Steering Tie Rod Failure at Speed - Ranger Raptor

[Fawnbuster]

Had a code brown moment yesterday. Truck has 900 miles on it and still on dealer drive out plates. 2025 Ranger Raptor.

I'm up by my parent's place in North Carolina to spend the day with daddio sighting in his new rifle at the range. On our way back from a pitstop at the local gun store, probably less than a mile from their house on a paved, rural B-road, the truck begins to rotate on me as I'm coming out of a turn. I'm guessing here, but maybe 40 mph? A sensation I can only describe as hitting a patch of ice. Steering input is seemingly doing nothing and I'm trying both brake and gas to see if I can get something to connect. The truck rotates on me doing a 180 with tires squealing and stops in a ditch on the opposite site of the road. At this point I have utterly no idea what had happened, but it was evident that it was something in the steering as hand inputs really felt like the steering wheel was air-gapped from the wheels.

The ditch is no big deal - a simple thing a golf cart could get out of. The truck is struggling a bit to get out, but there wasn't time to get out and assess as I'm sitting on a blind turn. I give it some gas and get out with some good vibration going through the truck and I drive it maybe 100 feet to a turnout on the side of the road. Yep, snapped tie rod. Driver wheel aimed maybe 10 degrees left and passenger full lock right.

I'm new to this platform, but is this some kind of fluke or is this an actual problem with these trucks? I am completely shocked to see a critical component fail. I had a slight driver's door panel rattle and a much louder rattle, almost clunk that was coming from what I had assumed to be behind the dash near the firewall on the passenger side that I had planned to bring into the dealer this week. Now I am convinced this passenger side noise had something to do with this tie rod and here we are. The rattles were disappointing to see as that is something that I've seen mentioned in all of the videos and reviews leading up to my purchase - EVERYONE said that there are just zero rattles, and it was absolutely a deciding factor in what lead to my ultimate purchase.

If I can spin this into some sort of a situational positive, had the snap occurred maybe 50 feet later, instead of a ditch bringing me to a stop it would have been a recent stack 3' diameter trees. This drive was for me to drop my dad off (everyone is okay) which was to be immediately followed by me heading back home over the mountain with a million switch backs and commonplace for 100'+ drops. All things considered, this was absolutely the best place for it to fail.

Now for some comments on Ford - specifically their customer service. And I'm going to dump, so I apologize for the novel.

I will confidently say that this was one of the worst exchanges I have ever experienced. All in from the time the incident occurred to my truck being rolled off in the staging lanes at the dealer's service department was about an eight hour ordeal. Maybe more? I still feel like I'm in a bit of a daze. My father-in-law picked me up from the dealer to bring me back home with us getting in the driveway a bit after midnight.

It's evidently not possible to work with humans to get things resolved, and the ones that you are able to interact with are severely incompetent with the primary focus being to read a script with a chipper demeanor.

I call in for roadside assistance, navigate through the myriad of prompts to then be sent a link via text with the AI voice on the other side basically telling me to click on the link sent to me, a slap on the ass with a "go get 'em tiger, good luck" approach, and the line disconnects.

I run through the app questionnaire prompted to me via the link sent, and I select the dealer that is closest to my house that is presented to me by the app. I am told that I owe them $22.50 for the tow; I'm chuffed that I need to come up with anything, but at this point I just need this taken care of. At questionnaire completion I'm told everything is done and to wait for the towing company to call me with an ETA. Hmm, I guess they'll collect payment when the tow happens? I dunno? 30 minutes pass and I've got nothing, so I call back in to see what's going on.

After 15 minutes of being ping ponged around through their queue, I finally get a hold of someone that tells me that they are waiting on my payment and to follow the link that was texted to me. "Well, no link was texted to me?" "Oh, strange. Let me get you over to the payment department to take care of this." 30 more minutes of being on hold, I'm now with the payment lady that tells me that I need to follow the link that was texted to me.

"NOTHING HAS BEEN TEXTED TO ME."
"Oh strange, let me send that back over to you."
"Okay, thanks. Please stay with me so we can confirm it was sent over."
"Sorry sir, we are unable to stay on the line as we need to keep the lines open for emergencies."
"How is this not an emergency? My steering failed at speed and I am on the side of the road."
"Sorry sir, we are unable to stay on the line as we need to keep the lines open for emergencies."
"I'm sorry, but this texted link for payment has failed multiple times now. I can't go through your prompts again, please just resend it so we can both confirm so we can get this tow truck here."
"Sorry sir, we are unable to stay on the line as we need to keep the lines open for emergencies."
"......"
"Sir? I am sending the link now. I hope you have a great rest of your day!"
Disconnected

Another probably 20 minutes go by, still no link has been texted to me. I receive a phone call and it's the same lady that I talked to last.
"Hi, just calling to make sure you received the link that I sent you. I don't show that we've received payment."
(In my head, "I thought you were unable to stay on the line to confirm the link was sent and that this was for emergencies") "Nothing has been texted to me."
"Okay sir, let me just take your payment over the phone."
"...."
"Sir?"
"Yes, I have my credit card ready."

Fast forward another hour (which at this point, we're probably 3 hours since the tie rod snapped), I receive a call from the tow truck guy to tell me he's about 1.5 hours out. Okay fine, let's get this done. About 30 minutes later, tow truck guy calls me back to say they need another $600. I tell them to take it up with Ford; I've already paid for the tow. He tells me he's canceling the trip because Ford told them they were delivering my truck to Tennessee, not Georgia. "Sorry bro." Aaaaand disconnect.

I now call Ford back again and navigate my way through another 30 minutes of prompts and hold music to start the entire process over again. Then after doing what's effectively a copy/paste of what's above, I finally have a confirmed truck on the way that will be to me in about two hours' time.

A dude shows up in an F-350 with a trailer. The only detail he had was that it was a Ranger and didn't know that the steer wheels were disconnected. Not realizing that it was a Raptor (wider), you could see it in his face that he didn't have the right kit for the job. I told him I don't care how, but this truck is getting on your trailer. For about the next hour and a half, I'm in the driver's seat of the Ranger inching it forward onto his trailer with him giving me spotter directions and man-handling the now limp passenger front wheel to keep it straight. The trailer wheel wells afforded us about an inch or so on either side of the truck wheels, so this was no small task given we really had no true control of the truck.

Over the mountain we go. All the while, the driver is crossing over into opposite lane traffic to avoid the switch backs. Nice guy, fun conversation, but damn. We arrive at the dealer and we then have to reverse the hour and a half process to get it off the trailer and in a parking place at the dealer.

As it sits now, I have no idea what the next steps are. I have no idea if the dealer even knows why my truck is in their parking lot. I have no idea if I should be expecting a rental. Oh and that $22.50 that generated hours and hours of back and forth? That's because the dealer location was a 53 mile tow. 3 miles outside of the 50 mile radius.

Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. The only thing I would do different on my end is as soon as I start getting the run around I would (if they are open) call my dealer i bought the truck from and get them involved in sending a tow even if its out of the area. I bought a door ding, tire and wheel warranty and as soon as I got grief from that company my dealer paid for the fix and went after that company

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[bigb]

Reminds me of when my transmission went out in the middle of nowhere Nevada. Took three days to get a tow from Roadside Assistance. Nothing good to say about Ford service.

Roadside assistance programs can vary widely by location and time of day, they are all contracted. Same thing goes on with RV roadside assistance, some will have a good experience and others will report terrible experiences, sometimes taking days. So whatever plan you have, you could get great service or terrible service, depending on where you are, time of day, calls ahead of you and who the contractors are in that area. Many different RA programs use the same pool of local contractors throughout most areas, the guy that shows up for your Ford may have just finished a call for AAA or for a GM assistance program. Contract calls probably get done as a low priority when they are busy as they make less money on them.

I think the only thing that can make a difference is if the RA program pays more to the contractor. A contractor is probably going to put you at the bottom of the queue if he makes less on contract calls than he does on regular calls. The contract work probably keeps them making ends meet but the regular calls make them the profits.

I don't know if there are certain plans who pay more, resulting in better service, or if it's a crap shoot across the board. Maybe AAA? From what I've read on the RV forums, RV plans are a crap shoot no matter which one you pick.

 

[daytoncarter]

Aside from my theory, which is just that, not an accusation. I would agree with the consensus here that customer care has been near zero considering the price of the vehicle which I consider to be extreme.

However, in the context of F-Series, I suppose this is a modestly priced vehicle so Ranger is again the red-headed stepchild of Ford. At least it's not cancelled like the Escape platform which sold over 100,000 units/year.

Feels like buying into a dying brand.

 

[Onceaneagle]

Aside from my theory, which is just that, not an accusation. I would agree with the consensus here that customer care has been near zero considering the price of the vehicle which I consider to be extreme.

However, in the context of F-Series, I suppose this is a modestly priced vehicle so Ranger is again the red-headed stepchild of Ford. At least it's not cancelled like the Escape platform which sold over 100,000 units/year.

Feels like buying into a dying brand.

The latest Bronco recall doesn't help matters. From what I read, Ford's CEO came from Toyota and their Lexus division where he drank the EV and PHEV koolaid. He has invested $4 billion of Ford's money in it. There are bill payers for that, the Escape being one with the Louisville plant being converted and increased pricing on gas burners.

 

[daytoncarter]

The latest Bronco recall doesn't help matters. From what I read, Ford's CEO came from Toyota and their Lexus division where he drank the EV and PHEV koolaid. He has invested $4 billion of Ford's money in it. There are bill payers for that, the Escape being one with the Louisville plant being converted and increased pricing on gas burners.

Well, at risk of derailing this thread, I'll just say Toyota is running away with hybrids which can make lots of sense. Whereas, Ford is running away from EVs with the rumored cancellation of the F-150 Lightening. Us rank and file employees would never get away with such gross mismanagement and negligence.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Update for the day as it seems the story has reeled some in...

Dealer called and let me know that they have submitted in the request for approval to provide a rental. Glad to hear after being without a vehicle for 5+ days They hope to see that I'll be in one Friday.

"So we've taken a look at your truck, and the passenger side tie rod is snapped clear in half!"

"...you don't say?"

 

[Onceaneagle]

Update for the day as it seems the story has reeled some in...

Dealer called and let me know that they have submitted in the request for approval to provide a rental. Glad to hear after being without a vehicle for 5+ days They hope to see that I'll be in one Friday.

"So we've taken a look at your truck, and the passenger side tie rod is snapped clear in half!"

"...you don't say?"

Kind of what the military calls a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious). So will they warranty it?

 

[jrRaptor]

We used to have Ford reps chiming in here to try and help customers with problems like this.
Maybe one will see this thread and chime in at least with an offer to try and help.

Unfortunately not. The official Ford account stated they would no longer be monitoring or replying in this forum. Not that they were all that helpful to begin with. There were a very select few good exceptions, mine was not one of them.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Unfortunately not. The official Ford account stated they would no longer be monitoring or replying in this forum. Not that they were all that helpful to begin with. There were a very select few good exceptions, mine was not one of them.

I saw the same. I had considered the same, but saw their last message was something to the tune of "Our last day monitoring this forum will be December 31, 2024".

 

[AlloyPony]

Will be interesting to see what comes of this. It's a suspension component on a high performance off-road vehicle. Ford will likely scrutinize the cause of the damage heavily, trying to find a way to absolve themselves from coverage. That wouldn't surprise me. On the other hand this is the type of thing that can lead to product reviews and possible recalls. So if I were you I'd go onto the NHTSA website and file a report.

 

[Onceaneagle]

Will be interesting to see what comes of this. It's a suspension component on a high performance off-road vehicle. Ford will likely scrutinize the cause of the damage heavily, trying to find a way to absolve themselves from coverage. That wouldn't surprise me. On the other hand this is the type of thing that can lead to product reviews and possible recalls. So if I were you I'd go onto the NHTSA website and file a report.

Agree. And post pictures before and after repair comparing tie rods and any other affected parts, noting the original and replacement part numbers.

 

[Dino Jockey]

If anyone wants to read more regarding this issue of tie rods, go to the Bronco Nation site….. numerous broken rods over there and all happened while wheeling and none that I can see replaced under warranty. Make me think this tie rod in question was fine until the truck hit the ditch and excessive lateral pressure was placed on the component. Not excusing the failure by any means but it seems like parts of this story isn’t being told for what ever reason. JMO.

 

[Onceaneagle]

If anyone wants to read more regarding this issue of tie rods, go to the Bronco Nation site….. numerous broken rods over there and all happened while wheeling and none that I can see replaced under warranty. Make me think this tie rod in question was fine until the truck hit the ditch and excessive lateral pressure was placed on the component. Not excusing the failure by any means but it seems like parts of this story isn’t being told for what ever reason. JMO.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Update for the day as it seems the story has reeled some in...

Dealer called and let me know that they have submitted in the request for approval to provide a rental. Glad to hear after being without a vehicle for 5+ days They hope to see that I'll be in one Friday.

"So we've taken a look at your truck, and the passenger side tie rod is snapped clear in half!"

"...you don't say?"

Friday update...

After talking with the service advisor on Thursday (above), the conversation was that the parts were on backorder and that they would be getting me into a rental on Friday. The advisor had made mention that she would be going on PTO next week, but all the details and all would be handed over.

I called the advisor late Friday morning to chase an update but got her voicemail. No biggie, I figured I got her at lunch. With the weekend rapidly approaching, as well as my advisor's week off, I hadn't heard anything back in a couple hours and called back in to the general service number for the dealer.

using generic names here...

"Hi, is Anna available? If not, can I be transferred to someone to answer some update questions?"
"She is currently with a customer, but I will get you over and someone can help you."
After being on hold for several minutes, the same woman comes back on, "You were waiting for Jenna, right?"
"No, I have been waiting for Anna, but like I said anyone should be able to give an answer I would expect."
"Okay, just one moment, I will get you over to Anna."
"Hello, this is Kayla, how can I help you?"
"...Oh, sorry, I had thought I was being transferred to Anna, but perhaps you can help?"
"No, Anna left for the day a few hours ago."
"...Very well. Well my truck has been with you for just about a week now with the only update being that the parts are on backorder and that you are getting me a rental today. I am calling to confirm details to get the rental."
"I see, well the notes show that the request has been submitted, but we are waiting on the approval from the manager."
"Okay, can I speak to the manager?"
"We are very busy today, let me gather some details and I will have him call you back."
"I'm sorry, but this has been going on for entirely too long without any updates of substance and I have been without a vehicle for effectively a week. I need an update as soon as possible, and I need to be supplied with the rental today."
"I understand. Let me get this over to my manager and he will call you back as soon as he is able. Have a great day!"

That was probably at 13:30. Surely I'll get my phone call.

Nope. Nada. Zilch. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

So now here I am, a week after the incident without any idea of what's going on. I can't help but be thinking back to Genesis, I almost feel I am guaranteed to not get any update today no matter who I call. "...And on the seventh day...He rested..."

The service department is closed on Saturdays for this dealer, but Ford corporate is open. I feel that I need to go through their chat service instead of on the phone to obtain written records at this point...

 

[smokinjoe64]

Friday update...

After talking with the service advisor on Thursday (above), the conversation was that the parts were on backorder and that they would be getting me into a rental on Friday. The advisor had made mention that she would be going on PTO next week, but all the details and all would be handed over.

I called the advisor late Friday morning to chase an update but got her voicemail. No biggie, I figured I got her at lunch. With the weekend rapidly approaching, as well as my advisor's week off, I hadn't heard anything back in a couple hours and called back in to the general service number for the dealer.

using generic names here...

"Hi, is Anna available? If not, can I be transferred to someone to answer some update questions?"
"She is currently with a customer, but I will get you over and someone can help you."
After being on hold for several minutes, the same woman comes back on, "You were waiting for Jenna, right?"
"No, I have been waiting for Anna, but like I said anyone should be able to give an answer I would expect."
"Okay, just one moment, I will get you over to Anna."
"Hello, this is Kayla, how can I help you?"
"...Oh, sorry, I had thought I was being transferred to Anna, but perhaps you can help?"
"No, Anna left for the day a few hours ago."
"...Very well. Well my truck has been with you for just about a week now with the only update being that the parts are on backorder and that you are getting me a rental today. I am calling to confirm details to get the rental."
"I see, well the notes show that the request has been submitted, but we are waiting on the approval from the manager."
"Okay, can I speak to the manager?"
"We are very busy today, let me gather some details and I will have him call you back."
"I'm sorry, but this has been going on for entirely too long without any updates of substance and I have been without a vehicle for effectively a week. I need an update as soon as possible, and I need to be supplied with the rental today."
"I understand. Let me get this over to my manager and he will call you back as soon as he is able. Have a great day!"

That was probably at 13:30. Surely I'll get my phone call.

Nope. Nada. Zilch. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

So now here I am, a week after the incident without any idea of what's going on. I can't help but be thinking back to Genesis, I almost feel I am guaranteed to not get any update today no matter who I call. "...And on the seventh day...He rested..."

The service department is closed on Saturdays for this dealer, but Ford corporate is open. I feel that I need to go through their chat service instead of on the phone to obtain written records at this point...

As previously mentioned, escalated self advocacy required... ???

@spazzyfry123 pace and comms from dealer and Ford => TOTALLY UNSAT!
What if RR was only means of transportation? No rental, loaner offered to-date...? WTF!!!

Unfortunately, the 'weak link' in many issue resolutions originates with dealerships.
Dealers have direct access to Ford Tech Services. Customers do not have tangle ability for direct comms with Corp Teams established and set-up to actually evaluate such cases.

IMO, it's time for proactive PUSH & Escalation... beyond dealer service people. Start with written documentation, pics and convo with dealership GM/Management.
With dealer 'desire' to assist and support, Ford typically dispatches field engineer resources for in-person assessments [i.e. measurements, analysis etc] particularly for potential safety issues having nothing to do with abuse, off-roading of a brand new `25 RR.
If no joy, begin PUSH & Escalation directly to FoMoCo bureaucracy, NTSA, even potentially local broadcast investigative reporters [many luv to report on these types of cases].

Bottomline...this all sucks. You deserve reasonable treatment, assistance, support, and answers from Ford et all - full stop.

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