2002 Ford E-350 problems
NHTSA has received 61 complaints about the 2002 Ford E-350, and 34% of them involve engine. Next are tires (13%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 61 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 34% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 45 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 45 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 96,000 miles (18 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 19 model years of the Ford E-350 with enough data (27 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While driving on the highway the left rear tire tread separated causing the van to roll over. The ten passengers that were in the van at the time were transported to a local hospital for minor injuries.
2002 ford e350 ambulance van. Person placed the key in ignition. Switched to on position (not turn the engine on). White smoke started coming out from under the steering wheel area. Smoke got thicker then grey. Flames started coming out from under the steering wheel area. Unable to save the vehicle. Completely burned in hospital parking lot. No injuries. [link removed]
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford e350 super duty. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the front end of the frame fractured into two pieces, causing the contact to crash into a barrier on the interstate. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a private mechanic who confirmed that the a frame was fractured and caused the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
2002 f-350 4x4 pickup frame weld cracking just in front of front leaf spring, where frame is joined, has rivets and weld. Big-brand tire co. Has found 6 vehicales same problem, not all were trucks. They showed problem to me, and I have found same problem on other trucks of friends. You can here the frame making sounds going down the road. I have not contacted local dealer vista ford in oxnard yet, waiting to here from you.
Ford e-350 with 5.4 triton v-8 in HVAC service truck. Blew spark plug out of # 7 cylinder @ 92,000 miles on 5/15/06. Lost day of work to make repairs on truck , repair parts $130.00 on 6/22/06 blew spark plug out of #2 cylinder. Put truck down for 2 days while repairs were made. I had all plugs removed 4 of the remaining including #2 were bad. That's 5 of 8 that the threads were compromised . All of these were factory installed original plugs. I had the repair shop install repair sleeves in all the plug holes.