So I took my 2011 Ranger, 2wd, XLT, 110K miles, to the Ford dealership for an oil and filter change. Of course, they did the "courtesy inspection" and provided me a laundry list of problems they claimed they identified and that they wanted thousands of dollars to repair. Most of it was simple BS, but they did tell me that all of bushings on both front stabilizer links were missing. When I got home, I climbed under the front end and sure enough, all eight bushings were gone and the bolts on each side that hold the bushings were loose. It seems very strange to me that all of the bushings could have simply fallen off. Has anyone ever had this problem before? The truck has never been off roaded and has basically highway mileage on it. I have already purchased a set of Moog replacement links with bushings and will replace them in the next day or so. Just curious as to whether perhaps the dealership intentionally removed the bushings in the hope of generating some business. They also said I needed to replace my cabin AC filter at about $75.00 but guess what? My truck model did not come with a cabin AC filter! Hard to find honesty in auto repair anymore.

 

I'm finding lots of parts that you simply would ever suspect would be put on an XLT.
Mine is also a 2011 with ~ 50,000 mi.
no remote locks. No security system.
Basically what one might expect to see only on the more modestly equipped models.
Having been the last of the breed, i'm wondering if a 2010 would have been a better choice. I suspect they were just cleaning out the warehouse.
and mine has no remove and toss replaceable cabin filter element or replacement.