2000 Ford Ranger

AT 56,000 MILES, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME MY TRUCK HAS DEVELOPED ENGINE SPONTANEOUS RACING EVEN WHILE IN GEAR. THIS IS A HAZARDOUS CONDITION WITH POTENTIAL INJURY/FATALITY. OCCURRED AT 22 K MI, 45 K MI, AND NOW AT 56 K MI. WHEN IT OCCURS VEHICLE WANTS TO RACE AHEAD AND CRASH UNLESS TAKEN OUT OF GEAR WHEN THE ENGINES RACES AND SOMETIMES WON'T STOP UNLESS I INTENTIONALLY STALL OR TURN OFF THE ENGINE WHILE IN TRAFFIC. IT IS NOT AN INCIDENT, IT IS ONGOING. I HAVE USED THE DEALER REPAIR SHOP EXCLUSIVELY. THEY REPLACED THE THROTTLE POSITION CONNECTOR AT 22K MI. THEY REFERRED TO TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 00-3-5. I, OF COURSE, WOULD LIKE THIS FIXED PERMANENTLY AS IT GRADUALLY RECURS MORE AND MORE OFTEN TO THE POINT OF SEVERAL TIMES A DAY. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 FORD RANGER. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED ACCELERATING. THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND THE ABS INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. IF THE CONTACT IMMEDIATELY ACTIVATES THE HAZARD LIGHTS, THE FAILURE WILL CORRECT ITSELF. THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED MORE THAN 30 TIMES WITHIN ONE MONTH. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 86,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 85,000. UPDATED 11/12/08 *CN UPDATED 11/18/08. *JB

I FIRST NOTICED A SQUEAKING NOISE AND WHILE INVESTIGATING I FOUND THAT MY TRUCKS FRAME IS TOTALLY RUSTED AND HAS CRACKED ON BOTH SIDES AT THE REAR WHEELS. THE TRUCK IS A 2000 FORD RANGER WITH EXCELLENT BODY INTEGRITY AND LITTLE OTHER RUST. BOTH MY MECHANIC AND THE TOW TRUCK OPERATOR SAID THEY HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS. BOTH SAID THAT I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED OR KILLED OTHERS IF THE FRAME SNAPPED. THE TOW OPERATOR SAID THAT TOYOTA'S HAVING A "SILENT RECALL" OF TRUCKS 1995-2000 WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I NOW HAVE A TRUCK WITH NO WARRANTY THAT IS UNDRIVEABLE BUT HAS AN OUTSTANDING LOAN AGAINST IT. FORD IS NOT ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. *TR

I BOUGHT A 2000 FORD RANGER. I HAVE KEPT THE ALL THE UPKEEPS FOR THIS CAR AND MORE ACCORDING TO THE FORD DEALERS INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR THE FORD RANGER TRUCK. IT HAS ABOUT 81000 MILES ON IT. I RECENTLY HAD TO PAY $2300.00 TO THE KEARNY MESA FORD TO FIX MY CAR. I DO HAVE THE CRUISE CONTROL ON IT. ONE DAY, I SMELLED ANTIFREEZE. MY HEAT GADGET DID NOT GO OFF. THERE WAS NO INDICATION THAT THE TRUCK WAS OVERHEATING, BUT I CHOSE TO BRING IT IN. I THOUGHT IT WAS PROBABLY A LEAK IN A HOSE. IT TURNED OUT THE A HEATING ELEMENT WAS "PROBABLY THE CULPRIT", BUT THEY FOUND THROUGH THEIR COMPUTERS THAT THE ENGINE HAD TO BASICALLY BE REBUILT BECAUSE THE ENGINE HAD OVERHEATED. MY CONCERN WAS THAT NOT ONCE DID MY HEATING GAUGE TELL ME THAT THE TRUCK WAS OVERHEATING. THAT IS DANGEROUS. I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS CONNECTED TO THE CRUISE CONTROL PROBLEM, BUT FOR A HEATING GAUGE TO NOT GO OFF WHEN THERE IS SEVER HEAT GOING ON IN THE ENGINE IS DANGEROUS. I COULD HAVE GOTTEN STRANDED IN A DANGEROUS PLACE OR THE ENGINE MAY HAVE EXPLODED ON THE FREEWAY WITH THE ENORMOUS DAMAGE THAT TOOK PLACE. I THOUGHT THIS NEEDED TO BE REPORTED. FORD COULDN'T TELL ME WHY THE HEATING GAUGE DID NOT WORK. THEY TOLD ME THAT NOW AND THEN EVEN TRUCKS THAT ARE KEPT UP GO WRONG. THAT IS NOT A GOOD ANSWER WHEN THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 FORD RANGER. WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH AFTER ACCELERATING FROM A STOP, THE CONTACT MADE AN ABRUPT STOP AND THE BRAKES FAILED. SHE DROVE HOME AT A LOW SPEED AND, ONCE THERE, SHE NOTICED BRAKE FLUID PUMPING OUT OF THE BRAKE LINES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL MUFFLER SHOP THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE BRAKE LINES HAD CORRODED THROUGH THE PASSENGER SIDE REAR BRAKE LINES. NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE BECAUSE THE PARTS HAVE NOT YET ARRIVED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 50,170.

