Ford bulletin SSM 55257
What it saysSome 2024 Ranger vehicles equipped with a rotary selectable drive mode control may exhibit a condition where the Drive Mode will change uncommanded (without driver input) while driving with no diagnostic trouble codes… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Oct 19, 2026, received Oct 21, 2026, about the power train. It names 1 model year (2024). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
Get the next Ford Ranger bulletin by email Weekly, only when something new is filed. Nothing else; one-click unsubscribe.
What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationSome 2024 Ranger vehicles equipped with a rotary selectable drive mode control may exhibit a condition where the Drive Mode will change uncommanded (without driver input) while driving with no diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) stored in the all-terrain control module (ATCM) or anti-lock brake system (ABS) module. This may be due to an intermittent concern with the ATCM. To correct the condition, replace the ATCM (service base part number 14B596). Refer to Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 307-07A. For claiming, use causal part 14B596 and labor operations 7453D and 7453D2.<br /><br /> NOTE: This article does not remove any RVC, Prior Approval or Warranty and Policy requirements for component replacement.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 55257 | Service bulletin | Oct 19, 2026 | 11038626 | PDF, 68 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
Email me new Ford bulletins for the Ranger
A weekly email, sent only in a week when Ford files something new with NHTSA for the model you pick — service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions, over-the-air notices, every model year. Nothing else is sent; one-click unsubscribe in every message. Separate from recall alerts.
What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 1 model year this bulletin names have filed 95 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 38 of them name Power Train — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
When driving truck especially in rolling traffic truck has hard time downshifting and clunky and lunches as transmition tries to figure what gear to be in. It is an intermittently happening but now evolved to completely dropping out of gear goes into neutral were you can rev engine without truck moving foward.
2024 Ford Ranger · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Aug 10, 2025 · ODI 11679678
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the power train
Source: same model, same component group31 other manufacturer communications filed against the Ford Ranger under the same component group (power train), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSB 26-2408 v2 | Service bulletin | Oct 22, 2026 | This bulletin supersedes 26-2309. Reason for update: update the Model section to remove Aviator 10R80, update theParts list to add 3.3L to W… |
| TSB 26-2408 | Service bulletin | Sep 22, 2026 | This bulletin supersedes 26-2309. Reason For Update: update the Model section to remove Aviator 10R80, update the Parts list to add 3.3L to… |
| TSB 26-2309 | Service bulletin | Jul 2, 2026 | This bulletin supersedes 26-2241. Reason For Update: update the parts list to correct the claim quantity of the part number JB3Z-4B496-B fro… |
| PCM-26.20.0 | Over-the-air update | Jul 2, 2026 | Quality improvements include: -Powertrain Control Module calibration update to prevent a DTC that may lead to a wrench light |
| PCM-26.10.0 | Over-the-air update | Jul 2, 2026 | Quality improvements include: -Updates the Powertrain Control Module documentation to ensure vehicles can receive the latest updates |
| TSB 26-2301 | Service bulletin | Jun 30, 2026 | Some of the vehicles listed in the Model statement above may require the replacement of the ambient air temperature sensor for various conce… |
| SSM 54902 | Service bulletin | Jun 5, 2026 | For 20202026 vehicles equipped with the 10R60 transmission, a new Transmission Clutch Circuit Leak Test has been introduced in the Ford D… |
| TSB 26-2241 | Service bulletin | May 18, 2026 | This bulletin supersedes 25-2587. Reason For Update: update the Parts list to add the F-clutch friction plates HL3Z-7B164-D and the F-clutch… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 55257 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SSM 55257 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does SSM 55257 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 1 model year: 2024 Ford Ranger. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.