A frustrated Ford Ranger owner is demanding his money back after claiming his $85,000 ute has turned into a ‘nightmare lemon’ plagued by faults.
Adelaide man Kai Keller bought his brand-new 2022 Next-Gen Ford Ranger Wildtrak so he, his partner and their kelpie Luna could explore Australia’s outback.
But instead of adventure, the vehicle has already required five warranty repairs after travelling just 23,500km.
‘I’ve been reaching out to Ford and I haven’t really gotten very far with them,’ Mr Keller told the Daily Mail.
‘I’ve asked for my money back and they’ve said they’re processing that, but my concern is the car is getting close to three years old, it’s done 23,000km, and it’s already had five warranty visits.
Mr Keller said the vehicle has required a replacement tail shaft, suffered a Diesel Particulate Filter filter issue, and developed four separate oil leaks since he purchased it a little more than three years ago.
‘I’ve only asked Ford for the purchase price back, that is a bit unfortunate for me because I’ve spent about $12,000 on accessories,’ he said.
‘There’s no point in asking for a replacement Ranger because I have no faith a new one would do what they say it would.
Kai Keller with his kelpie-cross Luna and their Ford Ranger
Ford market the Ranger as an off-road vehicle
‘Ford advertise their car as, ‘hey, we’re outback, we’re four-wheel driving, blah blah blah,’ and that’s very much why I bought the car. I bought it to go on dirt roads.
‘Even driving from Adelaide to Alice Springs, I doubt the car would make it, even on a sealed road.’
Mr Keller also told the Daily Mail his ‘nightmare’ Ranger astonishingly leaked oil just 100km after the previous oil leak was fixed.
‘So if you’re more than 100 k’s from a Ford dealer, you might not make it back, and then what happens when the warranty runs out?’ he said.
He said his biggest fear was that a breakdown in a remote area could quickly become dangerous, forcing drivers to carry extra equipment and technical tools just to feel safe travelling outside major towns.
If I take it off-road, you can be put in a perilous position if it breaks down. Then what are the back-ups that you’ll need to have?
‘You’ll need to have a satellite phone and satellite connection, a scanner to read fault codes, then you start becoming a technician for the car if something goes wrong.
‘I have some trepidation about going anywhere outside of urban centres and even if I was in Adelaide going out the Sturt Highway towards the Riverlands and it’s a hot day and I got stuck there, and I have the dog in the car, it’s not going to be good.
‘I didn’t buy a car to be a Ford technician. I just bought the car to drive it, but it’s had too many issues in the short time I’ve owned it. You’re pretty much just driving a laptop on wheels.’
Mr Keller has demanded Ford refund him the purchase price for the Rander
Mr Keller said he just wants his money back so he can move on with his life.
‘We love to get out and about, we love to get outdoors, and this was the car that was supposed to help us do that,’ he said.
‘The idea was to buy a new car and not have all these issues. Things pop up, I get that, but this is getting ridiculous.
‘Ford love showing that their car is quite capable of going off-road, but in my small sample size of one, my car is not capable.
‘I want my money back. If Ford gave me another new car, I’d put it on Carsales the following day.’
Mr Keller’s concerns follow another case involving Ford Ranger owner Matthew Patruno, who is locked in a court dispute with Ford after claiming his vehicle repeatedly lost power and required multiple services within months of purchase.
The Sydney father of two took the company to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking a refund, but his claim was initially dismissed before being revived on appeal, with the matter now set to be reheard.
Mr Patruno said problems began shortly after he bought the ex-demo 2022 Ranger Raptor in January 2023, despite the vehicle having only 4,000km on the clock.
Ford Ranger owner Matthew Patruno (above) is in a court dispute with the Ford Motor Company
Mr Patruno claims his vehicle (above) was losing power and almost caused an accident, that he had oil issues and has needed to have it serviced three times in ten months
He claimed the ute needed servicing three times in ten months and lodged a complaint after it suddenly lost power in peak-hour traffic, almost causing a crash.
Ford argued there was no defect, saying the Ranger’s monitoring system increases servicing requirements under Sydney’s ‘severe’ driving conditions.
Mr Patruno told the Daily Mail two appeal panel members said Ford should warn Sydney drivers that Rangers may experience performance issues in the city’s ‘severe driving conditions’.
‘You would think a vehicle, especially a Ranger, would be able to handle driving in metropolitan centres,’ Mr Patruno said.
‘It barely goes off-road, the car is not abused. I spent $85,000 on the stupid car.’
Mr Patruno submitted the Ranger was purchased for interstate trips to Fraser Island, Moreton Bay and Cape York, but the vehicle would ‘require at least two services’ to make it through such a trip.
‘Honestly I don’t drive it much, I can’t drive to Mudgee, I can’t drive to Queensland, I traded in a Range Rover Velar, that was perfect, we swapped to meet our family’s needs, we wanted to do travel, adventure, but it’s been a nightmare,’ Mr Patruno said.
‘I’m massively disappointed, it’s actually heartbreaking, I have a young family, we wanted to do a lot, explore Australia now we can’t even drive to Queensland.
‘Who would buy a car if they had to get it serviced three times a year, especially a top of-the line Ford Ranger. It’s also a safety concern, that car is a deathtrap.’
