The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made a loud sound. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed and determined that cylinder #3 spark plug had blown out, but no repair was recommended at the time. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.
2002 Ford F-150 engine problems
262 complaints (32% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 96,475. 4 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 262
- of this car's complaints
- 32%
- typical mileage
- 96,475
- crashes
- 4
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine78
- Engine: gasoline13
- Exhaust system4
- Exhaust system: emission control2
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe1
- Exhaust system: emission control: gas recirculation valve (EGR valve)1
- Engine: gasoline: turbo/supercharger1
- Engine: gasoline: belts and associated pulleys1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Ford F-150 engine problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2002 Ford F-150 engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Loss of power 27Stalling 15Engine failure 14Misfire 11Won't start 9Check engine light 8Knocking 6Overheating 5
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
What 2002 Ford F-150 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. The contact stated that she observed smoke emanating from under the vehicle near the engine compartment. The contact stated that she opened the hood and flames erupted from the engine compartment near the battery. The contact threw dirt on the engine to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
1. Coils on top of spark plug get moisture in them when there is just the right kind of rain storm. This makes the coil or coils fail until the dry out. This seems to make the coil eventually go bad. Yes, it is available for inspection. 2. Not sure if its a combination of heat and moisture but sometime right away and sometimes a few minutes into driving the coil or coils fail and the engine loses power. Then if seems to be a random, unpredictable occurrence until it dries out, Very Unsafe. If one coil fails it loses just a little power, but if more than one fails it loses a lot of power and stalls at times. This is why I am writing it up. A few time now, I have gone to pull into traffic and then I lose power and either have to run off the road or just upset the car behind me if they are not too close. 3 & 4. I have advise all the Ford dealerships in my area trying to find one that has a fix yet. The only fix Ford has, is a new designed coil, which does not appear to be any better. The dealership just replaces the coil. I have had all my coils replaced, some 2 or 3 times. 5. It depends, sometime the engine light will come on and advise which coil is misfiring and sometimes if does not. Right now my engine light is on and it displays the #6 coil misfire. Then the engine light will go out after it dries out and stops failing or it will stay off if the coil had gone bad again. I am sure its not just the F 150, but the 4.6 liter engine that is in other vehicles. I started keeping track in 2012. I wrote a letter to Ford in 2015 and they replied, there was no recall. I have several repair receipts and the letter from Ford if you need that. Just search on your site and you will see many complaints. One example Manufacturer Communication number: 041601. If you google "ford fix for moisture in coils" you will see many forums trying to figure out a fix and just complaining.
Spark plug shoots out of motor while driving. Has been reported on lots of vehicles for years.
This is follow up assessment to my 9/22/2019 claim [xxx]- where I found myself in a very dangerous vehicle run away situation that resulted in a rear end accident with another vehicle. My mechanic's first observation when turn ignition key, the engine raced at full throttle out of control. After quickly shutting down engine the symptoms lead my mechanic to test the idle air control valve. Having never seen this dangerous symptom from a bad iacv, he continued to do further test on the iacv only to determine the part was indeed defective. After diagnosing the problem, the defective iacv part was quickly replaced. The engine is now running good again. If you need to contact my mechanic: dugan auto service, narvon pa - doug miller 464‑798‑8097 information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
The truck simply shut down while I was driving. The engine stopped running. For a period of about a month prior to this action, the truck would sometimes, randomly, not start. After waiting a period of time the truck would start.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-150. While driving various speeds, the contact heard a loud abnormal noise underneath the hood and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer. The contact knew that the failure was caused by a spark plug. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000. *bf
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-150. The contact stated that an explosion occurred under the hood and the vehicle caught fire while parked in the driveway. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. The vehicle only had liability coverage; therefore, the failure was not covered by the insurance company. The vehicle was taken to metro ford inc (2860 s noland rd, independence, mo 64055, (816) 254-9800), but they could not assist. The dealer suggested having an independent mechanic diagnose the vehicle. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 05v017000 (vehicle speed control), which could have caused the fire. The failure mileage was 204,000. *bf
Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford f-150. After the contact turned off and exited the vehicle, he was alerted by a passerby that there were flames under the hood. The flames were near the driver's side of the engine compartment near the brake system. A fire inspector extinguished the flames. The vehicle was destroyed by the fire. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was uncertain if the failure was related to the federal safety agency action numbers: ea05005 (electrical system, vehicle speed control) and dp05005 (engine and engine cooling) and the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 06e056000 (fuel system, gasoline) and 05v388000 (vehicle speed control). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle remained at the scene. The cause of the failure was not determined. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 175,000.
Spark blow blow from the head no. 6 I the mechanic fix it and that happened yesterday I cannot remember the hopping in vegas I can remember ' the
Questions about the 2002 Ford F-150 engine
Does the 2002 Ford F-150 have engine problems?
Owners have filed 262 complaints about the engine of the 2002 Ford F-150, 32% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2002 Ford F-150 engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 96,475 miles.
Is there a recall for the 2002 Ford F-150 engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
Other 2002 Ford F-150 problems
Electrical 106Acceleration 86Fuel system 86Transmission 53Seat belts 50Body 45Brakes 42Airbags 35Visibility 30Steering 25Tires 24Suspension 20Wheels 13Lights 10Locks 8Seats 7Driver assistance 3
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