2002 Ford F-150 problems
The 2002 Ford F-150 has 965 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (27%) concerns engine. After that come electrical system (11%) and fuel system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 965 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 63 and 115
- Injuries and deaths
- 85 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 90,000 miles 751 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 | 46 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 76 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 96 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 91 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 113 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 85 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 74 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 60 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 51 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 20 |
| 200k+ miles | 39 |
What the data shows
Among the 751 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 90,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 97,000 miles (238 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 63 complaints mention a crash; 115 complaints mention a fire; 85 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 85% 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 25th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford F-150 with enough data (372 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford f-150. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the driver crashed into the rear of a trailer that was stalled in the middle of an intersection. The interior of the vehicle started to burn. The fire department extinguished the fire. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact did not know whether a fire report was filed. The driver sustained injuries that required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a tow yard.
While traveling in my f150 truck at 65 MPH(cruise control set) I was totally blinded by the sun and rear ended a ford focus. My wife and I were wearing our seatbelts. Neither airbag deployed which "would have reduced my wife's injuries" (her physician). The hood of my f150 was buckled leading me to believe that the sensor should have activated the airbag. How can we be certain, if the vehicle is repaired, that the airbags will deploy under similiar circumstances?
A car made an illegal left turn in front of me, I hit that car doing about 55 MPH, after that impact the truck swerved to the right. And I hit another car stopped at a red light. My questions is why didn't my air bags deploy. After doing $12000. Damage and ford is wanting to total my truck.
Consumer complained that the brake light flashed while driving. Two dealers were notified. First dealer informed consumer that the terminal connector to the master brake cylinder needed to be replaced. The second dealer claimed that the problem pertained to a loose terminal connection to the master brake cylinder sensor.
My vehicle has a water leak that is getting the gem module wet and this has resulted in the wipers failing, the power windows to fail, the heater fan stays on after the key is removed from the ignition, and the engine runs very rough and stalls resulting in me losing the power steering and putting the vehicle in a ditch, the wipers stopped working during a recent heavy rain and I had to pull onto the side of the interstate for over 30 minutes.