1998 Ford Ranger Recalls, Complaints & Specs

5 safety recalls list the 1998 Ford Ranger, and owners have filed 576 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.

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5 safety recalls for the 1998 Ford Ranger

Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.

1. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 07V336000 Reported August 3, 2007 3,600,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch may, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.

   Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch…

2. Automatic transmission (power train)

   NHTSA 99V204000 Reported July 28, 1999 326 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: electric vehicles. The transaxle may have been manufactured with the park detent spring misaligned. If the spring is misaligned, the park mechanism may not engage when the shift lever is placed in the park position.

   Remedy: Dealers will inspect the transaxle and any with misaligned park detent springs will be replaced.

3. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 99V062001 Reported March 30, 1999 898,739 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: certain 1997-1999 rhd explorer equipped with 4.0l ohv/sohc engines and cruise control built from may 29, 1996 through march 4, 1999; 1998-1999 explorer/mountaineers equipped with 4.0l ohv/sohc or 5.0l engines or 1998-1999 rangers equipped with 2.5l, 3.0l ffv/efi or 4.0l engines and cruise control built from january…

   Remedy: Dealers will replace the cruise control cables. At the present time, the replacement cables are not available. Customers are being advised not to use the cruise control system until a replacement can be made.

4. Labels (equipment)

   NHTSA 98V021000 Reported February 2, 1998 11,500 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: light duty four-wheel drive pickup trucks equipped with off-road option. The tire and rim identification information is incorrect on these vehicles. This does not comply with the requirements of FMVSS no. 120, "tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars."

   Remedy: Owners will be sent a safety certificaiton label partial overlay which will contain the correct rim size, and instructions for affixing this label to the vehicle. If an owner so desires, their ford dealer can install…

5. Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings (fuel system)

   NHTSA 97V186001 Reported October 28, 1997 2,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks equipped with 4.0l engines. The flexible section of the chassis mounted fuel line that connects to the engine was routed too close to the exhaust manifold. The line could contact the manifold.

   Remedy: Dealers will install an additional clip to hold the fuel line in the intended design position.

576 owner complaints filed with NHTSA

Owners of the 1998 Ford Ranger have filed 576 complaints with NHTSA; 66 describe a crash and 29 describe a fire. Reports cite 40 injuries and 7 deaths. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 101,924 miles. Complaints peaked in 2000 with 160 filed that year.

Most-reported components

• Tires83
• Vehicle speed control51
• Tires: tread/belt47
• Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip24
• Air bags: frontal23
• Engine and engine cooling: gasoline23
• Suspension22
• Interior lighting19

What owners are reporting

“I bought this truck new, i have had transmission problems but now my frame is in bad, bad, bad rusting condition and my mechanic said it will not pass inspection. This truck only has 82,000 miles on i”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, April 27, 2021 · Structure

“The rear of the frame rusted causing the bumper to hang off. It will fall off if not addressed”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, March 25, 2021 · Suspension

Fuel economy and specs

EPA ratings for the 1998 Ford Ranger (Ranger Pickup 2WD, Ranger Pickup 4WD). Ranges cover every tested configuration.

Compare Ford Ranger model years

Recall and complaint counts for every Ford Ranger model year in NHTSA's database.

Checking a specific 1998 Ford Ranger

Other Ford models

• F-15037,961 complaints
• Explorer34,566 complaints
• Escape27,430 complaints
• Fusion22,405 complaints
• Focus22,096 complaints
• Taurus18,159 complaints
• Windstar14,158 complaints
• Edge14,065 complaints

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.