Audited US model-year file

1987 FORD Ranger

Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.

Model-year evidence is not a VIN check.

A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.

Official VIN lookup ↗

01 · Safety actions first

5 NHTSA recall campaigns

Exact model-level NHTSA results for 1987 FORD Ranger. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.

01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1987-05-26

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE

Campaign 87V075000
Summary

THE BUCKLE PORTION OF THE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPERLY ANCHORED TO THE FLOOR.

Consequence

IF THIS CONDITION EXISTS, THE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY WOULDNOT WITHSTAND A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT LOAD AND WOULD BE A POTENTIAL FOR PERSONALINJURY.

Remedy

INSPECT AND MAKE PROPER INSTALLATION OF SEAT BELT AND BUCKLE ANCHOR BOLTS, IF NECESSARY.

02
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1987-05-18

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS

Campaign 87V070000
Summary

STICKERS CONCERNING HANDLING AND MANEUVERABILITY WHICH ARE AFFIXED TO DRIVERS SUN VISOR SLEEVES DO NOT MEET CRITERIA FOR PERMANENT ADHESION.

Consequence

VEHICLES DO NOT MEET FORMATS SPECIFIED BY PARTS 573 AND579 OF 49CFR.

Remedy

OWNERS WILL BE MAILED NEW SUN VISOR SLEEVES WITH ALL APPLICABLE DECAL INFORMATION PERMANENTLY AFFIXED.

03
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1998-04-08

SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:DISC:ROTOR

Campaign 98E010000
Summary

EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTION: AFTERMARKET BRAKE ROTORS FOR USE ON CERTAIN FORD AND MAZDA TRUCKS. CRACKED CASTINGS CAUSED CRACKS TO APPEAR ON THE OUTER DIAMETER OF THE ROTOR HAT OR AROUND THE STUD HOLE.

Consequence

LOSS OF BRAKING CAN RESULT.

Remedy

AIMCO WILL REIMBURSE CONSUMERS/INSTALLERS FOR THE COST OF REPLACEMENT ROTORS AND INSTALLATION. CONSUMERS ARE REQUESTED TO RETURN TO THE LOCATION WHERE THE ROTORS WERE ORIGINALLY PURCHASED/INSTALLED FOR REPLACEMENT.

04
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1987-09-04

WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS

Campaign 87V140000
Summary

WHEEL LUG NUT CONE ANGLES DO NOT MATCH LUG NUT SEATING ANGLES.

Consequence

NUTS COULD LOOSEN IN SERVICE CREATING POTENTIAL FORWHEELS TO SEPARATE FROM TRUCK.

Remedy

REPAIR TO PREVENT LOOSENING OF LUG NUTS.

05
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1987-09-04

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

Campaign 87V139000
Summary

SPRING LOCK FUEL LINE COUPLING MAY NOT BE PROPERLY ENGAGED.

Consequence

COUPLING COULD DISENGAGE DUE TO FUEL PRESSURE,VIBRATION, AND ENGINE MOVEMENTS; THIS WOULD CAUSE LOSS OF FUEL WHICH, INPRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, CREATES A FIRE RISK.

Remedy

INSTALL RETAINER CLIPS OVER THE COUPLINGS TO PREVENT COUPLING SEPARATION AND FUEL LEAKAGE.

02 · Owner allegations

57 NHTSA complaints

Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.

Crash mentions
5
Fire mentions
14
Injuries reported
10
Most-reported component labels
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM16
SEAT BELTS9
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING7
FUEL SYSTEM7
GASOLINE5
STEERING3
Complaints across nearby Ford Ranger model years

Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.

  1. 271985
  2. 351986
  3. 571987
  4. 891988
  5. 731989
  6. 1051990

A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all Ranger years with specs and fuel economy →

03 · Agency review

4 NHTSA ODI investigations

An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.

PE92029
Closed 1992-08-31 · opened 1992-03-16

WHL SEPARATION/TORQUE LOSS

NHTSA source ↗

SUSPENSION · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

EA90042
Closed 1991-12-31 · opened 1990-08-31

THROTTLE STICKING

NHTSA source ↗

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

PE89129
Closed 1990-03-23 · opened 1989-06-07

GEARSHIFT LEVER BREAKS

NHTSA source ↗

STEERING · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

EA88033
Closed 1989-01-23 · opened 1988-05-11

UNDER SEAT FIRES

NHTSA source ↗

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · Associated recall campaign 88V145000.

04 · EPA configurations

Fuel economy & specifications

FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.

EPA configurations
10
Combined economy
17–26 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
15–24 / 20–28 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
2–2.9 L
Cylinders
4–6
Fuel type
Diesel · Regular
Drive
4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive · Rear-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Small Pickup Trucks · Small Pickup Trucks 2WD
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$2700–3950

05 · Evidence strength

Exact identity. Explicit limits.

No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.

exact match

Recall campaigns

5 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.

exact match

Complaints

57 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.

exact match

ODI investigations

4 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.

canonical only

Model aliases

Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.

not published

Manufacturer ownership

No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.

PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT

Identity, freshness and provenance.

The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.

Permanent public ID
https://modelyearfacts.com/vehicle/1987/ford/ranger
NHTSA make ID
460
NHTSA model ID
1803
Match key
1987 · FORD · Ranger · US
Live evidence requested
EPA publication catalogue
Complaint matrix snapshot
Imported safety snapshot
nhtsa-investigations · exact match

NHTSA ODI investigations

Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.

Open official source ↗
US-market boundary

Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.

06 · Research paths

Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.

These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.

Offers status: held

Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.