2024 Ford Ranger transmission & drivetrain problems

Related recalls

• Recall 25V164000Mar 14, 2025269 vehicles
  POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:FLUID/LUBRICANT:VALVES/VALVE BODY

  Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2025 F-150, Bronco, 2024 Ranger, 2025 Mustang, Explorer, and Aviator vehicles. The transmission valve body may have been machined incorrectly, which can cause reverse gear failure, or unexpected forward movement in reverse or neutral gear.

  Risk: Unexpected vehicle movement increases the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Dealers will replace the transmission main control valve body, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 11, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S19.

What owners say

1. Filed Oct 6, 2026WAEngineTransmission & Drivetrain

   On 10/05/2026 at about 35 mph, driving on a normal street in good weather, for no apparent reason... my 2024 Ranger Raptor decided to auto change to all other driving modes, one after another (i.e. 2High then All wheel drive then 4High and then tried 4Low, all on its own. Thankfully the computer wouldn't allow it to drop into 4L without first stopping, else may have been an accident or truck damage! Also, now that this glitch has stopped (at least for the time being), at any…

   NHTSA complaint #11769306 · source
2. Filed Oct 2, 2026NYFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionTransmission & Drivetrain

   When the fuel tank gets to 1/2 tank while making left hand turns, the accelerator pedal becomes unresponsive for 2 - 5 seconds. As the tank gets lower, the problem is more pronounced.

   NHTSA complaint #11768609 · source
3. Filed Sep 26, 2026CATransmission & Drivetrain

   The truck randomly starts changing drive modes while at speed. It moves from normal mode and goes into baja mode then trys going into 4H and 4L, Rock Crawl mode, etc. Safety problem is that you are at speed and it tries to put itself into 4L or Rock crawl or any 4 wheel mode. This happens on pavement which can create catastrophic traction problems. The problem is random and has not been reproduced. It has been to the dealer a couple of times for this issue. They say that it…

   NHTSA complaint #11767113 · source
4. Filed Sep 23, 2026TXEngineSteeringTransmission & Drivetrain

   My truck has selectable drive modes. These drive modes control steering effort, suspension, shift points, the four-wheel drive system, ABS, and exhaust. My truck changes drive modes on its own without any input. Going down the highway, my truck is tried to go into rock crawl modes several times. If this happens, my truck will go into four low and the components above will be affected. A cursory Google search leads to a forum where 10 pages of people have reported this…

   NHTSA complaint #11766512 · source
5. Filed Sep 18, 2026SCElectrical SystemTransmission & Drivetrain

   Filed a complaint that Rangers had a recall on wiring harness and this vehicle was made in the Michigan plant where other Rangers had the recall. This particular Ranger should have been included in the recall. The dealership refused to do their due diligence. I filled a complaint and have a case number. [VIN removed]. These issue needs to be resolved in a timely manner as it can cause fires and children are riding in this vehicle.

   NHTSA complaint #11765333 · source
6. Filed Sep 16, 2026ILTransmission & Drivetrain

   The drive mode selector, which changes vehicle handling behavior, can change modes without driver intervention causing the vehicle to shift between 2 and 4 wheel drive unexpectedly causing a crash or injury. Widespread reports of the issue exist online as well: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

   NHTSA complaint #11764615 · source
7. Filed Sep 9, 2026IDElectrical SystemTransmission & Drivetrain

   lariat ranger 2024 changes modes without input from driver. This has happened dozen times btu not consistent It has happened at 80mph on interstate ,35 mph on road, leaving parking space, and turning corner after stopping for stop light This time went in to 4wheel drive low on dry pavement very difficult to steer until stopped and put back into 2 wheel drive. Has happened in dry weather and rainy weather. 50 degrees and 100 degrees dealer says ford has no reported problems…

   NHTSA complaint #11763219 · source
8. Filed Aug 28, 2026MIOther / UnknownSuspensionTransmission & Drivetrain

   The vehicle occasionally will change drive modes while in motion. In the past three months, it has switched from Normal to Baja mode three times and from Normal to Rock Crawl mode one time. The issues occured while driving on the freeway in construction traffic, driving slowly down rural county roads, and driving slowly in my subdivision.

   NHTSA complaint #11760253 · source
9. Filed Aug 28, 2026UTElectrical SystemFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionTransmission & Drivetrain

   On multiple occasions while driving the vehicle will randomly change drive modes by its self. It will try to go into 4x4 low gear (rock crawl mode) at highway speeds. This has happened a dozen times since I purchased the vehicle new.

   NHTSA complaint #11760214 · source
10. Filed Aug 24, 2026TNTransmission & Drivetrain

    The transmission under several circumstances will just stall out. Will NOT allow the vehicle to accelerate. Flooring the gas pedal does not do anything. RPM may go up a couple hundred RPM (not thousand) but the truck just will not move. After this now happening several times I can tell you that it happens when making a left or right hand turn without coming to a complete stop and the area turning into is an up hill section. Watching the gear indicator normally shows a very…

    NHTSA complaint #11758986 · source
11. Filed Aug 16, 2026TXTransmission & Drivetrain

    The drive mode randomly changes by itself while drive. When this occurs it can shift to 4 wheel drive will moving on dry pavement. This this not been checked out by the dealer because based on online forums others have the same issue and Ford can not reproduce or provide any fixes. I'm assuming there have been other complaints for this same issue reported to NHTSA. I'm adding a date for when this happened below, but it has happened at least six times since I have owned the…

    NHTSA complaint #11757275 · source
12. Filed Aug 10, 2026CAElectrical SystemTransmission & Drivetrain

    Hello, I have a 24-ford ranger raptor, this incident happened twice, I was driving approximately 60 MPH and vehicle on its own started changing drive modes. It switched itself to baja mode which is 4-wheel drive and very dangerous at these speeds. I took my truck to local ford dealer in Valencia Ca, Dealer stated no codes or issues found. This is deeply concerning to me; I Have family that also drives this vehicle. I have read online that other same vehicle owners are…

    NHTSA complaint #11755976 · source

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology