US Ford dealers have been issued with a stop-sale order for the Ford Ranger after its fifth recall in four months.
A recall notice for 100,900 vehicles has been issued for all Rangers made between 2024 and 2026 due to the potential for their side curtain airbags to split and lose pressure when deployed in a collision, posing a safety issue to occupants.
The potential fault means the airbags do not meet federal safety compliance regulations in the United States (US).
Ford Australia has told CarExpert Rangers sold in Australia are not impacted by the issue, nor the Ranger-based Everest large SUV sold here, with the two vehicles sharing a significant number of components.
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The Ranger sold in the US is made at Ford’s Wayne, Michigan plant. Rangers sold in Australia are made in Thailand, apart from the plug-in hybrid Ranger PHEV, which comes from South Africa.
It’s not clear if the airbags fitted in US-made vehicles are the same as those fitted in Rangers produced elsewhere – and sourced from the same supplier – or whether they are market-specific parts.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), affected Ranger owners in the US will be notified on September 8, 2025 and warned of the safety risk. However, the automaker will not have parts to remedy all affected vehicles until December this year.
It’s the fifth recall for the US-made Ranger in as many months, with a braking issue, instrument cluster problem, steering fault and improperly secured driver’s seat all prompting recalls in the US since May 2025.
In Australia, Ford recalled the Ranger and Everest late last month for a transmission issue, which came after both model were recalled in July for a software issue affecting their reversing cameras in 36,000 vehicles. That recall extended to include the Mustang sports car, the Focus small hatch/sedan, as well as the Escape and Endura SUVs.
The Ranger and Everest are the two best-selling models for Ford Australia, accounting for around 90 per cent of the brand’s total sales volume. Ranger was also the top-selling vehicle in Australia – snatching the crown from the Toyota HiLux – in both 2023 and 2024.
