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2020 Ford Ranger

Verified August 31, 2026Sources: NHTSA · EPA · vPIC

Compare
Safety
4
of 5 stars
Recalls
7
on record
MPG
combined

Open recalls on record

7 safety recalls. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer — check the VIN before you buy.

Vehicle Summary

2020 Ford Ranger

7 recalls
122 complaints
4/5 safety rating

Before You Buy

Confirm all 7 recalls were repaired — a dealer checks by VIN, free
Read the 6 complaints reporting a crash
Review the 122 owner complaints on record
Get a pre-purchase inspection
Check vehicle history report
Verify title is clean

Safety record at a glance

Recall campaigns
7
Owner complaints
122
Complaints citing a crash
6

These are raw counts from NHTSA records. They are not normalized by how many of these vehicles are on the road, so a model that sold in large numbers will tend to show more of everything. We do not publish a composite safety or reliability score.

7 Recalls on Record

These recalls have been issued by the manufacturer. Contact any authorized dealer to verify they have been completed — repairs are free.

Enter your VIN to check if specific recalls apply to your vehicle.

Safety recalls

7 NHTSA campaigns affecting this model year.

  • 21V765000high

    Safety restraint issue

    SEATS:MID/REAR ASSEMBLY

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Ranger Super Cab vehicles equipped with rear seats containing fixed head restraints. The fixed head restraints may interfere with proper installation of certain types of child seats. Additionally, the child seat may not attach properly to the lower-rear anchors. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage System."

    Consequence

    An improperly attached child seat can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

    Remedy

    Dealers will inspect the rear-lower child restraint anchorages for correct alignment and adjust as necessary. Separately, dealers will replace the non-removable head restraints with removable head restraints, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on November 5, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 17, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21C24.

    Full campaign record
  • 21V811000high

    Safety restraint issue

    SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Ford Ranger Super Cab vehicles. The front passenger outboard seat belt may not have been assembled properly, allowing the seat belt to be misrouted. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection" and 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."

    Consequence

    A misrouted seat belt may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

    Remedy

    Ford will provide owners with instructions to perform a preliminary inspection of their front seat belts. Owners that detect an issue with the driver's seat belt, are unsure of the results, or do not want to perform an inspection, should not drive their vehicles and contact a Ford dealership. Dealers will inspect the front row outboard seat belts and replace them, if necessary, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on November 5, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed December 22, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21C25.

    Full campaign record
  • 20V575000high

    Rear-visibility system issue

    BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Explorer, Mustang, Transit, Expedition, Escape, Ranger and Edge, and Lincoln Nautilus and Corsair vehicles. Due to a poor electrical connection, the rearview camera may intermittently display a blank or distorted image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."

    Consequence

    Reduced rearward visibility can increase the risk of a crash.

    Remedy

    Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. The recall began November 17, 2020. Remedy became available on February 1, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 1, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20C19.

    Full campaign record
  • 20V197000high

    Drivetrain issue

    POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ranger and F-150 vehicles equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions and certain 2020 Expedition vehicles equipped with a "police" package. The transmission shift cable lock clip may not be fully seated, allowing the transmission to actually be in a different gear than the gear shift position selected by the driver.

    Consequence

    If the transmission selection does not match the indicated gear selection, and the parking brake is not applied, unintended vehicle movement can occur, increasing the risk of injury or crash.

    Remedy

    Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the shift cable locking clip installation, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 27, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S18.

    Full campaign record
  • 23V379000high

    Incorrect or missing label

    EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Bronco, 2023 Super Duty F-250, and 2019-2023 Ranger vehicles. The Tire and Loading Information (TREAD) label states the incorrect load carrying capacity, which can result in an overloaded vehicle. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

    Consequence

    An overloaded vehicle increases the risk of a crash.

    Remedy

    Ford will mail a new TREAD label to install over the existing label, free of charge. Owners will also have the option to take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the new label installed, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 21, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23C18.

    Full campaign record
  • 25V442000high

    Backup camera software issue

    BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Transit Connect, 2019-2020 MKZ, MKX, Edge, Continental, F-150, Nautilus, Fusion, 2019-2023 Ranger, Mustang, 2020-2021 EcoSport, Expedition, Navigator, 2020-2022 Escape, F-250 SD, Corsair, 2020-2023 Aviator, Transit, 2020-2024 Explorer, 2021-2024 Bronco Sport, and 2022-2024 Maverick vehicles. A software error may cause the rearview camera to display a blank image, or the image may remain on the display after the backing event has ended.

    Consequence

    A rearview camera that displays a blank image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle. A rearview image that continues to be displayed after the vehicle is shifted out of reverse may distract the driver. Both of these situations can increase the risk of a crash.

    Remedy

    Dealers will update the rearview camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 4, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S72.

    Full campaign record
  • 25V685000high

    Engine issue

    EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:ENGINE BLOCK HEATER

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Lincoln MKC, 2016-2023 Explorer, 2019-2020 Fusion, 2019-2024 Ranger, 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair, Escape, 2021-2024 Bronco, Bronco Sport, and 2022-2024 Maverick vehicles. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.

    Consequence

    An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

    Remedy

    Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded blanking plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed December 3, 2025. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated September 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA4. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 15, 2025.

    Full campaign record

NHTSA crash-test ratings

NCAP star ratings and the underlying test breakdown for the 2020 Ford Ranger.

  • Frontal crash

    Driver
    5 / 5
    Passenger
    4 / 5
  • Side crash

    Driver
    5 / 5
    Passenger
    5 / 5
    Side pole
    5 / 5
  • Rollover

    Rollover risk
    25.6%
    Dynamic tip
    No Tip

Driver-assistance technologies

Electronic stability control
Standard
Forward collision warning
Standard
Lane departure warning
Optional

What the ratings mean

NHTSA gives the 2020 Ford Ranger 4 out of 5 stars overall. NHTSA does not publish enough comparable results for this class and year to rank it against peers.

NHTSA published results for every NCAP test in this program, so the overall star rating rests on a complete set of crash and rollover results.

NHTSA's dynamic test put this vehicle's rollover probability at 25.6% in a single-vehicle crash — the figure behind the rollover star rating, published here because the star alone hides how wide each band is.

NHTSA crash tests

2020 Ford Ranger Frontal crash crash test
Frontal crash Video
2020 Ford Ranger Side crash crash test
Side crash Video
2020 Ford Ranger Side pole crash test
Side pole Video

Fuel economy & emissions

The EPA holds no fuel-economy record for this model year.

The EPA does not publish a record for every model year.

Consumer complaints

122 owner reports filed with NHTSA.

122
Total
6
Crashes
1
Fires
6
Injuries

Most reported components

  • ENGINE56
  • OTHER18
  • BRAKES9
  • VISIBILITY8
  • ELECTRICAL8

Notable Issues

122 consumer complaints filed with NHTSA. 6 reports involve injuries. 6 reports involve a crash.

Most reported problems

engine problems (stalling, power loss, warning lights)56
miscellaneous issues18
brake problems (soft pedal, noise, failure)9

Safety timeline

Every dated recall and NHTSA investigation for the 2020 Ford Ranger, newest first.

  1. Recall

    Recall 25V685000

    An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

  2. Recall

    Recall 25V442000

    A rearview camera that displays a blank image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle. A rearview image that continues to be displayed after the vehicle is shifted out of reverse may distract the driver. Both of these situations can increase the risk of a crash.

  3. Recall

    Recall 23V379000

    An overloaded vehicle increases the risk of a crash.

  4. Recall

    Recall 21V811000

    A misrouted seat belt may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

  5. Recall

    Recall 21V765000

    An improperly attached child seat can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

  6. Investigation opened

    NHTSA opened investigation RQ21002

    Rearview Camera FMVSS 111 Noncompliance

  7. Recall

    Recall 20V575000

    Reduced rearward visibility can increase the risk of a crash.

  8. Recall

    Recall 20V197000

    If the transmission selection does not match the indicated gear selection, and the parking brake is not applied, unintended vehicle movement can occur, increasing the risk of injury or crash.

Dates are the NHTSA report-received date for recalls and the ODI open/close date for investigations. Crash-test ratings are not shown here because the source does not provide a reliable publication date for them.

Specifications & ratings

Specifications

Body class
Unknown
Drive type
Unknown
Engine
0L 0-cyl
Fuel type
Unknown
Transmission
Unknown
Seats
0

NHTSA crash ratings

Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover

Explore related

Safety timeline

Full timeline
  1. Recall

    Recall 25V685000

    An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

  2. Recall

    Recall 25V442000

    A rearview camera that displays a blank image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle. A rearview image that continues to be displayed after the vehicle is shifted out of reverse may distract the driver. Both of these situations can increase the risk of a crash.

  3. Recall

    Recall 23V379000

    An overloaded vehicle increases the risk of a crash.

  4. Recall

    Recall 21V811000

    A misrouted seat belt may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

  5. Recall

    Recall 21V765000

    An improperly attached child seat can increase the risk of injury in a crash.