Common problems

Ford Ranger common problems

What MOT testers find on the Ford Ranger: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 426,542 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 3 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=57,129)6.2

All cars at 3 years (n=8,016,463)2.9

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=57,129)18.2

All cars, same age (n=8,016,463)18.1

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 4.8 of every 100 MOTs of a Ford Ranger at 3 years old (n=57,129), against 0.6 for all cars of that age (n=8,016,463).
Tyres fails are less common: 3.7 per 100 MOTs against 4.8 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 3 years: coil spring broken, on 3.1 per 100 MOTs (all cars 0.1).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 15.1 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 3 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Ford Ranger at 3 years (n=57,129) against all cars at 3 years (n=8,016,463). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	6.2	2.9	2.8	0.7
Suspension	4.8	0.6	5.5	1.9
Tyres	3.7	4.8	18.2	18.1
Brakes	2.7	1.7	10.3	8.8
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.9	2.8	3.1	2.8
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.2	0.5	1.9	0.4
Number plates and VIN	0.5	0.2	0.5	0.5
Seat belts and airbags	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.1
Body and structure	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.3
Steering	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Road wheels	0.1	0.1	under 0.1	0.4

What testers fail most on the Ranger at 3 years

Fail items on the Ford Ranger at 3 years (n=57,129), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=8,016,463).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	3.1	0.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Headlight aimed too high	Lights and electrics	2.9	0.9	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.3	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.2	1.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	1.1	1.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	0.9	0.6	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	0.9	1.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	0.7	0.2	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.7	0.2	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	0.5	0.1	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 3 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Ford Ranger at 3 years (n=57,129), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=8,016,463).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	15.1	11.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	6.8	4.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	3.3	3.9	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.6	1.5
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	2.3	0.2	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Nail in tyre	Other	2.2	2.3
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.1	1.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	1.9	1.0	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	1.7	2.1
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.4	0.2

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 3 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Tyres
3 years	57,129	6.2	4.8	3.7
4 years	56,321	5.8	7.1	3.6
5 years	50,835	6.8	8.7	3.8
6 years	49,708	8.1	9.7	4.1
7 years	41,368	9.6	10.1	4.2
8 years	31,452	11.5	10.5	4.2
9 years	23,791	13.6	10.4	4.1
10 years	15,258	16.4	11.8	2.9
11 years	10,729	18.3	12.4	2.9
12 years	8,127	20.0	11.7	3.2
13 years	7,917	23.8	12.0	3.6
14 years	8,321	24.5	11.3	3.5
15 years	10,106	25.9	13.2	3.7
16 years	11,206	26.2	14.3	3.7
17 years	10,569	26.4	14.3	3.8
18 years	10,018	26.4	15.3	3.8
19 years	7,714	26.4	14.3	3.6
20 years	5,775	25.7	14.8	4.1
21 years	4,192	25.3	14.9	3.8
22 years	2,868	22.8	15.3	4.3
23 years	1,987	24.0	15.1	4.5
24 years	1,151	21.8	12.6	4.4

Mileage

At 3 years, Ford Ranger cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 12.8% of MOTs (n=19,661); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 26.7% (n=1,582). For pass and fail rates by age, see Ford Ranger MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Ford Ranger, testers most often record coil spring broken; headlight aimed too high; tyre tread below 1.6 mm. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Ford Ranger?

At 3 years, the age with the most MOT tests (57,129), the fail items testers record most often on the Ford Ranger are coil spring broken (3.1 per 100 MOTs), headlight aimed too high (2.9 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (1.3 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (15.1) and brake pads: wearing thin (6.8).

Which parts of the Ford Ranger fail more often than on other cars?

At 3 years: suspension (4.8 per 100 MOTs against 0.6 for all cars); lights and electrics (6.2 per 100 MOTs against 2.9 for all cars); brakes (2.7 per 100 MOTs against 1.7 for all cars). Compared with 8,016,463 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Ford Ranger problems by area

Other Ford models

All Ford models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Ford Ranger?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources