Ranger is 2nd most reliable midsize truck in Consumer Reports latest reliability report

[markal49]

What factors other than reliability are factored into their reliability rating?

In that

What factors other than reliability are factored into their reliability rating?

in that sentence I was referring to their overall ratings (and edited my post now). The overall includes driving test, safety and other stuff.

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[ChronciallyChronic]

I'm sure it's just me, however when it comes to automobile shopping time Consumer Reports IS NOT something I use as research material, I'll use Edmunds well before checking out CS. I don't know what criteria they use for auto rankings they rarely seems to align with actually using the auto.

 

[RonM_TX]

I stopped my subscription to Consumer Reports when they started pushing political policies years ago. When the reviewer is biased you can't rely on their recommendations. Today there are dozens of unbiased places to get reviews and recommendations on everything from autos to refrigerators. So Consumer Reports reliability ratings don't hold the importance they did in the past.

 

[Jason B]

I'm sure it's just me, however when it comes to automobile shopping time Consumer Reports IS NOT something I use as research material, I'll use Edmunds well before checking out CS. I don't know what criteria they use for auto rankings they rarely seems to align with actually using the auto.

Neither is JD Powers.
Did you know that Chevy has won a JD Powers award for winning the most JD Powers awards?

 

[yerkool]

I bet the Taco forums are LIT right now. Tacoma Bros cling to "muh reliability" like a drowning man clings to a pool floatie.

I own the 1st and 2nd gen taco, just this year I switch to a 2025-26 Ranger and I could not believe the insults and mockery I got concerning Fords. I have no buyers remorse nor could care less, I’m lovin the Ranger

 

[Lion77]

At the end of the day, nobody wants to think "their product" is inferior to someone else's. It's a hard pill to swallow for some that they paid so much money but could have gotten something better or they just didn't make the best choice, in some cases it's simply a matter of purchasing power (aka you had to buy the cheaper item due to finances).

That's where you get the "fan boy" mindset, the rationalizations etc. I've owned GM vehicles, Ford's, Mazda's and Toyota's. The Japanese brands have been my most trouble-free brands overall, while my Fords had more issues as they aged, the issues were mostly contained to annoying things that were home mechanic fixable and weren't things that left me broken down on the side the road.

My GM vehicles (00' Saturn Sport Coupe and 01 Impala 9C1 Interceptor) both had bigger issues (transmission problems, head gaskets, coolant ruptures etc.) that did leave me stranded and on more than one occasion.

So, for me, experience tells me that Toyota's, Mazda's, Honda's and Fords have been overall pretty decent cars. My parents had two dodges (99 Durango and 01' Avenger). The avenger actually went the longest of the two. The Durango just became a giant rust bucket even with regular care, had a lot of chassis / suspension issues due to such and issues with cooling system leaking and also starting despite regular filter / plug replacements (after some diagnosis, we determined that it was largely due to plug fouling from oil consumption despite regular oil changes at 3k, the rings just didn't seal well in that engine allowing for a lot of blowby). Both made it past 200k miles though, so I'll give em' that, but not without a lot of help.

Of the three domestic brands, I think Ford is still best overall. Of the Jap brands, it has been Toyota until recently, Mazda only makes cars and unibody SUV's now but is up there with Toyota / Honda, Honda's only truck is the Ridgeline and it's a unibody, but still of good quality for what it is. Nissan has their trucks, but I think the Titan is largely a flop, although the Frontier is a reasonably good classic minimalist mid-size package that still largely delivers the old school formula (which I'm not really a big fan of because it's lacking in a lot areas but delivers on cost / reliability / utility).

So, for trucks, yah, I do think Ford's doing a reasonably good job and unless something changes dramatically, I'll buy a Ford truck when the Raptor eventually wears out. The 2.3L, 2.7L and 3.0L are all known to be reasonably good engines from Ford, so is the 5.0L.

Are they perfect? No, but what engine is? Look at Toyota's and Chevy's V8 fiascos due to mfg. issues....Ford had their share of problems with the 3.5L, but most of it has been ironed out by this point aside from normal quality issues that occasionally happen with all brands.

 

[ChronciallyChronic]

At the end of the day, nobody wants to think "their product" is inferior to someone else's. It's a hard pill to swallow for some that they paid so much money but could have gotten something better or they just didn't make the best choice, in some cases it's simply a matter of purchasing power (aka you had to buy the cheaper item due to finances).

That's where you get the "fan boy" mindset, the rationalizations etc. I've owned GM vehicles, Ford's, Mazda's and Toyota's. The Japanese brands have been my most trouble-free brands overall, while my Fords had more issues as they aged, the issues were mostly contained to annoying things that were home mechanic fixable and weren't things that left me broken down on the side the road.

