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2002 Ford F-250 engine problems

34 complaints (22% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 100,000. 1 crash reported.

owner complaints
34
of this car's complaints
22%
typical mileage
100,000
crashes
1
recalls
0

Which part fails

  • Engine
    7
  • Engine: gasoline
    5
  • Exhaust system
    2
  • Engine: diesel
    2

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-250 engine problems in other years

199019952000200520102014

Specific symptoms reported on the 2002 Ford F-250 engine

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Stalling 9

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Related investigations

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

What 2002 Ford F-250 owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Jun 2, 2025 · Engine · 109,000 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized. No warning light was illuminated. The contact attempted to start the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the vehicle started after several attempts. The contact stated the vehicle sat for a while before starting the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under recall. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not officially diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was possibly caused by an unknown sensor. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that the failure started in 2013; however, the vehicle had been parked and undriveable since 2017. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 109,000.

Filed Apr 22, 2025 · Engine · 138,683 miles · KS

The contact owns a 2002 Ford F-250. The contact initially discovered patches of fluid on the garage floor. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The dealer discovered a leak in the engine oil pan due to a faulty silicone gasket. The contact stated that the oil pan was replaced by the same dealer a year prior to the recent failure. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall on the VIN related to the failure. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 138,683.

Filed Mar 28, 2022 · Body, Engine · MD · fire

As soon as the truck started, it popped out one of its spark plug. The truck started shaking and made a hollow noise and began to smoke and quickly caught on fire. The fire burned the entire truck.

Filed Jan 29, 2021 · Engine · 300,000 miles · IA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-250. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stationary at a traffic light, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was restarted and driven to his destination. The contact stated that the failure was experienced on three separate occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 300,000.

Filed Oct 27, 2019 · Engine · 162,000 miles · TN

2002 f-250 7.3l diesel. Driving down the highway pulling a horse trailer engine just completely stalled without warning. I lost all steering and brakes. I put it in neutral and restarted while coasting. Drove another few miles and it stalled again. Would not start again after that. This happened on a remote highway at night. Had a wrecker tow us to a diesel shop who reported truck started fine next day. Went and picked it up and it stuttered a few times on the way home but did not stall. A few months later, engine stalled at a red light in heavy traffic but started back up. Took it to my mechanic who read a cam position sensor circuit fault on the computer. Replaced cam position sensor. A few months later, stalled again at an intersection. I coasted to the side of the road and had it towed to my mechanic. Upon arriving and unloading from wrecker. Truck started up. Started to drive it home and stalled again halfway there on a busy rural road with no shoulder. Called wrecker again and towed to different diesel shop. Replaced cps again and truck started fine. Took it home and ran it at idle until engine temp was normal. Engine stalled again and would not start. Waited about 2 hours and it started up just fine and ran at idle for one hour without stalling. Current cps was from ford dealer (the grey one) but apparently the same problem as the one involved in the federal safety agency id: ea06012 recall from 2006 is still a problem. It could stall without warning in the middle of an intersection and cause a serious crash. This is a serious safety issue!!

Filed Jan 25, 2019 · Engine · 177,700 miles · KY · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford f-250. While the vehicle was parked for a couple of hours in cold temperatures and connected to the block heater, the vehicle caught fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. The vehicle was destroyed. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage was 177,700.

Filed Nov 30, 2017 · Engine · 98,000 miles · WA

On november 26th 2017, my truck started having a significant mis-fire in cylinder #4. Travelling at about 30 MPH on city streets; this particular incident was not a safety issue although difficult to limp the vehicle home as it did not accelerate well. Upon removing the spark plug; it was determined that the cylinder head threads in the spark plug port have been damaged. This would have resulted in an ejected spark plug had the vehicle been continued to be operated. Since this is the 3rd different cylinder this has occurred on with numerous reports from multiple owners of the same engine design by ford; I have decided to file this report. This is the 2nd report I have filed with the federal safety agency. The first report I filed was because the 2nd time this occurred; a spark plug ejected from the #3 cylinder at highway speeds with a significant reduction in speed in traffic on the highway. That occurrence also caused a significant vibration and had to be pulled over immediately. Even though there have been significant reports to ford and documented occurrences dating back to 1997; ford continues to say that because no "safety issues" have risen or been proven to be caused by this issue that it is not there problem. I will also be filing reports with bbb, consumer affairs and consumer reports.

Filed Apr 3, 2017 · Engine · 117,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-250. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to restart on the second attempt; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 07v553000 (engine). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000.

Filed Feb 6, 2017 · Engine · 86,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford f-250. While driving at any speed and as soon as the engine became hot, a burning oil odor was present inside the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The dealer diagnosed that there was a defective head gasket that needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.

Filed Jun 13, 2016 · Engine · 165,000 miles · TX

My 2002 ford f250 super duty 5.4 gasoline engine had a spark plug blow out at around 165,000 miles. I had pulled over to take a call turned off the engine, when I started it back up it was making a loud popping sound, my machanic shop was next door to where I was so I was lucky that I did not have to drive it anywhere.

Questions about the 2002 Ford F-250 engine

Does the 2002 Ford F-250 have engine problems?

Owners have filed 34 complaints about the engine of the 2002 Ford F-250, 22% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.

At what mileage do 2002 Ford F-250 engine problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 100,000 miles.

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

There is no recall for this problem on this model year.

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

The Ford F-250 model years with the most engine complaints are 1999 (82 complaints), 2004 (63 complaints) and 2000 (44 complaints).

Other 2002 Ford F-250 problems

Tires 22Brakes 19Electrical 14Acceleration 12Transmission 12Steering 10Suspension 10Fuel system 8Seat belts 8Airbags 7Visibility 6Body 4Lights 3Wheels 2Seats 1

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