Exclusive: Ford confirms manufacturing defect in Ford Ranger and Everest V6

The vast majority of V6-powered Ford Ranger and Everests sold in Australia have a built-in defect for which a solution has only recently been found.

A leaking turbocharger oil return line has been a known issue with the Lion V6 engine since 2022, when it was rolled out as part of the current generation Australian-developed Ranger and Everest line-ups.

As its name suggests the gravity-fed return line, actually a rigid pipe, returns oil to the engine after it has been pressure-fed to the turbocharger.

Frustratingly, the seepage is somewhat random. Some owners – Ford says it’s a low percentage – have reported multiple failures. Others have never been struck by the issue.

Until this year Ford had no option but to replace failed return lines with an identical part that could also fail. In some cases it reportedly did.

Thankfully, the seepage is judged not to be a terminal issue, unlike the manufacturing defect affecting the left-hand camshaft sprocket that forced a recall of the Lion V6 in 2025.

While there have been rumours of a recall to fix the issue, Ford is instead offering repairs under warranty to affected owners via its dealer network.

The recall rumour could have been triggered by Ford withdrawing the old parts from dealerships as it moved to a replacement design.

The Ranger has been Australia’s top-selling vehicle the past three years and the Everest vies with the Toyota Prado to be Australia’s top-selling large SUV.

Approximately 130,000 Lion-powered Rangers and Everests have been sold in Australia fitted with the V6 engine. The vast majority will have this issue built-in.

Highly rated – including by carsales – for its class-leading power and torque, the V6 has been a significant contributor to the sales success of both the Ranger and Everest.

With the recent deletion of the troublesome four-cylinder biturbo diesel engine from its line-up, the V6 has become the primary engine in the Ranger and Everest line-ups.

Ford has now established the issue was triggered by a manufacturing fault at its engine assembly plant at Dagenham in the UK where the Lion V6 is built.

“At a factory level, we identified that a specific assembly process at the engine plant in the United Kingdom could induce stress on the oil return line's O-ring groove, occasionally leading to a leak over time,” a Ford spokesperson told carsales in a written statement.

“To resolve this, we instituted a comprehensive assembly process enhancement, and have received no reports of this issue on any engines produced after this.”

The full statement from Ford is reproduced at the bottom of this story.

Carsales understands the issue was resolved in October 2025, a replacement part developed and a field service bulletin issued to Australian Ford dealers early in 2026.

However, the fix as initially developed, would have meant the removal of the turbocharger by Ford dealer service departments to install the new part.

Ford Australia decided it didn’t want that complexity and its engineers took more time to develop a new, more flexible return line that could be installed without removing the turbocharger.

“At a dealership level, Ford has engineered a service fix for customers whose vehicles experience this issue and were produced prior to this assembly process enhancement,” the spokesperson explained.

This service fix involves dealers installing a redesigned, slightly longer drain tube optimised specifically for an efficient repair without requiring turbocharger removal.

The engine, originally developed by Ford with Peugeot, as a 2.7-litre V6 that powered a variety of vehicles including the Australian-built Ford Territory, had been known for its bottom-end issues.

The reality is that while Ford now has a fix in place for the oil return line there are many thousands of V6-powered Rangers and Everests on Australian roads – and more overseas – that could still be hit by this problem.

Carsales spoke to one impacted customer, grey nomad Bruce Dooley from Buderim in Queensland, who was stuck in Katherine in the Northern Territory for nearly a week trying to get the failed return line in his 2025.25 Ranger Wildtrak fixed.

Dooley and his wife Ann-Louise are on a long-term caravanning holiday to the west coast. They purchased the demonstrator Ranger from Ipswich Ford in January 2026 specifically to tow their 3.2-tonne JB Caravan.

Dooley did his research before purchasing the vehicle and was aware of the return line issue, but was assured when he made his purchase in January 2026 that it had been fixed.

“It had been fixed, but just not our vehicle,” Dooley told carsales.

“Perhaps the only reason I saw it was we were towing a caravan, because I saw the spray on the drawbar of the caravan.

“We pulled up in the middle of nowhere and I noticed it and thought ‘that’s a bit odd that looks like oil’. Basically it got worse from there.”

Dooley’s nearest Ford dealer was in Darwin and he was told it would take weeks to get his vehicle fixed.

So instead, he resorted to a local mechanic who quickly ran into problems trying to source the part.

“He rang the Ford fellow in Darwin and was told there were no parts in Australia,” Dooley recalled. “Then the bloke in Darwin started making a few more calls and found out all the parts were down in Melbourne somewhere.

“That’s where the part ended up coming from I believe.”

And yes it was the new part and the good news is the Dooleys are back on the road and have reached the west coast without further issues.

And despite it all Dooley still rates the Ranger: “It goes alright, it goes great.”

Ford statement:

"Delivering top-tier quality and reliability is our highest priority. Ford has investigated reports of oil seepage related to the turbo oil return line on certain Ranger models and has successfully implemented permanent solutions at both the factory and dealership levels.

At a factory level, we identified that a specific assembly process at the engine plant in the United Kingdom could induce stress on the oil return line's O-ring groove, occasionally leading to a leak over time. To resolve this, we instituted a comprehensive assembly process enhancement, and have received no reports of this issue on any engines produced after this.

At a dealership level, Ford has engineered a service fix for customers whose vehicles experience this issue and were produced prior to this assembly process enhancement. This service fix involves dealers installing a redesigned, slightly longer drain tube optimised specifically for an efficient repair without requiring turbocharger removal. Any customer experiencing this issue should contact their local Ford dealer to have this updated part installed under warranty."

Related: 2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty arriving early in Australia

Related: Ford’s axing its 154kW/500Nm bi-turbo engine

Related: 2025 Ford Everest Sport Bi-Turbo inbound

Related: Price rises hit Ford Ranger and Ford Everest

Related: Ford Ranger PHEV Stormtrak 2025 Review

Related: Ford Everest Tremor 2025 Review