The 1988 Ford Ranger has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 141 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 117 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
TRUCKS WERE BUILT WITH INCORRECT REAR BRAKE ASSEMBLIES. CONSEQUENCE OF DEFECT: A TENDENCY FOR REAR BRAKE LOCKUP WOULD EXIST PARTICULARLY DURING HEAVY BRAKE APPLICAION WITH A LIGHTLY LOADED TRUCK. ALSO, INCREASED STOPPING DISTANCE WOULD BE REQUIRED IF THE BRAKE MODULATION (PUMPING THE BRAKES) IS USED TO CONTROL…
REPLACE REAR BRAKE ASSEMBLIES.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“I was driving uphill on highway 152 when my slip yoke exploded blowing out the rear of the bellhousing to my transmission throwing the truck rear end 6 ft in the air and the nose of the truck 3 feet in the air this was caused by the drive shaft taking into the ground when coming down the…”
“Driving 60 mph, a loss of power was noticed. This became a loud exhaust noise. After coasting to a stop, putting up the hood to search for problems, and finding no evidence of any, attempted to restart the vehicle. The vehicle backfired, and smoke began to pour out from the exhaust system. A fire…”
“1988 ford ranger was towed back out here on 4/1/2011 ok this 1988 ford ranger has not been drove anywhere ok it also was on recall for brake work an this can't be done either cause of other issue with power train an you need brake an be able to use the clutch as will ok an this is sitting in the…”
“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…”
“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…”
“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…”
“Went to pick up my 1988 ford ranger today at fairway ford freeport il at number [REDACTED] ok I was told here that they had been trying to call me but was unable to reach me call had wrong phone number ok but I have report here that state that to fix 1988 ford ranger the fire wall is unfixable…”
“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…”
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Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1988 Ford Ranger as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.