2002 Ford Explorer Sport problems
Owners have filed 160 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. Body & structure is the most reported problem area, at 18% of complaints. After that come transmission (12%) and wipers, windshield & visibility (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 160 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 18 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 122 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 | 17 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 19 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 19 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 27 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 122 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 70,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 78,000 miles (25 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 18 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 86% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the Ford Explorer Sport with enough data (77 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
I don't know if this is the right place to file this complaint but its worth a shot. My mother owned a 2002 ford explorer sport. My brother was driving it home to kansas city from st. Louis missouri. The weather was perfect, the roadways were perfect, there was nothing wrong with the car, the air bags deployed, he wasn't speeding. However, he drove off the side of the highway, over corrected it to gain control and fish-tailed. Witnesses say that it looked like he had control again and then it rolled, killing him.
Rear ended , substained surious injuries, 2000 ford explore driver seat roke when other car rear ended me , it was the recliner bolt.
While driving at 60/65 MPH the back right tire blow out. The dealership replaced the tire with the same make/model tire and that tire is wearing on the inside and outside. The dearlership indicated that the tire looked like it had lost air pressure, but there were no signs of puncture. Please provide details. Ts
After adjusting steering wheal up and down the harness was broken due to short harness under dash I didn't notice it until the electrical sys failed