Ford's third-gen Ranger was produced between the 1998 and 2011 model years. The infamous Takata airbag inflator saga forced the second-largest automaker in the United States of America to recall many of them, and the saga isn't over yet.
Many production vehicles with factory-equipped Takata inflators are still out there, which boggles the mind if you remember that Ford replaces those modules at no charge to the customer as long as the customer is willing to wait a bit in the service lounge. It gets worse, though, because a great number of previously fixed trucks had their replacement inflators installed incorrectly.
As per Transport Canada, the Ford Motor Company is recalling 14,155 trucks that had the front passenger airbag inflator installed incorrectly during two previous recall campaigns. The recalls in question are dubbed 17S42 (from December 2017) and 18S02 (from January 2018). Affected model years range from 2004 through 2006, meaning that all were produced at the Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Twin Cities was shuttered in 2011, and the final third-gen Ranger to be produced there rolled off the assembly line on December 15 of that year. Although the Ranger soldiered on in other parts of the world on the so-called T6 platform, customers in the US and Canada had to wait until the 2019 model year to receive the T6-based Ranger.
The safety risk posed by a front passenger airbag inflator that had been installed the other way around is pretty obvious. Also obvious is the remedy for this condition, with dealers nationwide instructed to inspect and – if necessary – reinstall the inflator. Owners can enter the 17-character VIN on Ford Canada's recall portal to determine whether their pickup trucks are included in this recall or not.
Photo: Ford
It's hard to believe that a 2004 model year Ford Ranger used to retail at under $16,000 two decades ago. More standard kit and inflation hiked up the starting price of the Ranger to $32,670 for 2024, which is a tremendous difference over its forerunner. On the other hand, this generation is a completely different animal in every respect.
A midsizer rather than a compact, the 2024 Ford Ranger comes by default with the largest cab option there is. Among others, the work-oriented XL features alloy wheels instead of steelies, a 10-inch touchscreen, a 2.3-liter turbo inline-four mill, a 10-speed automatic, remote keyless entry with remote tailgate lock, and reflector-type LED headlights.
Over in Canada, the Ranger is available in the very same four trims of the North American version. The XL is joined by the better-equipped XLT, Lariat, and the no-nonsense Raptor. In addition to the standard 2.3-liter EcoBoost and the Raptor's 3.0-liter EcoBoost, the Ranger will soon welcome the 2.7-liter EcoBoost of the T6.2-based Bronco.
Ford says the 2.7-liter sixer should become available in the summer. In this application, it offers 315 ponies and 400 pound-feet (542 Nm) of twist.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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