2002 Ford Ranger Recalls, Complaints & Specs

3 safety recalls list the 2002 Ford Ranger, and owners have filed 346 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.

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3 safety recalls for the 2002 Ford Ranger

Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.

1. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 09V399000 Reported October 13, 2009 4,500,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   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…

   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…

2. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 07V336000 Reported August 3, 2007 3,600,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On certain pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and motor homes chassis, the speed control deactivation switch may, under certain conditions, leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.

   Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness. Owners of the passenger cars included in this campaign will be instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch…

3. Differential unit (power train)

   NHTSA 02V035000 Reported February 4, 2002 1,096 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On some manual transmission trucks equipped with the fx4 package, the rear axle differential case could fracture under a high torque event such as when customers accelerate rapidly from a stop or when a spinning tire suddenly gains traction.

   Remedy: Dealers will replace the rear axle assembly. Owner notification began march 29, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a…

346 owner complaints filed with NHTSA

Owners of the 2002 Ford Ranger have filed 346 complaints with NHTSA; 43 describe a crash and 12 describe a fire. Reports cite 40 injuries and 2 deaths. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 67,573 miles. Complaints peaked in 2003 with 46 filed that year.

Most-reported components

• Vehicle speed control45
• Suspension28
• Structure: body23
• Power train: automatic transmission19
• Tires19
• Air bags17
• Air bags: frontal16
• Unknown or other14

What owners are reporting

“Steel rim came apart while adding air to tire causing severe injuries to hands leg and foot only 20 psi in tire pressure when rim blew apart !”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, August 2, 2025 · Wheels

“The contact owns a 2002 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH and attempting to switch lanes, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate as n”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, January 17, 2024 · Vehicle speed control

Fuel economy and specs

EPA ratings for the 2002 Ford Ranger (Ranger 2WD FFV, Ranger Pickup 2WD, Ranger Pickup 4WD). Ranges cover every tested configuration.

Compare Ford Ranger model years

Recall and complaint counts for every Ford Ranger model year in NHTSA's database.

Checking a specific 2002 Ford Ranger

Other Ford models

• F-15037,961 complaints
• Explorer34,566 complaints
• Escape27,430 complaints
• Fusion22,405 complaints
• Focus22,096 complaints
• Taurus18,159 complaints
• Windstar14,158 complaints
• Edge14,065 complaints

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.