2016 Ford Ranger 3.2L Diesel · EG65 AAF

A fractured offside front coil spring and a dangerously tread-bare rear tyre dominated the 2024 MOT cycle for this 2016 Ford Ranger, alongside an ABS warning lamp failure a year earlier in April 2023. Although the most recent test on 14 April 2025 returned a clean pass with no advisories, and the 2023 retest following the ABS fault was also clear, the failure history cannot be dismissed. A fractured coil spring is a structural suspension failure rather than a wear item, and its presence on a commercial-style pick-up of this age points to a one-off overload event or fatigue of the spring itself. The cluster of tyre advisories issued at the 2024 failure, covering all four corners in various states of wear and edge wear, indicates the vehicle was being run on a mismatched or neglected tyre set at the point of test, even though the rubbery condition on the 2025 pass was evidently rectified. The ABS warning lamp issue remains unexplained in the record: it was a fail item, a subsequent pass was achieved, and no further ABS-related advisories have appeared, leaving the buyer to confirm the system is functioning correctly through a dynamic check. With five MOT entries spread across 2023, 2024, and 2025 at roughly annual intervals, the recorded 79,537 miles equates to an average accumulation of approximately 7,954 miles per year over the ten-year life of the vehicle. This is broadly typical for a working light commercial vehicle, and the regular annual testing pattern suggests the Ranger has not been laid up for any extended period. For a pick-up of this body style, modest annual mileage often correlates with consistent light-duty use rather than long-distance motorway work, which has implications for corrosion on underbody components, particularly the rear leaf spring hangers, chassis rails, and fuel tank straps that are not assessed during MOT testing but are prone to surface oxidation on a vehicle regularly driven on wet or treated roads. A prospective buyer should prioritise a physical inspection of the front suspension, particularly the offside coil spring area where the previous fracture was recorded, listening for any clonking or knocking over uneven surfaces that could indicate a weakened replacement spring or neighbouring strut/top mount wear. The nearside front coil spring should also be examined, as fractured springs frequently occur in pairs on vehicles that have carried heavy loads. With four tyre advisories at the 2024 test, the current rubber should be checked for even tread wear across the axle, any feathering suggestive of misalignment, and confirmation that all four tyres are of matching size and load rating. The brake system should be inspected for binding calipers and uneven pad wear, and a test drive should include firm pedal application to confirm the ABS modulates correctly under emergency braking on a loose surface, as the 2023 ABS lamp fault remains unverified by the test record. Finally, given the commercial heritage of the Ranger, the underbody and load bed area warrant close scrutiny for corrosion, structural damage, and evidence of heavy payload use that would not necessarily appear on an MOT certificate. The rear axle, leaf spring eyes, and mounting bushes should be checked for cracking or sagging, while the tow bar and any aftermarket electrical tow socket should be examined for water ingress and wiring integrity. Steering play should be assessed with the engine running and the wheels on full lock, and any knocking from the front when turning can indicate worn track rod ends or drop link deterioration. A compression test or scan for stored fault codes would also be prudent, as the ABS module fault from 2023 could conceivably have left a residual code that the visual MOT check would not detect.