transmission now bucks when foot removed from accelerator and shifts out of gear while driving. Returning to Lincoln dealer 6/6 for additional service.

My rearview camera sometimes will not work. Ford has many recalls for this but not for my 2020 Ranger.

I purchased a 2020 Ford Ranger truck which had, either a faulty "bulb," or other type of device which caused the driver side tail light to not illuminate. I was not made aware of this, as I do not commonly check to see if the taillights were when I turn on the lights to drive at night. However, I observed the faulty taillight probably a year or so after owning the vehicle. The vehicle is not frequently driven, as I brought the 2020 Ford Ranger truck new, and it presently as of April 2025 has about 7300 miles on it. When I became aware of the faulty taillight, I went to the local AutoZone store to purchase a replacement bulb, and was informed by a fairly knowledgeable individual that my vehicle did not have a standard "bulb" which could be replaced. I was told the unit which housed the component which caused the lighting to occur was an integrated compounded which had to be totally replaced, at a significant cost. I have not made any attempts to remove the component, and was informed there would be a significant cost to do so. On March 29, 2025 I was pulled over by a local sheriff's office indicating there was a problem with not only the taillight on the driver side not operating, but also problems with operation of my brake lights and other lights in the rear of the truck. I was informed that I should get the problem fixed as soon as possible. I did explain that I had previously made an attempt to get the driver side taillight fixed, but the component, was not available to do so. I then began to research the problem, and found an article was online which was attributed to Consumer Reports entitled "Ford recalls Ranger pickup trucks for taillight problem, automaker says loose electrical connections could lead to a crash" the basis of the November 25, 2019 article stated "Ford is recalling 78,264 of its 2019 Ranger pickup trucks because electrical connector may be loose or not properly installed. As a result the taillights may be inoperative or work intermittently.

The taillight on the driver's side has never worked properly. Took it for repair to get a replacement bulb. Personnel at local auto parts store were aware of problems on this model vehicle. They stated no replacement bulbs were available because it required an electronic "bulb." Was informed that the part was VERY expensive, so was unable to get replacement part. Was pulled over by local police and told no lights in rear of vehicle, including brake lights were working. Consumer reports reported same problem with 2019 Ford Ranger and had article "Ford Recalls Ranger Pickup Trucks for Taillight Problem." November 25, 2019. Ford recalled 78,264, year 2019 Rangers. My truck is a 2020 Ranger and the problem with the taillights0030 described for 2019 is IDENTICAL TO THE ONE DESCRIBED FOR 2019.

While driving on the highway the tensioner pulley snapped off from the timing cover. Losing the pulley caused my serpentine belt to become tangled in the radiator fan. My engine over heated and I lost power steering. This left me stranded on the side of the highway for hours. I took the truck to ford, the origional quote was 3900, but they worked with me and got it down to 1765.

Date/Time: [XXX] Approximately 3:00PM local Weather: About 10F, light wind. No precipitation. Event Description: Vehicle had sat for > 12 hours. Started vehicle and operated wipers to clear snow. Vehicle was in 2WD; Shifted to “D” and began driving forward down driveway slowly; normal throttle response. Shifted from 2WD to 4WD. 4WD engaged, and there was normal throttle response. After driving for about 15 seconds, near end of driveway, removed foot from accelerator to slow to see if there was traffic. I saw that there was none and tried to accelerate. No throttle response; the vehicle came to a stop in the snow. Note: when I state “no throttle response”, I mean no engine revving; it was not simply that the drivetrain wasn’t sending engine power to the wheels, the engine wasn’t increasing throttle as I commanded. Momentarily surprised, I pressed harder to about 30% throttle, still no response. I removed my foot from the accelerator and applied the brake. As I did so, looked at the center console display. It was showing that it had lost connection with my phone (I had left it in the house) and it was trying to reconnect. At that moment I felt a slight “bump” of acceleration. The time between first noticing no throttle response and feeling the “bump” was about 3 seconds. I decided to go back for my phone (and I also didn’t want to get on the road with a wonky throttle) so I backed up to the house; normal throttle response. I retrieved my phone and everything operated normally after that. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the heating system became inoperable. The contact stated that the heater would not function properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the HVAC blower motor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was referred to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

The contact owned a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that his wife had parked the vehicle in the residence driveway and was bringing purchases into the residence when she returned to the vehicle she observed that gray smoke was being emitted from under the hood. The contact came out to the driveway, observed the smoke, and saw that flames were coming from the driver's and passenger side of the hood. The contact stated that the fire department was called but when they arrived the vehicle was engulfed from the front to the rear. The contact stated that the fire department extinguished the flames using water and chemicals. The contact stated that the fire department had written an incident report. The contact stated that his insurance provider had the vehicle towed to an impound lot and declared the vehicle a total loss. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact back to his insurance provider. The failure mileage was approximately 24,500.

The blend door for HVAC controls sticks, makes clicking noises. From time to time it will stick in one position, for example cabin, when I need defrost, making it difficult to see safely potentially.

Wiring in components failed resulting in non functioning cross traffic alerts and blind spot detection. Problem found by independent mechanic, ford warranty does not cover.

