Check a VIN

2002 Ford F-250 SD problems

The most common problem on the 2002 Ford F-250 SD is engine and cooling, typically around 84,000 miles. It has 1.4 times the complaints of a typical F-250 SD model year.

Typical year1.4x the typical complaints
Year score
54/100
Owner complaints
245
Recalls
3
Service bulletins
36
Worst area
Engine
Typical repair
$3,000

The worst 2002 Ford F-250 SD problems

Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.

Problems by type

Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.

Specific symptoms reported on the 2002 Ford F-250 SD

Tire blowout 22Loss of power 16Stalling 13Fire or smoke 12Power steering loss 11Brake failure 10Adaptive cruise 6

Recalls 3

Exterior lighting: brake lightsReported July 13, 2011 · 26,715 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Ford is recalling certain model year 2011 ranger trucks built from january 25, 2011, through april 25, 2011 at the twin cities assembly plant, and service parts distributed to dealers for certain 2004 through 2011 model year ranger trucks, 2002 through 2005 model year excursion vehicles, and 2002 through 2007 model year f-250, f-350, f-450, and f-550 trucks for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." the multi-function switch was shipped with a subcomponent (slider) that may experience deformation. A multi-function switch with a deformed slider may malfunction causing the turn signal, tail lights, hazard warning signal flashers and/or brake lights not to activate.
Risk
Non-functioning lights could increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the switches free of charge. The safety recall began on august 15, 2011. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1‑866‑436‑7332.

Recall number 11V352000 · Recall details

Vehicle speed controlReported October 13, 2009 · 4,500,000 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Ford is recalling model years 1995-2003 windstar, 2000-2003 excursion diesel, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 f-250 sd through f-550 sd diesel, 1992-2003 e-150 through e-550, 1995-2002 explorer, 1997 and 2002 mercury mountaineer, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 ranger, and 1994 f53 vehicles equipped with the texas instruments speed control deactivation switch (scds). The scds may leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
Risk
A vehicle fire could occur with or without the engine running.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners that dealers will install a fused wiring harness in line with the scds. On 1999-2003 windstar vehicles with a leaking scds, dealers will also inspect the ABS control module connector and repair as necessary. Repairs will be completed free of charge. The safety recall began on october 27, 2009. Owners may contact ford at 1‑888‑222‑2751.

Recall number 09V399000 · Recall details

Engine and engine cooling: engine: dieselReported December 5, 2007 · 1,176,000 vehicles affected
What is wrong
On certain heavy duty trucks equipped with 7.3l diesel engines, the camshaft position sensor located on the engine of the vehicle may function intermittently, possibly resulting in an engine stall.
Risk
In the event of an engine stall, a crash could result without warning.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the sensor and replace it with an improved camshaft position sensor free of charge. The recall began on december 29, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332.

Recall number 07V553000 · Recall details

See all 3 recalls for the 2002 Ford F-250 SD

Defect investigations

Engine stallingOpened June 22, 2006, closed December 7, 2007

In a december 3, 2007 letter, ford advised the federal safety agency that it will conduct a safety recall to replace the cam position sensor (cps) in approximately 1.2 million subject vehicles to address reports of engine stalling.a new design cps with improved performance and durability will be installed as a remedy.owner notifications will begin in december 2007. The subject vehicles are durable, full-sized, medium duty trucks commonly used for commercial purposes, rescue/emergency response, and commercial or recreational towing.cps failure is comparable to unexpectedly turning the key off since the signal it produces is vital to the electronic engine control system.cps signal loss terminates fuel injection resulting in an engine stall.once stalled, the engine may restart right away, or may restart after a delay (typically 5 to 10 minutes), or may not restart at all.in addition to exposing the driver and other motorists to crash risk due to loss of motive power or vehicle disablement, engine stalling also effects the power assisted steering and braking. Through consumer interviews, odi determined that cps failures occurred without any form of warning, at any vehicle speed (50% at highway speeds), and under any driving condition, such as accelerating.consumers reported that about a third of the vehicles failed to restart, with another third reporting delayed restarting.half the vehicles that did restart experienced another stall on the same or a subsequent drive cycle (before cps replacement) re-exposing those consumers to the risks associated with a stalling event.in their voq reports, half of the odi complainants described difficulty controlling the vehicle due to lose of power assist systems, especially those who were towing at the time of the incident. The one alleged injury incident occurred in an intersection when a subject vehicle stalled while turning across oncoming lanes of traffic.although unsubstantiated, the complainant alleged an injury to a child occupant during odi's interview.the other crash allegations mostly involved low speed, loss of control incidents often caused by lack of power assist; no injuries are reported in these incidents, and property damage, if any, was minimal.consumers also reported other incidents with significant safety risks, such as disablement in a lane or on a shoulder of a high-speed roadway or interstate, or extended disablement in remote areas during severe weather conditions. The population above is ford's estimate of the 1.4 million subject vehicles produced that are currently registered.the ford complaint and warranty counts noted above are current as of ford's last submission dated june 21, 2007; they do not include f-450, f-550, or econoline counts as these products were not formally within scope of the investigation when failure information was requested.warranty data analysis indicates that about half the claims involved a stall while driving event ( ford's assessment) and that poor cps durability was a longstanding concern.ford reported that the new cps design should meet or exceed their 10 year, 150k mile life expectancy design requirement.

