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Certain current Ford Rangers fitted with a bi-turbo 2.0-litre engine have been recalled due to a unique battery issue.
This article originally appeared on Motoringnz.com
Ford New Zealand has confirmed it is recalling just over 1000 Ranger utes and Everest SUVs over a battery issue that can lead to vehicles engaging ‘Park’ whilst still moving at low speed.
The remedial action is specific to editions of the country’s most popular new vehicle with a twin turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, so just over 1200 units in New Zealand, with no issues having been logged by the manufacturer at the time of writing.
The issue relates to a low-battery charge fault and has potential to cause the automatic transmission to engage ‘Park’ while the vehicle is moving at walking pace.
The Ford Ranger Wildtrak X has been revealed to bridge the gap between the standard Wildtrak and the mighty Raptor.
“Due to a software issue, under certain circumstances if the battery level drops below a critical threshold, the transmission may shift into park when the vehicle is travelling at speeds below 6kph,” reads Ford’s recall notice.
“This may cause a sudden stop without the rear brake lamps illuminating as intended.”
Ranger has been the country’s top selling new vehicle for almost a decade, hitting 11,577 registrations last year.
The current generation, which was released in mid-2022, has maintained that popularity, despite being amongst vehicles copping the brunt of tightening Clean Car emissions regulations.
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A handful of Ford Everest SUVs have also been impacted by the recall.
A carryover from the previous generation, the 2.0-litre ‘Panther’ engine has in the latest line historically achieved only about 10% of local Ranger volume since changeover. All others have run with the new-to-type diesel and petrol V6s.
The four cylinder penetration is expected to climb, however, as it is now being promoted more heavily, on strength of the efficiency advantage the biturbo brings, notably in CO2 count.
The market reacted immediately to a big lift in CO2 penalties that were enacted on July 1.
However, even though new vehicle registrations last month were the lowest for years, at less than half the monthly average, Ranger remained the top choice, albeit with 518 registrations.
Ford has made clear the recall only impacts the latest Ranger, where the 2.0-litre is married to the new model’s ‘e-Shifter’ gear selector, and from a build period from October last year until present.
On these 1240 vehicles, which includes a small count of Everests, “a supplier issue means that the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) software may limit the alternator’s charging output under certain circumstances.”
Ford New Zealand says it will be writing directly to owners to explain the situation and what remedies are required.
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