I bought my 2020 Ford Ranger preowned with around 64k miles on it. After having owned it for about 6 months or so, I started to notice lots of problems with the transmission. After first noticing it, the problems persisted for a couple more months until I finally decided to address it. The problems were very characteristic of transmission slippage, and they got progressively worse week by week, which it what ultimately prompted me to address it. When accelerating and shifting through the lower gears (15-30 MPHs, approximately), the shift would be delayed and lag a couple seconds. This would often cause stalling in the acceleration, particularly when going from a stop to a start, such as through traffic lights. There were also very rough and aggressive shifts at higher gears when driving on the highway. It would feel like rough jolts that would rock the truck a little. Also transitioning the truck into reverse often caused serious jolts as the transmission shifted very aggressively. Eventually, I took my truck into an AMCO transmission shop for inspection. They confirmed that my transmission was damaged and needed replaced. This was at about 86k miles. I took the truck into a Ford dealership to get a second opinion and they also confirmed my transmission needed replaced. I went ahead and had the transmission replaced at that point. The replacement was done with the truck at 86k miles. The Ford dealership replaced the 10R80 transmission with a re-manufactured 10R80. It has now been about 8k miles and 9 months since the transmission was replaced, and the re-manufactured transmission is starting to experience similar problems. Mostly with a lag when shifting in lower gears and hard jolts when placing it in reverse. The problems are not as bad as the original transmission before I had it replaced, but some still remain. There were no warning lamps or messages with this problem. Ford's 10R80 transmission is notorious for failing and being a safety problem to the public.

Early model 2019-2020 Ford Rangers have a known defect where the blend door actuator fails. The assembly was redesigned mid 2020 and is now the common fix for all who are affected by this issue. During this failure the blend door cannot and will not actuate as it should causing in ability to defrost the windshield causing visibility issues. Additionally, it causes unbearable heat to be released inside the vehicle with no warning causing additional safety issues for drivers and passengers. The issue is widely observed for all owners of early generations. Even though ford has known about the issue that forced an entire redesign they are unwilling to recall the defective component. I have contacted their corporate office and was informed there is no support for this issue. Today, while driving the system on its own changed to defrost, half of the windshield could be seen through, the other half could not due to variations on both sides which also caused condensation to form.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine, which caused a failure with the spark plugs. The contact was informed that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. Additionally, the contact was informed that an engine appearance shield needed to be installed over the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Transmission has rough and erratic shifts at lower speeds. Bucking and bouncing of the vehicle occurs do to the shifting.

Repeated problems with the 10 SPD automatic transmission in my 2020 Ford Ranger. Transmission skips between gears, shakes, jerks, feels like I’m driving over rumble strips. You name it, the transmission is doing it. Took it to the Ford dealership last year and they “cannot reproduce the issue”. That’s because it doesn’t happen all the time. I guess I need to take a technician on a road trip with me to identify the issue. Fast forward to now…warranty is gone and problem still persists. Only 28,000 on the truck. Waiting on a recall to replace the transmission. I mean, these issues are all over the internet. Super common issue. The transmissions are obviously faulty and Ford refuses to resolve the issue. I am beyond irritated at this point

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal squeaking and humming sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the failure was due to the carrier bearings and there was no grease or scratches. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while attempting to accelerate from a complete stop, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact shifted into neutral(N), and then shifted back into drive(D). The contact stated that the vehicle responded, then jerked forward and backward. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving from a complete stop; however, on the latest failure, the vehicle failed to respond and stalled. The vehicle was pushed to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while parking and removing the seat belt, the belt retracted quickly wrapping around their child's neck. The contact was able to stop the vehicle and release the child; however, the seat belt still failed to retract properly. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

When driving between 40 & 45 miles per hour truck start jerking and skipping also burning lots more fuel.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, a message indicating that the computer system needed to be updated was displayed. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving 35 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the computer system could not be updated, and the dealer determined that the Accessory Protocol Interface Module (APIM) had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was awaiting a call from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the front camera fault service required and pre-collision assist not available, messages were displayed. There was an abnormal chiming sound detected. The safety features were disabled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who informed the contact to clean the camera. The dealer used an ODB scanner but retrieved no codes and informed the contact to schedule a service appointment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that there were no open recalls on the VIN. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

Rear seat latch does not work resulting in seat collapsing forward when braking and would also collapse in an accident. Seat belts and child car seat would not be functional. Appears to be a common problem based on our research on the Internet. Salinas Ford dealership rep stated repairs are not covered because it is not a seat belt. This vehicle only has 2,758 miles, even though it is a 2020.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle surged unintendedly. Additionally, the engine was misfiring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with water leaking into cylinder #1. The contact was informed that the cylinder needed to dry out. The contact was also informed that an engine cover needed to be installed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving between 40-45 MPH, the vehicle began jerking and the transmission was skipping. Additionally, the vehicle lost power and was consuming an excessive amount of fuel. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,900.

Presently, my mileage is approximately 42770. It has started to exhibit vibration throughout the cab. It wasn't as prevalent during the cold and would only last about 30 seconds, after warm up, and around 70 mph. Now that it has gotten warmer, it is happening after warm up at all speeds. I haven't take it to the dealership yet, but have read reports of the problem with the same model year.