2003 Ford Ranger engine problems

Filed Dec 20, 2020 · Engine, Fuel system · 11,200 miles · MI

When at stop light engine rpms go up high where it is hard to hold vehicle still with brakes.

Filed Nov 14, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 150,000 miles · AL · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford ranger. After starting the engine and turning on the heater, smoke and flames were present inside the vehicle coming from the driver's side vents. A fire extinguisher was used to extinguish the flames. The cause of the failure was not determined. Autonation ford mobile (901 east 1-65, service rd south, mobile, al) and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000. The VIN was invalid.

Filed Jan 23, 2019 · Engine · 160,000 miles · TN

Engine quit running,took to mechanic. Spark plug overheated blew wire off. Engine had water in oil. Engine is ruined. Was on highway.had to use wrecker to mechanic.only 160,000 miles on highway. Thought recall on ford trucks to engines giving away prematurely.

Filed Feb 12, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · 7,000 miles · GA

I purchase this truck brand new from gene evans ford in august 2003. I started complaining to them a week later that the truck rides as though my butt is hitting the pavement on a trip I took. Everyone ignored my concern in the service and sales department. When the problem was finally notice. I was sold a brand new truck with a severe bent axle and they would not do anything to repair the truck nor give me another one. They all played dumb and stupid as to never seeing the problem in the beginning. Ford still owes me restitution. Dealership should not be able to defraud the public on damage vehicles paying a fortune for just to kill you or someone else. Gene evans knew there was a problem from the onset. There has been a lot of problems with this truck in the past, present and most likely in the future considering the repairs that has already been put into the truck out of my pocket. My vehicle does everthing in all motion and no motion at all. Dangerous things happens including, cutting off constantly, lights are dim on the outside so it is very hard to see at night,rain coming in the rear window, truck started smoking, filled the reservoir and over flowed spewing the antifreeze all over the engine. It sounded like food was frying in very hot grease. There is a stinking odor, smells like very strong urine . Sickening feeling comes over me and anyone in the truck.ABS and check engine lights will not go off. The passenger window is moving slow as though it is going to stop. Trucks jumps which causing me to bounce up and down while idling or at a stop.

Filed May 24, 2016 · Engine · 142,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford ranger. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the spark plug shot out of the engine and left a large hole in the engine block. The check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and was later towed to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed a spark plug blowout and stated that a repair kit was needed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a local dealer. The contact was informed that there were no recalls. The failure was not remedied. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 142,000.

Filed Mar 24, 2016 · Engine, Steering · 277 miles · OH

Carquest water pump new 18420011 (t4188) complete failure after 100 miles. A new water pump was installed onto a 2003 ford ranger v6 3.0 VIN-v truck. He vehicle was driven between 25 - 60 MPH off and on for approximately 1 week totaling about 100 miles. Under normal driving conditions (30-35 MPH) and with slight acceleration, the bearing housing sheared off from the water pump body launching the cooling fan/clutch into the radiator. Power steering failed (no drive belt) and the cooling system dumped it's contents. The body of the pump is still intact to the vehicle, but the rest of it came off. Upon inspection of an identical part from the same store, there is an apparent casting color difference on the pump. It appears that there is a casting defect present in the pump and the installed pump broke almost perfectly aligned to the casting color differentiation.

Filed May 6, 2015 · Engine · 53,670 miles · VT

Engine stalls and won't re-start due to improper activation of the passive anti-theft system (pats) which is faulty. Engine shuts off, no power assist, lights remain functional, anti-theft dashboard light starts to blink. Vehicle will re-start only after removing and re-installing the #19 fuse to re-set the system. It may require several re-sets of thirty or more seconds each, after which the vehicle may run normally for a short distance or up to several months of normal driving. There are folks who shared their similar experiences on-line alerting me to the re-set procedure. I am told the solution to the problem requires the replacement of the power control module, which the pats is part of, and that it is not possible to otherwise disable the pats anti-theft system.

Filed Sep 15, 2014 · Engine · 244,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford ranger. While driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact restarted the vehicle and the engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 244,000.

Filed Jan 15, 2014 · Engine · 142,000 miles · CT

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford ranger. The contact stated that the thermostat housing failed, causing the vehicle to leak anti-freeze. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the thermostat housing needed to be replaced. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 142,000.

Filed Nov 13, 2007 · Engine, Transmission · 74,000 miles · CA

2003 ford ranger 4.0l 4wd at. Two of the six valve seats in the engine dropped causing the engine to lose compression after less than 70k miles. Noticed loss of power, took it in and had to pay over $2k in repairs even though it was still under warranty. The valve seats were replaced. The problem was fixed but a few months later while merging to freeway speeds the car stalled and would not re-start. Towed it in to find that the engine had jumped timing and bent all six crank arms. Again, repairs were made. Top end of the engine was replaced including the cranks. This is ridiculous for a truck with less than $70k miles on. I feel the original repair costs upwards of $2,000.00 should have been covered under the warranty as it was an internal engine issue and been reimbursed. Also a new engine should be installed or vehicle traded as this engine is obviously defective. All the meanwhile the main reason for taking the vehicle in for repairs three times prior was to fix the huge thump and delay on acceleration that almost caused me to get in an accident! The dealer said this was normal for 4wd trucks and there was nothing wrong with it. Yet every 4wd I've driven, even ones with over 100k miles on them, accelerate smoothly with no thumping or delay in acceleration. Nearing the expiration on my warranty due to mileage, I feel the dealership was trying to push the actual repairs off until then. They even said that the cause of the thump was that the transmission mounts were loose. So they "repaired" that but it had no effect and the issue still remains. This is where I stand currently and am trying to get the truck back in the shop, once again, to have this issue fixed so that I do not actually get in an accident. And to add to that, there is once again a loss in power, so we'll find out if the valve seats have once again dropped...