Ford Ranger vs Honda Ridgeline: Which Years to Avoid
Ford Ranger's worst years to avoid are 2008, 2011, 2019, 2021 and 2022, while Honda Ridgeline has no overall best year across the board but flags 2006, 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025. Ranger logs 2,405 total complaints and 58 recall campaigns across 17 model years versus Ridgeline's 2,167 complaints and 39 campaigns across 19 years; Ridgeline's 2014 is its only Best-rated year.
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 ★
Honda Ridgeline
- Model years
- 2006–2025 (19)
- NHTSA complaints
- 2,167
- Per model year
- 114
- Recall campaigns
- 39
- Years to avoid
- 2006, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2025
- Best years
- 2014
- Top problem area
- Electrical System
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 19.1
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- 5.0 ★
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 | Ridgeline | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | |
| 2005 | Caution | 289 | 9 | 17.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | Caution | 271 | 12 | 17 | Avoid | 242 | 12 | 17 |
| 2007 | Caution | 270 | 5 | 17 | Caution | 160 | 8 | 17 |
| 2008 | Avoid | 326 | 5 | 17 | Caution | 143 | 8 | 17 |
| 2009 | Caution | 169 | 7 | 17.5 | Caution | 35 | 8 | 17 |
| 2010 | Caution | 156 | 8 | 17.5 | Caution | 42 | 9 | 17 |
| 2011 | Avoid | 235 | 5 | 17.5 | Caution | 39 | 10 | 17 |
| 2012 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 24 | 11 | 17 |
| 2013 | — | — | — | — | Good | 45 | 7 | 17 |
| 2014 | No verdict | 1 | 0 | — | Best | 34 | 6 | 17 |
| 2015 | — | — | — | — | No verdict | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | No verdict | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | No verdict | 1 | 0 | — | Avoid | 341 | 8 | 21.5 |
| 2018 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 161 | 7 | 21.5 |
| 2019 | Avoid | 267 | 11 | 22 | Avoid | 237 | 11 | 21.5 |
| 2020 | Caution | 127 | 7 | 22 | Caution | 169 | 8 | 21.5 |
| 2021 | Avoid | 114 | 6 | 20.5 | Caution | 101 | 7 | 21 |
| 2022 | Avoid | 37 | 5 | 22 | Caution | 117 | 3 | 21 |
| 2023 | Caution | 18 | 4 | 22 | Avoid | 127 | 5 | 21 |
| 2024 | Caution | 83 | 13 | 21 | Caution | 59 | 1 | 20.5 |
| 2025 | Caution | 40 | 13 | 21 | Avoid | 89 | 2 | 20.5 |
Complaint Index by year
Ford Ranger
Honda Ridgeline
Frequently asked questions
- Which Ford Ranger years should I avoid?
- NHTSA data flags 2008, 2011, 2019, 2021 and 2022 as Avoid years for the Ranger, based on complaint index scores of 88, 75, 94, 81 and 100 respectively out of the model's years.
- Which Honda Ridgeline years should I avoid?
- The Ridgeline's Avoid years are 2006, 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025, with complaint index values of 100, 83, 89, 78 and 94. Only 2014 earns a Best verdict.
- How do total complaints compare between the Ranger and Ridgeline?
- The Ranger has 2,405 total complaints over 17 model years (141 per year on average) versus 2,167 for the Ridgeline over 19 model years (114 per year on average). These totals are not adjusted for how many of each were sold.
- Which has more recall campaigns, the Ranger or Ridgeline?
- The Ranger has 58 total recall campaigns across its lineup compared to 39 for the Ridgeline.
- How does fuel economy compare?
- The Ranger averages 19.4 mpg combined across its years and the Ridgeline averages 19.1 mpg combined; annual fuel costs by year range as high as $3,800 for early versions of each truck.