Problems · NHTSA complaints
2002 Ford Explorer Sport problems
Owners filed 3,613 complaints about the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport with NHTSA between Apr 2001 and Sep 2026. The most-cited component is power train (1,576).
Complaints
3,613
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
163
Reported by owners
Fires
71
Reported by owners
Injuries
213
People reported injured
Deaths
6
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 31, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
39
143
203
269
379
290
349
530
342
404
194
111
75
87
64
56
29
13
12
10
3
4
2
1
2
2
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 39 |
| 2002 | 143 |
| 2003 | 203 |
| 2004 | 269 |
| 2005 | 379 |
| 2006 | 290 |
| 2007 | 349 |
| 2008 | 530 |
| 2009 | 342 |
| 2010 | 404 |
| 2011 | 194 |
| 2012 | 111 |
| 2013 | 75 |
| 2014 | 87 |
| 2015 | 64 |
| 2016 | 56 |
| 2017 | 29 |
| 2018 | 13 |
| 2019 | 12 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 | 2 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Power train
1,576 reports25 crashes3 fires
“Overdrive light flashes after driving a little bit hard shifting doesn't shift into overdrive 4x4 lights indicate that it's working when the buttons are pushed but doesn't go into 4x4”
Structure
532 reports6 crashes3 fires
“September 2, 2023 at about 6 pm I pulled over to grab a couple water bottles from the rear of my 2002 Ford Explorer Sport cause my engine was overheating. I got out walked to the rear of my vehicle pushed my unlatch button on the tailgate and I lifted the glass part of the rear hatch. Both air hinges were not working correctly to keep it up so I gently rested the glass on my hair that was put up in a bun and just a little bit of the glass was resting on the very top of my head where my hair was slicked back for my bun so my hands were free to grab the bottles of water. (My hair was the softest of resting place's). As I reached in the back to grab the water bottles I heard the loudest bang and hundreds of little pieces of glass fell everywhere around me. I was in so much distrot that I actually thought someone had shot at me with a fire arm but missed me and hit the rear glass instead. The top of my head was stinging and it felt like I had just been smacked with a tree branch and the glass had went all over me causing a few minor cuts and scrapes as I fell to my knees in shock my heart racing faster than I had even imagined a heart could beat while histaraclly…”
Suspension
444 reports3 crashes2 fires
“The rear toe arms came unhinged or disconnected from their placement and sank down to continuously rub a groove in the inner rim. The suspension was affected, the steering was effecting especially when turning, it made the brakes stick, and made loud crunching and rolling noises. It is quite frankly dangerous. It was through no fault of mine that this happened, just weak design. I took it to a shop and they charged me all my money, but nothing was fixed.”
Engine and engine cooling
194 reports2 crashes12 fires
“HEARD A KNOCKING NOISE WENT TO MECHANIC. WAS TOLD I BLEW A TWO HOLES THROUGH TIMING CHAIN COVER. WENT ONLINE FOUND THAT IT IS A RECURRING PROBLEM FOR THAT YEAR OF FORD. VERY UPSET THERE IS NO RECALL. WAS TOLD IT WOULD COST AT LEAST 2000 TO FIX. FORD NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. I WANT TO GO TO MEDIA TO LET EVERYONE THAT HAS THIS PROBLEM KNOW THAT FORD KNOWS ABOUT IT AND WILL NOT DO ANYTHING. APPARENTLY EVERYONE HAS TO PAY OUT THE [XXX] TO HAVE THIS FIXED. I'M NOT ONE OF THEM. I WANT MY CAR FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *TR”
Vehicle speed control
181 reports36 crashes12 fires1 related recall
“The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the following day it was discovered that the cruise control switch located on the steering wheel had overheated and melted. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V399000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 120,000.”
Electrical system
179 reports5 crashes24 fires
“THE ISSUES THAT I'M HAVING IS THE EXHILARATION (PICKING UP SPEED) ON A PUBLIC STREET AS WELL AS IN THE EXPRESSWAY IT HESITATES TO DO SO. WHEN THE VEHICLE IS PARKED AND I GO TO SWITCH GEARS IT DOES NOT WANT TO SWITCH. THE GAUGE INDICATOR COMES ON AND THE GAS IDLE BE STUCK ON EMPTY WHEN IT HAS A FULL TANK OF GAS. WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION THE RADIO VOLUME GOES UP AND DOWN ON ITS OWN. AND THE VEHICLE DID NOT WANT TO START FOR ME ONE DAY THE VERY NEXT DAY IT STARTED RIGHT ON UP (LIKE IT WANT TO START BUT DIDN'T CATCH). ALL OF THIS STARTED HAPPENING AT THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER 2020”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 31, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.