My GM vehicles (00' Saturn Sport Coupe and 01 Impala 9C1 Interceptor) both had bigger issues (transmission problems, head gaskets, coolant ruptures etc.) that did leave me stranded and on more than one occasion.

So, for me, experience tells me that Toyota's, Mazda's, Honda's and Fords have been overall pretty decent cars. My parents had two dodges (99 Durango and 01' Avenger). The avenger actually went the longest of the two. The Durango just became a giant rust bucket even with regular care, had a lot of chassis / suspension issues due to such and issues with cooling system leaking and also starting despite regular filter / plug replacements (after some diagnosis, we determined that it was largely due to plug fouling from oil consumption despite regular oil changes at 3k, the rings just didn't seal well in that engine allowing for a lot of blowby). Both made it past 200k miles though, so I'll give em' that, but not without a lot of help.

Of the three domestic brands, I think Ford is still best overall. Of the Jap brands, it has been Toyota until recently, Mazda only makes cars and unibody SUV's now but is up there with Toyota / Honda, Honda's only truck is the Ridgeline and it's a unibody, but still of good quality for what it is. Nissan has their trucks, but I think the Titan is largely a flop, although the Frontier is a reasonably good classic minimalist mid-size package that still largely delivers the old school formula (which I'm not really a big fan of because it's lacking in a lot areas but delivers on cost / reliability / utility).

So, for trucks, yah, I do think Ford's doing a reasonably good job and unless something changes dramatically, I'll buy a Ford truck when the Raptor eventually wears out. The 2.3L, 2.7L and 3.0L are all known to be reasonably good engines from Ford, so is the 5.0L.

Are they perfect? No, but what engine is? Look at Toyota's and Chevy's V8 fiascos due to mfg. issues....Ford had their share of problems with the 3.5L, but most of it has been ironed out by this point aside from normal quality issues that occasionally happen with all brands.

Good points all. I'd add that, yes, Ford continues to roll with recalls on their trucks but it appears virtually all the recalls are preventative in nature, as in Ford is finding a potential problem and fixing it before it becomes a real problem and blows up on them. While GM, Toyota and Hyundai has issues with engines grenading themselves with proper care and maintenance due to horrible design or sub-par manufacturing practices, Ford's recalls on the whole have been for comparatively more minor "just in case" issues.

 

[Dino Jockey]

Anything mass produced has the potential to have faults…. Sux but it’s realistic.

 

[Alaska_Wolf]

If they are going to include Ridgeline, they should include Maverick.

If we're including no frame truck wannabe's don't forget the Hyundai Santa Fe!

 

[Jason B]

If we're including no frame truck wannabe's don't forget the Hyundai Santa Fe!

I had to rethink my statement. Maverick is not a midsize.

 

[Onceaneagle]

Since when is the ridgeline a truck? Just because it has a bed …. so was the old subaru baja….

It has the same unibody build with a bed as Ford's so-called Maverick "truck" built on an Escape unibody with a bed. These things are really just urban utility vehicles for putzin' around the city.

 

[OxygenMask]

I quit considering consumer reports decades ago when known bulletproof vehicles made the Worst list because of radio complaints (like the 2002 Ford cd changer stereos all died within the first year.) And most recalled least reliable cars like the 90s Ford Taurus were always top 3!

 

[Bear376]

Consumer Reports has always had a bias against any domestic built vehicle. It seems to my experience that they automatically take 25% off any score if it is made in America. One problem for all manufacturers are issues caused by external suppliers. My Flex has a rear camera issue that Ford has not fixed for over a year, due to inability to find a solution. The affected vehicles keep increasing as more and more models are dealing with the same issues. But, recently, I have seen other makes being recalled for the same problem. I give Ford kudos for being pro-active, especially after what I have seen other manufacturers do to avoid liability for their failures.

 

[stemplar]

I personally find it laughable that folks hate on the ridgeline just because it’s not body-on-frame. I mean, I do appreciate the BOF over unibody for towing, but if we’re actually objective for a moment, or form-follows-function, the ridgeline has better payload than most of our rangers, and tows as well as the raptors. So for folks who want great payload, occasional towing of utility trailers and such, and prioritize daily driving over Baja-style off-roading, the ridgeline is a very competitive vehicle.

I’ve said before, if I can dump a load of mulch or manure in the back of my vehicle without the wife disowning me, it must be a truck. I really don’t see room for pedantry in this classification because when I press the starter button (or turn the key for the xl’s and xlt’s) I care about doing what I need to do and little more.

 

[LarryM]

Unless its been changed recently, if you ever get a flat with a Ridgeline with a load of manure or any full load, dumping it on the side of the road to get to the spare is really going to suck.

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