2004 Ford Ranger Engine cooling Problems
- Complaints
- 17about this part
- Share
- 4%of 405 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 45,500miles
- Trend
- StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 17 complaints about the engine cooling of the 2004 Ford Ranger, 4% of the 405 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 45,500 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“My 2004 Ford Ranger started idling rough and the check engine light came on. I took it to the dealer and they could not find a problem. They reset the check engine light and a few months later it happened again. This time the dealer found that there was no compression in three cylinders do to the valves not seating properly. The correction is to have both heads replaced, a cost that neither Ford or my extended warranty company is willing to pick up. …”
NHTSA complaint #10207661, filed 2007-11, 77,000 miles“Complaint related to 2004 Ford Ranger 4.0l v6 sohc engine with 81,000 miles. On september 15th 2010, I started experiencing a squeak from the engine compartment on my 2004 Ford Ranger. I changed the pulleys that had bearings that could contribute to the noise but the noise persisted. I then changed the belt and the squeak went away for a while. After another 1500 miles the squeak was back and more pronounced. I investigated this incidence and found that the pulley separated from the harmonic balance and slid towards the timing chain case. …”
NHTSA complaint #10356858, filed 2010-09, 81,000 miles“Check engine light came on...called the Ford hotline no help there they said we where a few miles over the warranty to cover that part. So we took it to our mechanic and he new in five minutes what was wrong we had paperwork showing the problems Ford was having with theses trucks. So I called the nearest for dealer and asked them about it and they wanted to charge us so much to see if they can find the problem we told them we know the problem. They wanted to charge us over 2000 dollars to repair the truck.so we had to hold off due to the economy so bad. …”
NHTSA complaint #10319183, filed 2010-03, 68 miles“The check engine light on my 2004 Ford Ranger kept coming on, I was told by one dealer that it was an emission signal and that it would reset. It did but kept coming back. The truck then started running bad, so I took it to another dealer, who told me that there was a technical service bulletin out about this problem and they had to replace both of my engines heads. And of course because of the miles on my truck, I would have to pay for these repairs. I said that if Ford knew about this defect then why haven't they recalled these engines.”
NHTSA complaint #10147027, filed 2006-01, 45,000 miles“While driving with passenger, the inertia switch can be easily unattached or loosened. This causes the truck to randomly die. If the manual vehicle dies while driving at high speed, in bad traffic, or turns requiring power steering, the vehicle can be dangerous.”
NHTSA complaint #10274442, filed 2009-06, 30,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10109070Sep 21, 2016The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to…
- 10021051Feb 27, 2007Possible engine damage - install special service tools prior to removing crankshaft pulley bolt.
- 10020173Jan 1, 2006Possible engine damage - install special service tools prior to removing crankshaft pulley bolt - service tip.
- 10012949Feb 21, 2005Hard start or flooding during cold start on 2.3l engine.
- 10018950Jan 1, 2005Mil on with various misfire related dtc's p0300-p0306 and p0316 - 3.0l-2v vulcan engine.
- 10013315Jan 1, 2005High idle at cold start.
- 10013308Jan 1, 2005Hard start or flooding when engine is cold.
- 10014616Dec 1, 2004Hard start or flooding when engine is cold.
Engine cooling: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 3% |
| 2021 | 3 | 3% |
| 2020 | 2 | 2% |
| 2019 | 5 | 2% |
| 2011 | 2 | 1% |
| 2010 | 1 | 1% |
| 2009 | 3 | 2% |
| 2008 | 2 | 1% |
| 2007 | 3 | 1% |
| 2006 | 7 | 3% |
| 2005 | 10 | 3% |
| 2004 | 17 | 4% |
| 2003 | 18 | 7% |
| 2002 | 39 | 11% |
| 2001 | 29 | 6% |
| 2000 | 37 | 6% |
| 1999 | 45 | 6% |
| 1998 | 51 | 9% |
| 1997 | 14 | 3% |
| 1996 | 31 | 8% |
| 1995 | 14 | 4% |
| 1994 | 23 | 5% |
| 1993 | 12 | 5% |
| 1992 | 16 | 8% |
| 1991 | 16 | 12% |
| 1990 | 10 | 10% |
| 1989 | 11 | 15% |
| 1988 | 13 | 15% |
| 1987 | 7 | 14% |
| 1986 | 7 | 20% |
| 1985 | 3 | 11% |
| 1984 | 2 | 17% |
| 1983 | 1 | 9% |
Other parts of the 2004 Ford Ranger
189 complaintsBody and structure
46 complaintsSuspension
29 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
27 complaintsBrakes
23 complaintsFuel system
21 complaintsVehicle speed control
19 complaintsElectrical system
17 complaintsTires
17 complaintsOther or unknown
13 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
9 complaintsEngine
7 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2004 Ford Ranger
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 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