Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Ford Ranger owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle was rear-ended by a driver who ran the stop sign. The impact caused the vehicle to flip over multiple times. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact suffered severe head trauma and PTSD from the accident. It was unknown if the other driver sustained any injuries. The contact was taken to the local hospital where medical attention was received for his injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a local salvage junkyard. The VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number 23V306000 (Air Bags). The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owned a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle struck the rear of another vehicle causing a fender bender. The contact stated that the front air bags deployed, and a powdery substance and metal fragments flew out of the air bag and landed on the contact. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was required. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and deemed a total loss. The contact stated that he then received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V880000 (Air Bags). An unnamed dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 205,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact had taken the vehicle to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V125000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that while the vehicle was having the air bag replaced, the contact became aware that the passenger's side air bag had not been seated correctly. The contact asked the Service Manager to return the vehicle to have the mechanic properly seat the air bag and secure the air bag correctly. The contact stated that the Service Manager attempted to adjust and tighten the air bag. The contact stated that the vehicle had been repaired but not in a safe manner. The manufacturer had been informed of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 228,000.
The contact owned a 2005 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH during rain weather conditions, the contact lost control of the vehicle while going around a curve, causing the vehicle to crash into a ditch. No air bags deployed. The contact suffered a head injury and several other unknown injuries due to the seat belt. The paramedic had to cut the seat belt to release the contact from the vehicle. The contact was taken to the hospital to seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed and was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.
I was in an accident and the airbags did not inflate. I was going 30-35 MPH, there was a patch of ice, and I hit a tree. The truck was totaled. I smashed my face on the steering wheel, fracturing a bone. Some weeks later I received a letter in the mail from Ford Motor Company with regards to a passenger side airbag recall. I am afraid that this could perhaps be a bigger problem than just passenger side airbags.
At 200k miles I got an air bag light on my guage cluster. The blinking code corresponded to a bad connection at the CLOCKSPRING. I also noticed my cruise control and horn were also inoperable, also an indicator of a bad CLOCKSPRING. Ford part number 1l5z-14a664-ab is the replacement part and is currently unavailable, for the last 6 months. This part covers a few different models and has been exhausted by the dealers when correcting the Airbag recall. The dealer can not give me a date on a replacement part.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Ford Ranger. While driving 35 MPH through an intersection, the contact's vehicle was struck on the driver side door by another vehicle. The contact had a 6 year old passenger in the vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The driver injured her neck, back, arm, and ribs that required medical attention. The vehicle was not towed and was able to be driven home. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 197,154.
Tl* the contact owned a 2005 Ford Ranger. While driving at 36 MPH, a vehicle unexpectedly pulled in front of the contact's vehicle, which caused the contact to t-bone the vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the head, neck, and bruises on both arms that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
Takata recall I have been waiting for months to receive the "interim" replacement for my driver's side airbag, and I have felt unsafe in driving my vehicle since I first received notice of the Takata airbag inflator. I've brought my truck (2005 Ford Ranger) into my local Ford dealership 3 separate times, and each time they've returned it to me without fixing anything because the part for the interim replacement has been on backorder. This is in houston, tx, so right in the middle of the priority region due to extremely high humidity. I have tried every possible avenue to get a loaner vehicle, by calling Ford customer care and my local Ford dealership (sterling mccall Ford in houston, tx). I know that Honda is issuing loaner vehicles, despite having many more models affected by this recall. …
"Takata recall" I have received recall notices on both of the airbags in my vehicle (one in December 2015 for the passenger side and the other in February 2016 for the driver's side). I did not do anything in December 2015 since my passenger side airbag could be turned off. When I got the second notice about the driver's side, I caused the airbags to deploy rather than risk injuring someone in my family. I called my local Ford dealer and made an appointment to have the airbags replaced on November 10, 2017. I was told that they could not replace my airbags without an authorization from Ford motor company since I had taken the deployment canister out of the vehicle and discarded it. I did this because I still needed to use the covering insert in my steering wheel. The dealer advised me to contact Ford motor company "Ford customer relationship/roadside assistance" at phone # [phone]. …
Related recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles that received replacement front passenger air bag inflators under a previous recall. The replacement front passenger air bag inflators may have been installed incorrectly.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and reinstall the front passenger air bag inflator, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 22, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles that received replacement front passenger air bag inflators under a previous recall. The replacement frontal passenger air bag inflators may have been installed incorrectly.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and reinstall the front passenger air bag inflator, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 5, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles that may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021.
Air bags › Frontal
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021.
Show 4 more recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is superseding a previous recall for certain 2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks to implement a final repair. Upon deployment of the driver side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is superseding a previous recall for certain 2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks to implement a final repair. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger's frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge.
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles manufactured March 24, 2003, to May 4, 2006. Upon deployment of the driver side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began February 26, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 Ranger trucks manufactured March 24, 2003, to May 4, 2006. The affected vehicles are equipped with a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on December 4, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
NHTSA investigations
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Airbag complaints in other Ranger years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2005 Ford Ranger?
NHTSA has 132 complaints about the air bags of the 2005 Ford Ranger, 46% of the model year's 289 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Ford Ranger airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 23V-306 (inflator module, Apr 28, 2023); NHTSA recall 23V-125 (inflator module, Feb 24, 2023); NHTSA recall 21V-076 (inflator module, Feb 17, 2021). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2005 Ford Ranger airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 87,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 13 crashes, 0 fires and 11 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.