2000 FORD RANGER BRAKE LINE FAILURE -- THE RIGHT-REAR BRAKE LINE RUPTURED. THIS IS THE SECOND BRAKE LINE RUPTURE IN A LITTLE OVER 1 YEAR. THE FIRST RUPTURE WAS WITH THE LEFT-REAR BRAKE LINE IN MARCH 2007. THE COST OF THE REPAIR WAS $295.00. THE SECOND RUPTURE OCCURRED ON JULY 2, 2008. THIS REPAIR HAS NOT BEEN PERFORMED AS YET. BOTH RUPTURES OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING AND DURING AN ATTEMPT TO APPLY THE BRAKES. UPON APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE PEDAL WENT SPONGY, AND BOTH THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT AND ABS WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THE VEHICLE DID EVENTUALLY STOP. FORTUNATELY, THERE WHERE NO OTHER VEHICLES OR PEDESTRIANS IN FRONT OF ME. UPON INITIAL INSPECTION, THE BRAKE LINE WAS LEAKING FLUID AND THE MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER RESERVOIR WAS BELOW HALF FULL. A CLOSER INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE BRAKE LINE HAD RUSTED THROUGH NEAR THE FITTINGS. THIS VEHICLE HAS APPROXIMATELY 34,000 MILES AND IS DRIVEN INFREQUENTLY. *TR

FORD 4.0L ENGINE HEAD GASKET LEAKAGE, CAUSE OVERHEATING OF RINGS, CRACKED HEAD, ONE NEW HEAD, ONE REBUILT, WITHOUT ANY OVER-TEMP INDICATION. I COULD SMELL A SLIGHT ODOR OF BURNED WATER FOR OVER 1 YEAR, WHILE NEVER FINDING A LEAK. THIS EXPENDITURE OF ABOUT $2K DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM, NOW I HAVE RELAXED RINGS, POOR, BUT NOT BAD COMPRESSION, AND USE LOTS OF OIL, WHEN I'VE BABIED THIS ENGINE, DONE ALL MY OWN WORK, AND OIL CHANGES, AND HAD LESS THAN 90,000 MILES. THIS LACK OF POWER, THEN SUDDEN DECREASE IN COMPRESSION CAUSED THE ENGINE TO BUCK SEVERELY, POINTING ME IN ALL KINDS OF FUEL AND ELECTRICAL AREAS OF MAINTENANCE. AT THE SAME TIME, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, BUT WOULD NOT ALLOW ME OR ANYONE'S CODE READER TO READ THE PROBLEM... THIS LACK OF COMPRESSION AND ENGINE DEMISE CAME ON UNEXPECTEDLY, SUDDENLY, AND WITHOUT NOTICE OVER A ONE TO TWO WEEK PERIOD. A LOCAL AUTOSHOP OWNER OF 35 YEARS TOLD ME THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT ON THE HEAD GASKET, BUT AS YET I HAVE NOT FOUND IT. AT PRESENT, AFTER TWO HEADS WERE REPLACED, I CAN DRIVE THE VEHICLE, BUT CANNOT DEPEND ON LOW OIL CONSUMPTION... I NEVER HAD ANY OIL CONSUMPTION PROBLEM BEFORE THIS EVENT. *TR