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2002 Ford F-350 problems

The most common problem on the 2002 Ford F-350 is engine and cooling, typically around 60,400 miles. Its complaint count is close to a typical F-350 model year.

Typical yearClose to a typical year
Year score
72/100
Owner complaints
116
Recalls
2
Service bulletins
31
Worst area
Engine

The worst 2002 Ford F-350 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-350

Tire blowout 12Stalling 10Fire or smoke 5

Recalls 2

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 August 1, 2006 · 1,200,000 vehicles affected
What is wrong
On certain trucks equipped with speed control, gasoline or natural gas engines, the speed control deactivation switch may overheat.
Risk
Overheating could result in smoke or burn and an underhood fire.
Remedy
Dealers will install a fused wiring harness into the speed control system free of charge. The recall began on august 7, 2006. Owners may contact ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332. (note: also see recalls 05v017 and 05v388)

Recall number 06V286000 · Recall details

See all 2 recalls for the 2002 Ford F-350

Defect 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

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

Technical service bulletins for the 2002 Ford F-350 31

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

See all 31 bulletins for the 2002 Ford F-350

What 2002 Ford F-350 owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Sep 8, 2025 · Body, Driver assistance · TX · fire

We were just driving when the truck started smoking and the brakes wouldn’t work. After a few minutes the truck completely caught on fire.

Filed Jun 23, 2025 · Body · PA

The frame at the leaf spring hangars has cracked apart at only 131,000 miles on the truck. This issue is becoming more and more common over the years it seems and comparable age trucks from other manufacturers are having this issue for the same age.

Filed Mar 21, 2024 · Tires · UT

[XXX] tire on passenger’s rear began to have significant vibration while towing 16,000 lb. fifth-wheel RV. Stopped and visually/tactilely determined unusual wear pattern so went to commercial tire shop in Pahrump, NV. Their inspection determined tread separation rendering the tire unusable so we replaced it with a different brand. This is the third of three tires installed at the same time that have suffered tread separation failure. The first was in July 2023 and was not reported to the federal safety agency, but when two more tires failed at the same time, I decided to report. Because this type of failure does not produce TPMS warnings, it could have been a catastrophic failure that might have resulted in damage to our vehicles and/or a crash with significant injury to us or other motorists. With three failures from the same batch of tires on our vehicle, I believe there is a serious problem with this batch of tires and they should be recalled. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Mar 21, 2024 · Tires · UT

[XXX] tire on driver's rear began to have significant vibration while towing 16,000 lb. fifth-wheel RV. Stopped and visually/tactilely determined unusual wear pattern so went to commercial tire shop in Pahrump, NV. Their inspection determined tread separation rendering the tire unusable so we replaced it with a different brand. This is the second of three tires installed at the same time that have suffered tread separation failure. The first was in July 2023 and was not reported to the federal safety agency, but when two more tires failed at the same time, I decided to report. Because this type of failure does not produce TPMS warnings, it could have been a catastrophic failure that might have resulted in damage to our vehicles and/or a crash with significant injury to us or other motorists. With three failures from the same batch of tires on our vehicle, I believe there is a serious problem with this batch of tires and they should be recalled. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Mar 21, 2023 · Body, Electrical · CA

there has been intense rust and corrosion in the roof seams and welds. This has led to water leaks and damage to the interior of the vehicle. The integrity of the roof has been compromised, and I am concerned about the possibility of roof crush should there be an accident. Not to mention the mold, rot and damage to the interior and electrical systems I have already suffered due to the defect. On February 3, 2023, I contacted the Ford Motors helpline and spoke to [XXX] (direct phone # [XXX] ext [XXX]) to discuss the issue.[XXX] created a request for a buyback and assigned a case number of [XXX]. She also requested that I send photos to [XXX] and visit the local Ford dealership so they could assess the vehicle and share the information with her. I was able to make an apt for Feb 6,2023 @ 10:50 with [XXX] @ Envision ford of Oxnard. When I arrived for the assessment, [XXX] did one walk around the vehicle (he did not inspect the roof at all) and then said he couldn’t help me as he this was a Ford issue, and they were a franchise. I contacted [XXX] with follow up from that meeting, as well as photos of the vehicle. About two weeks after this apt. [XXX] said the case was closed. I am extremely disappointed with how this case was handled, especially considering the significant investment I made in purchasing and maintaining it my vehicle. When I made the original investment I was told that the engine would last up to a million miles…but never imagined the body would be worthless at the 300,00 mark. There is so much damage to the roof that I currently keep my vehicle parked instead of using it. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Filed Dec 5, 2019 · Electrical · 256,000 miles · MO

Headlights go off and on when I move the tilt steering wheel, when driving or sitting still

Filed Dec 1, 2019 · Seat belts · 200,000 miles · TX

Seat belts unbuckle by themselves. This has happens with the driver and passenger seat belts. Driver buckle failure is most frequent. One day it won't happen then the next day it will unbuckle 5 times in a short period of time. Afraid this will happen during an accident. The seatbelt buckle unbuckles stall speeds under any driving condition.

Filed Nov 6, 2019 · Electrical · 230,000 miles · MT

The digital compass and temperature display in the upper console breaks. I rely on the display to prevent from crashing on icy roads. I have looked and thousands of people have same issues, a wire coming loose. Ford needs to recall this instead of charging up to 400.00 for the replacement part. It almost got me killed, im surprised no one has been injured.

Filed Jul 29, 2019 · Body · ND

The paint on the hood began to slowly peel away an is now is very awful I was just told that ford recalled many on the bad paint I was never aware of that till last week I was advised to write an find about this matter and that ford would stand behind that.

Filed Oct 23, 2017 · Acceleration, Electrical · 176,057 miles · MS · crash · fire

On my way to work the turn signals failed and hazzzard lights no break lites or turn singnals the fuse panel was smoking and coused a wreck at 60 miles per hour

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Questions about the 2002 Ford F-350

Is the 2002 Ford F-350 reliable?

Owners have filed 116 complaints about the 2002 Ford F-350, close to a typical F-350 model year.

What is the 2002 Ford F-350 year score?

The 2002 Ford F-350 scores 72 out of 100 (average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Ford F-350: 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-350?

Engine and cooling, with 22 complaints, typically around 60,400 miles. Next is tires (20).

How many recalls does the 2002 Ford F-350 have?

2 recalls, covering exterior lighting and vehicle speed control.

What year does the Ford F-350 have bad engine?

The Ford F-350 model years with the most engine complaints are 2004 (80 complaints), 2008 (47 complaints) and 2005 (35 complaints).

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