truckinfamily

We have a 2003 Ranger with 27,000 miles on it. It has a rough idle that Ford recognizes as a problem with all Rangers. However, there is no fix for it.

We've also noticed that when heat or AC is on, air comes through the door handles on the outside of the truck. A lot of air. Ford says it's an unknown cause. There's a very loud rattle in the driver's door...Ford says it's an unknown cause. The driver's seat gets stuck often, passenger seat occasionally, and won't push forward to allow entry into the back. That's also an unknown cause.

Anyone else having these problems?

LunaticSVT

Doors: Replace the plastic lining that should be standard in the door. In most vehicles you will have a plastic liner that will be right behind the door panel. This is a seal. If you do not have one on there or your truck did not come with it you can get the material at autozone or pepboys. This will help with the air issue.

Rattling door: Take off the door panel and look to see if there is any loose pieces in there. I had a plastic cap that was used in production in the door cavity of my 03 cobra. If there is nothing in there make sure everything is tight and secured. Loose wires will also cause this noise in the doors. Make sure they are secure.

Seats... take a look at the tracks and make sure there are nobends or kinks in them anywhere...event the slightest will cause the seat to stick. If there are none then get some silicon grease and place it in the track. Some rare instances you will get the plastic roller in the track to crack or become flat. If this is the case you will need to disassemble and replace the rollers and bearings...they are one piece.

Rough idle. What gas are you using? Have you upped the octane? Have you checked spark plugs, leads, coils, fuelfilter, cleaned the MAF, Airfilter replaced? Many things can cause this issue. some simple some complex.

truckinfamily

And if we make any changes or alterations, it could void the warranty. We've had it at 2 different garages.

The plug wires, plugs, air and fuel filters, and everything else that you mentioned have been checked. The mechanic that last checked it yesterday, called the Ford plant in Michigan to see if a fix has been found. Ford has given an alert to the dealers that there is an idling problem, but they've not yet figured out why. It's not been turned into a recall yet. The specs for the truck say to use 87 octane, nothing higher or it won't run right. We've only used 87.

We've checked the seat tracks, and there's no reason why it shouldn't move that we can see. The mechanic said the same thing.

With only 10K miles left on the warranty, we'd like to find the reason and get it fixed before the warranty runs out.

LunaticSVT

make what changes? adding a plastic liner to the inside of the door? That sir is not going to void your warranty. Sorry to burst your bubble, but if it has been told to you by your dealer that it would then it is time to find a new dealer to service your truck.

Idle: Was there a diagnostic scan on the PCM to see if any codes were thrown or stored? If so then please elaborate. if not then why not. That should have been one of the first things done. Was the IAC solenoid checked? Was the IAC cleaned? Fuelpump checked? Was the flow rate within guidelines? Injectors checked for blockage or build up and proper flow rates? If so what were the flow rates for these? Were the O2's checked and what were the numbers on those? What is the voltage on the engine temperature sensor? Has that been checked? if so post results. has the engine been checked for predetonation problems?

87 octane: Boy who has got you fooled. Going up in octane is not going to harm your engine. Not going to cause you issues, and far from voiding your warranty.

Seat tracks...Obviously there is an issue that your mechanics are overlooking. If the seat is not moving it is either a misaligned track, kink in track, rollers inside the track damaged, bearings inside rollers damaged or not properly greased. Adding silicon lubricants to the track is not going to void the warranty either. I would look it over myself and make sure.

From the sounds of it I would find a better mechanic to do the work. There are issues that need to be addressed. If the machanic states there is not an issue with the seats and it is at the dealers then you should insist that the dealer replace the tracks and guides on the seat. At minimum. If they wont cover that underwarranty then fight it. It should be covered under your warranty unless you caused the damage, and even then they have to provide the burden of proof on that.