Problems with 2003 Ford Ranger FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER

Was driving on state hwy.20 @ 615pm, when i noticed no power when i pressed on the accelerator, rpm shot to 4000, then dropped down with no power,cars behind me were flashing there lights, arms waving out there windows when the car came to my side they were frantically yelling that i was on fire. i immediately pulled to the side of hwy. and flames were rolling into the cab of the truck, it was in 2 waves then i was able to open my door and exit the truck.now flames were rolling out of the rear driver side wheel well, luckily i had a fire extingwisher in the bed of the truck which i extingwished in the wheel whell and as far back as i could reach,this put out the fire,but not without extensive damage to the underneath of truck including the gas tank where grass valley ford determined the fire oringinated.as the hot spot is very distinguishing.ford motor co in dearborn mi.sent me a letter saying they will not address this failer,and will not give me any information to contact anyone that can help resolve this matter.a 4 year old truck that has no modifications,and has been wwell taken care of should not burst into flames,endangering lives.they are at this point offering no assistance to correct this problem.i can provide estimates from the dealership with parts list included as well as them determing that it was a fire originating at the gas tank..there were no events leading to this failer, never a gas smell just instantly into flames..thanks for your time in this matter..

Two things on my 2003 ford ranger supercab 2 wd : 1.) front brakes are bad, and continue to be bad, due to bad design of front rotors. the original oem rotors fail, due to warping, resulting in a most the aggravating pulsing when brakes are applied. this results in inadequate stopping when needed, and could cause a very severe accident !!! 2.) the fuel cutoff safety switch ( whatever it is called) above the front passenger leg area (on wall -inside cab) is defective, causing serious consequences to the occupants, due to vehicle losing all power during operation. this has happened to me now 10+ times in the last 6 months. sometimes while in heavy traffic, with no where to go when all power is lost, gauges go wacky,lose steering control, etc. as soon as the switch is "reset", by pushing in on it from the top of it, and turning vehicle key to on position for 3-5 seconds, then back off ( per owner's manual) the vehicle seems fine,,,until, randomly it happens again when you least expect it. the manual says this switch is for "safety" concerns , when after an accident, it shuts off fuel supply, etc....but my truck has never been in any accident whatsoever, and this device is now becoming a great potential accident producer in itself !!!!! the "incident date" is multiple dates !!!!! and they are still continuing as of today 8 march 2008 * i have been told by mechanics the oem brakes rotors are defective, but since there is no recall, i would have to pay again,,,and again,,,and again...which is just not right. *jb

I have a 2003 ford ranger regular cab 2 wheel drive truck. on 5 occasions the emergency fuel shutoff switch located inside the cab on the passenger side fire wall has been dislodge by the passenger getting there foot on the connector and disconnecting the power plug from the switch this causes the truck to stall immediately. i have only owned this truck for approx 90 days. if this happens at the wrong time this could get someone hurt or killed.

After driving 52 miles (10 miles city & 42 miles highway) with a full tank of fuel, the fuel gauge shows that the vehicle used 1/4 tank of fuel. vehicle gets between 17 & 20 miles to the gallon. approximate range per 1/4 tank should be between 83 & 98 miles. vehicle has a 19.5 gallon fuel tank. the fuel gauge comes off of full very quickly and when filling the tank with the fuel gauge in the red (just off of empty) it will only take 13.7 gallons of fuel. the tank has been drained and filled to verify that the tank is a 19.5 tank. the fuel gauge and fuel meter have also been replaced without any change in the condition. was advised by ford that this is normal operation even though there is a service bulletin (nhtsa # 0179/ford #01-11-2) to address this exact concern for 2001 model year ford rangers. the summary description states: some vehicles built before 3/26/2001 may exhibit a fuel gauge that drops from full too fast or indicates less than the actual fuel left in he tank (excessive tank reserve). was advised that this approximate 6 gallon reserve was there to allow the customer to make it to a filling station safely with the tank on e. this is telling me that when the tank reads almost empty there is still over a quarter tank of fuel in the tank. with the gauge reading this way you are not sure how much fuel you have. for the price of vehicles, consumers should not have to rely on calculating their mileage and using the odometer to guess there fuel range. i thought this was the purpose of the fuel gauge. *la