Ford Ranger vs Ram 1500: Which Years to Avoid
Ford Ranger owners should avoid 2008, 2011, 2019, 2021 and 2022, while Ram 1500 owners should avoid 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019; Ram 1500 2024 is the only Best-rated year in either lineup. Ranger averages 141 complaints per model year against Ram 1500's 831, but totals aren't sales-normalized.
Head to head
Ford Ranger
- Model years
- 2005–2025 (17)
- NHTSA complaints
- 2,405
- Per model year
- 141
- Recall campaigns
- 58
- Years to avoid
- 2008, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2022
- Best years
- —
- Top problem area
- Airbags
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 19.4
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- 3.3 ★
Ram 1500
- Model years
- 2009–2025 (14)
- NHTSA complaints
- 11,628
- Per model year
- 831
- Recall campaigns
- 93
- Years to avoid
- 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019
- Best years
- 2024
- Top problem area
- Engine
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 19.2
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- 4.3 ★
Year by year
Complaint Index is relative within each model (0 = that model’s best year, 100 = its worst). Complaints and recalls are raw counts.
| Year | Ranger | 1500 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | |
| 2005 | Caution | 289 | 9 | 17.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | Caution | 271 | 12 | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | Caution | 270 | 5 | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | Avoid | 326 | 5 | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | Caution | 169 | 7 | 17.5 | Good | 37 | 2 | — |
| 2010 | Caution | 156 | 8 | 17.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2011 | Avoid | 235 | 5 | 17.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2013 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 1,276 | 11 | 17 |
| 2014 | No verdict | 1 | 0 | — | Avoid | 1,766 | 16 | 19 |
| 2015 | — | — | — | — | Avoid | 1,448 | 17 | 19.5 |
| 2016 | No verdict | 1 | 0 | — | Avoid | 1,541 | 16 | 19.5 |
| 2017 | No verdict | 1 | 0 | — | Caution | 878 | 13 | 19 |
| 2018 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 661 | 15 | 19 |
| 2019 | Avoid | 267 | 11 | 22 | Avoid | 1,477 | 29 | 19 |
| 2020 | Caution | 127 | 7 | 22 | Caution | 628 | 14 | 19 |
| 2021 | Avoid | 114 | 6 | 20.5 | Caution | 678 | 15 | 19 |
| 2022 | Avoid | 37 | 5 | 22 | Caution | 612 | 16 | 20 |
| 2023 | Caution | 18 | 4 | 22 | Caution | 201 | 11 | 19 |
| 2024 | Caution | 83 | 13 | 21 | Best | 74 | 6 | 19.5 |
| 2025 | Caution | 40 | 13 | 21 | Caution | 351 | 8 | 21 |
Complaint Index by year
Ford Ranger
Ram 1500
Frequently asked questions
- Which years should I avoid for the Ford Ranger and Ram 1500?
- For the Ford Ranger, NHTSA data points to 2008, 2011, 2019, 2021 and 2022 as Avoid years. For the Ram 1500, avoid 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019.
- Does either truck have a Good or Best year?
- The Ford Ranger has no Good or Best year in this data set. The Ram 1500 has one Best year, 2024, with a complaint index of 8 and only 6 recall campaigns.
- Which model has more reported complaints?
- The Ram 1500 logs 11,628 total complaints across 14 model years (831 per year on average), compared to the Ford Ranger's 2,405 complaints across 17 model years (141 per year). NHTSA does not publish sales figures, so these totals are not normalized per vehicle sold.
- How do the two compare on recalls?
- The Ram 1500 has 93 total recall campaigns versus 58 for the Ford Ranger. Several Ranger and Ram years, such as Ranger 2010 and Ram 2019, had their verdicts capped to Caution because of high recall counts despite lower complaint indexes.
- How does fuel economy compare?
- The Ford Ranger averages 19.4 mpg combined across its model years, while the Ram 1500 averages 19.2 mpg combined. Annual fuel costs range as high as $4,300 for some Ram 1500 years and $3,800 for early Ranger years.