Ford Ranger refund over deleted ‘stop-start’ tech, fuel consumption increase

Approximately 100 Ford Ranger customers will each receive a refund of $1100 after Ford discreetly removed fuel-saving ‘stop-start’ tech – and increased fuel consumption by eight per cent.

Ford Australia will pay a total of approximately $110,000 in compensation shared across about 100 owners of the current-generation Ford Ranger ute after the car giant quietly deleted fuel-saving ‘stop-start’ technology amid the semiconductor shortage.

Removing the fuel-saving feature – which automatically switches off the engine when the vehicle is stopped in traffic and automatically restarts the engine as soon as the driver releases the brake pedal – also increased the official fuel-consumption rating by eight per cent.

Affected models are powered by Ford’s twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel, which is highlighted in marketing by Ford Australia as being one of its most efficient engines.

After Ford removed the fuel-saving technology, the average consumption of Ford Ranger XLT and Ford Ranger Wildtrak variants powered by the twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine increased from 7.4L/100km to 8.0L/100km – up 8.1 per cent.

The Ford Ranger’s increased fuel consumption equates to an extra $247.50 per year in fuel – based on a cost of $1.50 per-litre for diesel, and the national average annual distance travelled of 15,000km.

Based on these calculations, the annual fuel bill for earlier variants of the Ford Ranger equipped with the twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine equates to $1665 when consuming fuel at a rate of 7.4L/100km.

However, the annual fuel bill for updated variants of the Ford Ranger calculate to $1912.50 when consuming fuel at a rate of 8.0L/100km.

Not every customer of the updated version of the runout Ford Ranger is entitled to the $1100 refund because Ford discreetly updated the technical information in fine print on the brochure.

However, approximately 100 customers ordered cars before the changes were publicised – and the fuel-saving tech was missing once they took delivery of their new vehicles.

A statement from Ford Australia to Drive said: “Due to ongoing semiconductor shortages, certain Rangers arriving in Australia from January 2022 were not produced with automatic ‘stop-start’. This included Ranger double-cab XL, XLT, FX4, Wildtrak and Wildtrak X models fitted with our (twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine) with 10-speed automatic transmission.

An email sent to affected Ford Ranger owners says in part: “We apologise for this change and, provided that you still own your vehicle, we would like to offer you a one-off pre-paid Visa gift card of $1100 (including GST) as compensation for this specification change.”

It is unclear why Ford Australia is insisting only customers who still own affected vehicles are entitled to the $1100 refund, given the vehicle was missing equipment that they signed up to and paid for when placing their order.

Drive has contacted Australia’s top consumer watchdog, the ACCC, to ascertain if Ford is allowed to make such a distinction.

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