Pickup trucks have been among the most prominent aspects of the American automotive market for more than 3 decades. More and more Americans have been buying pickup trucks and incorporating the practicality offered by the trucks in their daily work ever since pickup trucks first came to the US market. Automakers quickly realized this potential growth, headed to the design room, and started working on their pickup trucks. The ability to shoehorn more than five people, the capacity to haul a lot of weight around, and the versatility of being fuel-efficient on the road and able to go off-road with minimum hesitance make the pickup trucks a pretty good value for money option compared to sedans or SUVs. And for the most part, the trucks do seem to offer a great value with the right blend of durability, speed, utility, and comfort.
These days, manufacturers like Ford, GMC, Toyota, Dodge, and Honda all have found the formula to make successful and praiseworthy pickup trucks. But the same could not be said for many of them back in the '90s. Making new pickup trucks in that era was a trial and error process with lots of errors. And occasionally, we also got several great and innovative trucks but there is no lack of bad ones out there. If you are thinking about getting a used pickup truck from that period, consider long and hard before getting one of these.
10 10th Gen Ford F-150
The 10th Gen of the beloved Ford F-150 was dangerously unsafe. If you decide to buy one of these, you will need to understand that the 10th Gen F150 was designed in such a way that the chassis would fold inwards as if it is made of paper upon an accident from *any* direction.
Consequently, the NHTSA and IIHS gave it a very poor safety rating of just two out of five stars. Even if you manage to avoid any accidents, you will still have to deal with the faulty cruise control that would sometimes catch fire.
9 Mazda B2200
Mazda is among the more reliable manufacturers in the market. But when they started making pickup trucks in the late 20th century, they did to increase sales, and selling Pickup trucks in the US was an easy way to do that.
Since they were not experienced in the Pickup truck category, they partnered with Ford and made the B2200 with Ford’s shared platform. As a result, the B2200 had similar durability problems as the F150 and the Ranger. In hindsight, this step felt like an oversight from Mazda. It’s a good project car though!
8 1993 GMC Sierra Single-Cab
GMC tried to sell a more affordable pickup truck in the market, and the Sierra got smaller than the rest because of that. But GMC did not count on the decreased practicality of the single-cab compared to the bigger, more practical offerings from Dodge, Ford, and more. Moreover, despite its smaller size, the Sierra burnt more fuel than its bigger rivals.
GMC fell short in the interior departments during those days, and the lackluster and outdated interior was the final nail in the coffin for the ‘93 Sierra. Check out this YouTube video highlighting 5 common problems found in the 4th(1988 - 2002) Gen GMC Truck Platform.
7 Toyota T-100
Similar to the Mazda case, Toyota was popular for manufacturing cars that seemingly lasted forever. So a pickup truck made from such a reputable manufacturer would prove to be a win-win scenario for both Toyota and the buyers.
But Toyota made one major misstep by making the same mistake as the GMC Sierra mentioned above. What they ended up with was a small pickup without a V8 configuration. Even the build quality was not up to the mark of Toyota’s other offerings.
6 1990 Dodge Rod Hall Signature Edition
In 1990, popular racer Rod Hall and the legendary Carrol Shelby teamed up to make one of the most iconic trucks of that time. Unfortunately, Shelby suffered from a heart attack and the whole process went south.
They were only able to make 33 of those based on the Dodge Ram 150. Regretfully, those 33 were prone to breakdowns caused by engine failure and not to mention the poor gas mileage.
5 Toyota Tundra (First Generation)
This time, the folks at Toyota have learned from their mistake with the T-100! The Tundra was bigger than the T-100, and it came with a V8 engine. Looking at it on the paper, we suspected it was meant to be successful.
People wanted to give Toyota a second chance. But once again, Toyota missed the part where they needed to upgrade the built quality. This decreased reliability and the increased possibility of breakdown singlehandedly doomed the reign of the otherwise wonderful truck. And it seems that the Tundra has always had issues over the years.
4 Dodge Dakota
The Dodge Dakota had a few things going on for it. It was one of the first trucks to have a V8 engine, and it was affordable. In order to sell the truck for cheaper than its rivals, Dodge did not scale down the truck physically, instead, they resorted to cheaper parts and components to make the truck profitable.
They gambled with the durability aspect and they ultimately failed. The transmission and the cooling system were notorious for letting the truck down numerous times.
3 Ford Courier
The Courier is one of the oldest series of Pickup trucks available. However, it did not get any better until after the 21st Century started. Ford wanted the Courier to be fun to drive. They focused on the performance aspect of the truck, and the Mazda rotary engine inside it provided for a satisfactory ride.
But the materials used for the body were not given the much-needed attention. If you find one of these to buy used, you will have to deal with the extreme amount of rust associated with it.
2 Ford Bronco 1996
You might be thinking, “Isn’t the Bronco an off-road SUV?” You will be correct, however, Ford did sell the Bronco as a Pickup Truck in the ‘90s. Ford also managed to make one of the worst mistakes while making these Bronco trucks.
They used the old unused parts from the previous Ford Ranger to be used in the new Broncos. Evidently, factory-new Broncos were equipped with rusty/worn-out parts and were seen breaking down and disappointing the owners. Beware of this fact before looking for a used Bronco Pickup.
1 1991 GMC Syclone (Built Like A Tank)
First of all, the GMC Syclone, as the name suggests, was very quick. Many Syclone owners have beaten people in their Corvettes or other similar sports cars in a race. And the Syclone was a full-size pickup as well, no compromise was made at all.
This mixture of power and utility and durability made the Syclone one of the most competent Pickup Trucks in the market. A used Syclone from the ‘90s selling for around $30,000 today says a lot about its reliability.