EA06012

Spark plug ejection from cylinder headOpened September 22, 2005, closed January 4, 2006

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

Engine compartment firesOpened March 22, 2005, closed August 2, 2006

Ea05-005 is closed with ford?s actions in recalls 05v‑017, 05v‑388, and 06v‑286, recalling approximately 6.7 million vehicles equipped with texas instruments speed control deactivation switches (scds).the brake systems in these recalled vehicles generate a vacuum that can potentially cause the scds to fail and, in certain switch installation orientations, catch fire.ford is also including the entire population of 1998 explorers.ford has informed odi that testing to determine the cause of failures in the 1998 explorers will continue after this investigation is closed.odi believes that the vehicles exhibiting the factors causing scds failure described in this report correlate well with the observed failure rates on these vehicles by model and model year.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist in the non-recalled vehicles manufactured with scds that are not included in ford?s recalls.odi will continue to monitor the non-recalled population for incidence of engine compartment fires.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.see attached closing report for details.

EA05005

Accelerator pedal sensor (etc)Opened February 23, 2004, closed February 10, 2005

Failure counts from odi?s analysis are stated above; see the additional problem experience discussion in the summary report.ford data contained duplicative reports for 4 odi complaints and 1 crash.three crashes were allegedly due to intermittent operation of the electronic throttle control (etc) pedal, one crash occurred when an etc disabled vehicle was struck by another motorist, one report contained no detail.the injuries were minor.an issue involving fixed etc pedals was investigated also, however failure reports and populations are not shown above; see summary report for detail.although ford has used etc based throttle control systems for many years, the pap feature was new for my 2002.the subject etc sensor produces two output signals which the engine management system (ems) utilizes to:1) determine fueling requirements; and 2) perform sensor diagnostics.one signal is linearly proportional to throttle pedal position; the second is a digital signal.by design, the detection of a sensor fault results in the engine returning to (or remaining at) the idle state.ford identified a defect in the pap etc sensor which prematurely affected an output signal; the migration of internal sensor lubricant caused a loss of proportional signal.the failure mechanism is progressive and as the sensor deteriorates, the ems will detect a fault, store a fault code, illuminate a warning lamp, and the engine may remain at/return to idle.in the early stages, normal operation can be regained by pedal re-application.the failure progresses until the engine remains at idle.the engine does not stall, power assisted steering and braking systems are unaffected. Ford corrected the etc sensor defect and conducted field service action (fsa) 03b03 to replace etc pedals, addressing 50% of vehicles.at agency request to improve completion rate, ford extended fsa 03b03 for 6 months.based on odi's analysis of available data, ford's action has appropriately resolved the etc sensor proplem in the subject vehicles.the closing of the investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist, and should not be considered as having any precedential value or effect binding the agency in future defect investigations. See the attached summary report for additional information.

EA04006

Technical service bulletins for the 2002 Ford F-250 SD 36

Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.

See all 36 bulletins for the 2002 Ford F-250 SD

What 2002 Ford F-250 SD owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed May 1, 2017 · Acceleration, Electrical · 89,745 miles · VA

My speed control stopped working in 2012. It is a ford f-250 super duty. Vin [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Mar 30, 2017 · Seat belts · 167,261 miles · MO

The seat belts come unbuckled when driving. This happens to the drive's side more often than passenger side. The belt come undone on highway, in town, just starting out or after an hour there isn't a warning before it happens.the speed of the truck also doesn't make a difference. But it is happening more frequent now. It started about 3 years ago but it is getting worst.

Filed Jan 17, 2017 · Engine · 120,000 miles · TN

Truck dies while driving without any warning, can-not find the problem and ford will not acknowledge that there is an issue.

