The National Consumer Commission announced that the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa has issued a recall for certain 2026–2027 production year Ranger Double Cab vehicles.
The National Consumer Commission (NCC) announced that the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa has issued a recall of 2,275 new Ranger Double Cab vehicles.
The recall affected certain Ford Ranger Double Cab vehicles for the 2026–2027 production year. The affected vehicles were sold nationwide between 22 May 2026 and 23 June 2026.
The recalled vehicles were sold through Ford-franchised dealers and were also exported to Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini.
Ford told the NCC that the side curtain airbags in the affected vehicles may interact with the B-Pillar trim during inflation and fail to deploy as intended.
The Ford Ranger’s history in South Africa dates back to the year 2000, when the first generation of the vehicle was launched to replace the Ford Courier.
Manufactured at Ford’s Silverton plant in Pretoria, the Ranger was closely related to the Mazda B-Series, reflecting Ford’s relationship with Mazda at the time.
In 2011, Ford developed the new T6 Ranger as a global bakkie and chose Silverton as one of its major manufacturing hubs.
Ford initially invested about R3.4 billion in Silverton and its Struandale engine plant in Gqeberha.
Silverton changed from a relatively low-volume, multi-model factory into a high-volume operation centred on the Ranger. The new model launched locally in October 2011.
Between 2011 and the end of production in November 2022, Silverton built 873,751 of these Ford Rangers. More than 603,000 were exported to over 100 countries, while over 271,000 were sold in South Africa.
It also became one of the few bakkies capable of seriously challenging Toyota’s Hilux in the South African market. Ford progressively expanded and upgraded it.
There was a major facelift in 2015, another substantial update in 2019, and the latter brought the 2.0-litre single- and bi-turbo diesels. The first Ranger Raptor also arrived locally in 2019.
For the current Ranger, Ford spent R15.8 billion on its Silverton plant and supplier tooling for the new model — at the time the largest investment in Ford’s South African history.
It invested another R600 million in its Struandale facility. Production started in November 2022, and the Double Cab was formally launched in South Africa on 5 December 2022.
Hardin Ratshisusu, Acting Commissioner of the National Consumer Commission
South Africa is not the only country to have issued a recall for the Ranger Double Cab. Ford Australia issued an almost identically worded recall this month.
That recall covered 13,907 Ranger Double Cabs built from 26 November 2025 to 10 July 2026. Australia called those 2026 and 2026.5 model-year vehicles.
It affected everything from ordinary Rangers to the Ranger PHEV, Raptor, and Super Duty, but not Single Cab or Super Cab Rangers.
The Australian and South African recalls also follow an earlier Ranger recall in the United States involving the side-curtain airbag and B-pillar.
In August 2025, Ford recalled 100,900 US Rangers built from December 2022 through July 2025 because an inflating curtain airbag could interact with the B-pillar inner reinforcement flange.
This could potentially tear the airbag during inflation. The repair involved inserting protective shields between the curtain and bodywork.
The new problem in South Africa and Australia isn’t exactly the same defect. This time, the interaction is with the B-pillar trim, and the trim’s “ramp” can detach during deployment.
“The B-Pillar ramp may detach from the vehicle and plunge (become a projectile) when the side curtain airbag deploys,” the NCC explained.
“The detachment of the B-Pillar ramp may increase the risk of injury to vehicle occupants during deployment of the side curtain airbag.”
South Africa’s NCC urged consumers who own the affected Ranger Double Cabs to take their vehicles to the nearest authorised Ford dealership to arrange for an inspection and repair.
Any remedial work will be carried out at no cost to the consumer. “This recall affects a safety-critical component of a significant number of vehicles,” said acting commissioner Hardin Ratshisusu.
“Owners or users of these vehicles should contact the supplier without delay. The NCC will be monitoring this and other recalls to ensure all affected vehicles in South Africa are attended to.”
