2002 Ford F-350 problems
NHTSA has received 140 complaints about the 2002 Ford F-350, and 15% of them involve engine. After that come tires (14%) and steering (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 140 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 19 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 14 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 82 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 | 11 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 12 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 13 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 9 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 9 |
What the data shows
Among the 82 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 65,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 55,000 miles (12 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 19 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 14 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 92% 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 11th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Ford F-350 with enough data (80 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.
Brake shift interlock, failed vehicle rolled without depressing brake petal. Failure resulted in the death of ian joseph campbell 4/14/04 nothing has been done to correct problem.
Consumer lost her husband after the parking brake system disengaged and ran over him on his 2002 ford f350. The consumer was attempting to tow another vehicle. The consumer had planned to drive up a street ramp to the street. The consumer was unable to make the turn on the ramp with the other vehicle attached. In order to complete the tow, the consumer engaged the parking brake with his tow truck in neutral, engaged the power take off and lowered the vehicle being towed to the ground.
My husband was driving his ford f350 truck down the road when he smelled smoke at first he wasn't sure where it was coming from then he looked down and saw fire coming out of the fire wall and up his leg, he immediately stopped the vehicle and got out. He could not extinguish it and the fire department was called to put it out. He had no warning and heard no noise just smelled the smoke.
On may 13, 2014, a recall letter was received from ford. Ref. No. 09s09-speed control deactivation fire. I called sonora ford to schedule an appointment to repair the risk. According to [xxx] in the service department parts were on back order. He took my contact information and advised he would contact me in about a week when parts arrived. They advised parts were still 7 to 10 days out. Ford refused to have the switch removed or the circuit disconnected to prevent a fire until parts arrived when asked.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-350. While driving at 50 MPH, the front driver and passenger side seat belts independently unlatched. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the seat belts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.