2002 Ford Escape engine problems

Owners reported engine problems in 329 complaints for the 2002 Ford Escape, 24% of the complaints on file. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

Complaints: 329 24% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 66,000 miles 152 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 5 and 38
Injuries and deaths: 0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Based on 152 complaints that include mileage. 47% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	45
20k to 40k miles	20
40k to 60k miles	6
60k to 80k miles	10
80k to 100k miles	17
100k to 120k miles	13
120k to 140k miles	17
140k to 160k miles	10
160k to 180k miles	7
180k to 200k miles	5
200k+ miles	2

What the data shows

Of the 152 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 66,000 miles, and 47% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 5 crashes, 38 fires.

What owners wrote

Engine suddenly stopped completely, restarting it was impossible. All power was lost and flames were shooting from rear of vehicle. Dealer has been contacted. The consumer stated that this created an extremely dangerous situation in heavy traffic.

November 2001 Fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that immediately after the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14v165000 and NHTSA campaign number: 12v353000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control) the vehicle started to surge back and forward. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The techician stated that the front vacuum tube was leaking and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. However, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the defect.

Reported at 155,000 miles, June 2014

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Ford models