1988 Ford Ranger Body and structure Problems
- Complaints
- 4about this part
- Share
- 4%of 89 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 51,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 4 complaints about the body and structure of the 1988 Ford Ranger, 4% of the 89 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 51,000 miles.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I bought a 1988 Ford Ranger tan gold in color love the truck, but I went to indiana to pick my son up everything was fine but on the way back that's when everything started to fall apart here. Ok, starter wouldn't restart had to pop clutch it, an then the clutch pedal itself gave away from the fire wall on the way home to savanna il. Ok, it was dark out so the next day went to look and my son and I saw there was a crack there so we tried to fix this an see why it wasn't starting up. I called midas to see if they would weld this up for me. …”
NHTSA complaint #10328338, filed 2010-05, 51,000 miles“1988 Ford Ranger still needing a new cab, well I went online here to see if I could find some where to get a 1988 Ford Ranger cab. So chatting online here with whole sale Ford Ranger sara asked me for a part number for the new cab I said that they never gave me one on the receipt. I called some where else ok brad is name and he said that I could put a parch in there where it would be road safe . Body shop would have my Ford Ranger back to road safe. Ok, what's the hold up on this now ? I mailed in the everything that was said. Updated ivoq 08/05/10 updated ivoq 08/19/10”
NHTSA complaint #10344197, filed 2010-07, 57,000 milesBody and structure: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10 | 10% |
| 2021 | 7 | 6% |
| 2020 | 5 | 4% |
| 2019 | 3 | 1% |
| 2011 | 8 | 3% |
| 2010 | 6 | 4% |
| 2009 | 3 | 2% |
| 2008 | 10 | 3% |
| 2007 | 13 | 5% |
| 2006 | 26 | 10% |
| 2005 | 34 | 12% |
| 2004 | 46 | 11% |
| 2003 | 43 | 18% |
| 2002 | 49 | 14% |
| 2001 | 112 | 22% |
| 2000 | 105 | 16% |
| 1999 | 89 | 12% |
| 1998 | 45 | 8% |
| 1997 | 25 | 6% |
| 1996 | 10 | 2% |
| 1995 | 21 | 7% |
| 1994 | 21 | 5% |
| 1993 | 8 | 3% |
| 1992 | 14 | 7% |
| 1991 | 13 | 10% |
| 1990 | 4 | 4% |
| 1989 | 3 | 4% |
| 1988 | 4 | 4% |
| 1987 | 1 | 2% |
| 1983 | 1 | 9% |
Other parts of the 1988 Ford Ranger
32 complaintsEngine cooling
13 complaintsBrakes
9 complaintsSeat belts
9 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
9 complaintsFuel system
6 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
4 complaintsSteering
3 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
2 complaintsOther or unknown
2 complaintsTires
2 complaintsVehicle speed control
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 1988 Ford Ranger
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology