VehicleVerdict

1998 Ford Ranger engine problems

The 1998 Ford Ranger has 57 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 8% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

57

Engine complaints

8%

Share of year

1

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Ranger engine complaints by model year57 complaints1983: 1 complaints1984: 2 complaints1985: 3 complaints1986: 9 complaints1987: 7 complaints1988: 15 complaints1989: 13 complaints1990: 16 complaints1991: 16 complaints1992: 20 complaints1993: 14 complaints1994: 27 complaints1995: 17 complaints1996: 36 complaints1997: 19 complaints1998: 57 complaints1999: 51 complaints2000: 43 complaints2001: 35 complaints2002: 46 complaints2003: 27 complaints2004: 24 complaints2005: 17 complaints2006: 20 complaints2007: 4 complaints2008: 6 complaints2009: 6 complaints2010: 5 complaints2011: 4 complaints2019: 30 complaints2020: 16 complaints2021: 15 complaints2022: 6 complaints2023: 2 complaints2024: 5 complaints2025: 7 complaints2026: 1 complaints
Ranger engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“WHILE CHANGING OIL FILTER, EXHAUST PIPE BURNED CONSUMER'S HAND. THIS CAUSED THE OIL FILTER TOO TOUCH THE BAR WIRE OF THE STARTER, CAUSING A SPARK TO IGNITE THE OIL, RESULTING IN A FIRE. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO PUT OUT THE FIRE. DEALER NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER. *AK ”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · October 15, 1998 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 1998 Ford Ranger have?

NHTSA has 57 complaints about the 1998 Ford Ranger engine — 8% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.