Ford Ranger Years to Avoid and the Best Years

Years to avoid: 2019 At least twice the 32 complaints of a typical Ranger year. Most described: jerking or harsh shifting.
Best years: 2022 Under three quarters of the 32 complaints of a typical Ranger year since 2016, with no open NHTSA investigation or do-not-drive or park-outside recall. The 2023 drew few complaints too, but it has a recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside until it is repaired.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 11, 2026

Every model year since 2010 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 24 mpg combined, arrived in 2010. The 2010 and 2011 Ranger is the earlier compact pickup. Ford sold no Ranger in the US for 2012 to 2018; the Ranger that returned for 2019 is a larger midsize truck.

Ranger problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical Ranger year drew 32 complaints in its first three years: the median of its years since 2016, higher than the median of all its ranked years (23). Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years since 2016 with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year since 2016 (32), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2019 Ranger Avoid Most described: jerking, lurching or harsh shifting	68	272	11
2021 Ranger Most described: jerking, lurching or harsh shifting	39	119	6
2020 Ranger Most described: jerking, lurching or harsh shifting	32	131	7
2022 Ranger Best Most reported: powertrain	23	39	5
2023 Ranger Most reported: powertrain	15	19	4
2010 Ranger Most reported: air bags	10	156	8
2011 Ranger Most reported: air bags	9	235	5

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your Ranger for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Ford dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	8	9
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	13	46
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	13	99
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	4	19
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	5	39
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	6	119
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	7	131
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	11	272
2011 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	5	235
2010 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	8	156	Not rated

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2019: 272 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Ford Ranger
Model year	Complaints
2010	156
2011	235
2019	272
2020	131
2021	119
2022	39
2023	19
2024	99
2025	46
2026	9

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 22 to 24 mpg (2010 to 2011, 2019 to 2026); highest in 2010.

2026: gas 23 mpg

Show as a table

Ford Ranger best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version
2010	24
2011	24
2012	–
2013	–
2014	–
2015	–
2016	–
2017	–
2018	–
2019	23
2020	23
2021	23
2022	23
2023	23
2024	22
2025	23
2026	23

Every Ranger year's ratings in one table

Comparisons

Ford Ranger vs Toyota TacomaMPG, fuel cost, recalls and crash tests

Questions

Which Ford Ranger years should you avoid?

The 2019 Ranger is the year to avoid: it drew at least twice the 32 owner complaints of a typical Ranger year in its first three years. Owners of the 2019 most often describe jerking or harsh shifting. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Ford dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

What are the best Ford Ranger years?

The 2022 Ranger is the best year: it drew 23 owner complaints in its first three years, under three quarters of the 32 complaints of a typical Ranger year since 2016, and it has no open NHTSA investigation or recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside. The 2023 drew few complaints too, but it has a recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside until it is repaired. Only years since 2016 are considered, since owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Ford Ranger years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2019 (68) drew the most, then the 2021 (39). Owners of the 2019 most often describe jerking, lurching or harsh shifting.

Which Ford Ranger years have the most recalls?

The 2024 and 2025 have the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (13 each). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. Four recalls tell owners not to drive the car or to park it outside until it is repaired, covering 2010 to 2011, 2023 models. Each year's recalls page lists them first.

What are the most common Ford Ranger problems?

In the 1,125 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2010 to 2026 models, owners most often describe jerking, lurching or harsh shifting (102 complaints, most of them for the 2019 and 2020); loss of power or limp mode (70 complaints, most of them for the 2019, 2020, and 2024); and transmission failure or replacement (58 complaints, most of them for the 2019 and 2021). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Ford Ranger year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 24 mpg combined, first reached by the 2010 gas version.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.