Filed Apr 27, 2016 · 65,000 miles · TN · fire

After driving about 30 miles and returning home, the truck caught fire while sitting in the driveway - about 20 minutes after engine was turned off. By the time smoke was seen, flames were coming from under the hood and the right front tire was burning. The fire department put out the fire but the truck was completely destroyed. The flames spread to an adjacent vehicle and it too was destroyed.

Filed Apr 17, 2016 · Engine · 102,000 miles · NM

At 102000 miles engine ejected #8 spark plug while driving, taking threads with it. Local mechanic repaired using insert. At 125000 miles engine ejected #3 spark plug in same manner. Same mechanic inspected #8 while repairing #3 and found insert not holding, plus two other plugs backing out.

Filed Dec 16, 2015 · Engine · 84,000 miles · WA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-250 sd. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, a loud abnormal sound emitted from the engine compartment. After inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the spark plug had exploded out of the cylinder head. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 84,000.

Filed Aug 24, 2015 · Tires · 269,580 miles · AZ

All incidents involving big o at truck tires: 6/11/12 tread separation. No damage to vehicle or crash. 12/31/12 tread separation. No damage to vehicle or crash. 3/12/14 tread separation. No damage to vehicle or crash. 4/11/14 tread separation. No damage to vehicle or crash. 7/29/14 tread separation. No damage to vehicle or crash. 3/26/15 tread separation. No damage to vehicle or crash. 5/29/15 tread separation. Heavy damage to quarter panel of vehicle.

Filed Aug 18, 2015 · Tires · 134,900 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-250 sd equipped with goodrich long trail t/a tires, size: p265/75/r15 (na). While towing another vehicle, there was an abnormal vibration popping noise from the rear passenger side tire. The contact observed that the rear tire popped and noticed tread separation on the tire. The tire was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle failure mileage was 134,900 and the tire failure mileage was approximately 5,000.

Filed Jul 29, 2015 · Seat belts · 137,243 miles · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-250 sd. The contact stated that the driver seat belt would not engage without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the driver seat belt buckle assembly fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 137,243. The VIN was not available.

Filed Mar 16, 2015 · Tires · 151,000 miles · FL

Have had 2 sets of bfgoodrich 285/75/16 122r d tires that have failed with separation problems. The first set that failed 05/11, we had blowout accident on interstate causing over $3000 damage to driver front. Luckily no personal injuries bf goodrich replaced the tires at 100%, same tires. The second set have same separation problems as of 03/15, at approx. 30000 miles on 60000 mile tires. The tire kingdom store advised unsafe to drive and said these tires were manufactured at same time the recalls were. He called the recall# and was advised to replace at 100% so we replaced them with the michelin 285's. Now we are being told the bf goodrich recall office will only pay 70% on the new tires. That is unacceptable for this serious defect in these tires. It does appear the warranty doesn't really address manufacturer defects.this defect is not due to wear, tear or consumer fault. Had the defect not been in the tire, the tires would still be in good working order without danger of failure that occurred. We feel these tires are unsafe and we have asked bfgoodrich to replace with different tire at 100% since we do not feel we should be responsible for what appears to be manufacturer defect.

Used buying checklistWhat to check on a 2002 Ford F-250 SD before you buy

Compare the 2002 Ford F-250 SD

F-250 SD vs Ram 2500F-250 SD vs Chevrolet Silverado 2500F-250 SD vs GMC Sierra 2500

Other model years

199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026

Questions about the 2002 Ford F-250 SD

Is the 2002 Ford F-250 SD reliable?

Owners have filed 245 complaints about the 2002 Ford F-250 SD, 1.4 times a typical F-250 SD model year.

What is the 2002 Ford F-250 SD year score?

The 2002 Ford F-250 SD scores 54 out of 100 (below average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Ford F-250 SD: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.

What is the most common problem with the 2002 Ford F-250 SD?

Engine and cooling, with 105 complaints, typically around 84,000 miles. Next is brakes (30).

How many recalls does the 2002 Ford F-250 SD have?

3 recalls, covering exterior lighting, vehicle speed control and engine and engine cooling.

Was there a recall on the 2002 Ford F-250 SD engine?

Yes, 1 recall: 07V553000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.

What year does the Ford F-250 SD have bad engine?

The Ford F-250 SD model years with the most engine complaints are 2004 (114 complaints), 2002 (105 complaints) and 2001 (99 complaints).

Share your experience with the 2002 Ford F-250 SD

Tell other buyers what went wrong and what it cost. We review every report before it appears, and we never publish names, emails or VINs.

No names, contact details or links. Reports about a dealer or a person are not published.

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used 2002 Ford F-250 SD?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history
Is this car on a recall?Check VIN