Ford Ranger, Everest V6 manufacturing defect revealed as fix rolled out

Ford has admitted a manufacturing defect in the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 powering the popular Ranger ute and Everest SUV that could result in an oil leak, which has sidelined a "small percentage" of customer vehicles.

Owners of an estimated 140,000 Rangers and Everests built before the turbo oil return line fault was fixed in the factory can have an updated part applied through Ford dealers, if their vehicle presents with the problem.

The diesel V6 in the latest generation of Ford's popular 4WDs, introduced in 2022, is reportedly prone to a leak in the rubber O-ring built into the pipe that routes oil from the engine's turbocharger to the vehicle's oil pan.

While the vast majority of customers have not faced any issues – and report tens of thousands of kilometres of driving without fault – some on social media have seen leaks appear after as little as 6000km.

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One owner in a Facebook group has reported as many as three failures in three months, with less than 15,000km on their vehicle's odometer.

After initially replacing the failed lines in troublesome vehicles with new versions of the same part, Ford has now developed two solutions for the faulty pipe.

One is an updated manufacturing process for the factory where the V6 is built, which limits "variability" that could induce "additional stress" on the O-ring groove, alongside an "opportunity" to make the "base design more robust".

The second fix is a repair method for dealers, intended to address the fault while limiting the number of parts – such as the turbocharger itself – that need to be removed to implement it.

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Drive understands the factory change was made in the fourth quarter of 2025 (between October and December), while the dealership fix was not rolled out until earlier in 2026.

Ford has not confirmed the precise number of Ranger and Everest V6 vehicles – out of the approximately 160,000 to 170,000 sold in Australia since 2022 – affected by the fault.

There can be a lag between the fix being applied to newly-built engines, and those V6s finding their way into Rangers and Everests that roll off the production line in Thailand.

However, based on when the fix was rolled out in the factory – and how many vehicles have been sold since then – Drive estimates that about 140,000 vehicles on Australian roads were produced under the original manufacturing process.

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Only a small percentage of Ranger and Everest V6 vehicles have reported the oil leak, and it is not guaranteed every vehicle will eventually suffer the fault – though even less than 5 per cent of the fleet being affected equates to up to 7000 cars.

"Ford has investigated reports of oil seepage related to the turbo oil return line on certain Ranger models and has successfully implemented permanent solutions," a Ford Australia spokesperson said in a written statement to Drive.

"We identified a specific assembly process in one [of] our engine plants that could introduce variability capable of inducing additional stress on the oil return line's O-ring groove, occasionally leading to a leak over time.

"To resolve this at the source, we instituted a comprehensive assembly process enhancement and have since received no further reports of this issue.

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"In parallel, we also identified an opportunity to make the base design more robust. This design improvement has been approved and is already in production.

"At a dealership level, Ford has engineered a service fix for customers whose vehicles are affected. This involves dealers installing a redesigned, slightly longer drain tube, optimised for an efficient repair without requiring turbocharger removal.

"Any customer experiencing this issue should contact their local Ford dealer to have the updated part installed under warranty."

The same 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 engine is fitted to the latest Volkswagen Amarok ute, which is produced by Ford in its factory in South Africa, rather than Thailand like Australia-bound diesel Rangers.

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The overwhelming majority of the circa-22,000 examples of the current-generation Amarok sold in Australia since its mid-2023 launch are understood to be V6s, but the brand says it has not found a "broader product issue" with the engine.

"Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Australia is aware of a small number of warranty claims relating to the turbocharger oil return line on Amarok V6 vehicles," a Volkswagen Australia spokesperson told Drive.

"While we continue to monitor warranty data, we have not identified a broader product issue affecting Amarok vehicles.

"Customers experiencing concerns with their vehicle should contact an authorised Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles dealer, where any necessary repairs will be assessed and carried out in accordance with Volkswagen's warranty terms."