NHTSA Safety Recalls
2002 Ford Ranger Recalls
The 2002 Ford Ranger has 7 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on October 13, 2009.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2002 Ford Ranger. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 7
- Owner complaints
- 346
- Crashes reported
- 43
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★☆
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
12 fires
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2002 Ford Ranger, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
7 recalls on the 2002 Ford Ranger
Vehicle speed control
- Campaign
- 09V399000
- Reported
- October 13, 2009
- Vehicles affected
- up to 4,500,000
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2001, 2003 Ranger, 10 other models
Vehicle speed control
- Campaign
- 07V336000
- Reported
- August 3, 2007
- Vehicles affected
- up to 3,600,000
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2001 Ranger, 7 other models
Power train: driveline: differential unit
- Campaign
- 02V035000
- Reported
- February 4, 2002
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,096
- Same campaign
- only the 2002 Ford Ranger
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 06E049000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2001, 2003 Ranger, 23 other models
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 06E065000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2001, 2003–2005 Ranger, 9 other models
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 09E012000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2001, 2003 Ranger, 57 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 09E025000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2001, 2003–2005 Ranger, 46 other models
2002 Ford Ranger complaints by year
NHTSA has received 346 owner complaints about the 2002 Ford Ranger, the newest on August 2, 2025. Of these, 43 describe a crash (12%) and 12 a fire; owners reported 40 injuries and 2 deaths.
In complaints about the 2002 Ford Ranger, the component group named most often is the power train (18%), followed by the vehicle speed control (15%) and the structure (14%).
1 of the 2002 Ford Ranger's 7 recalls also concerns the power train.
Where 2002 Ford Ranger owners gave the mileage (220 complaints), the median was 55,400 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Power Train61
- Vehicle Speed Control51
- Structure49
- Engine And Engine Cooling39
- Air Bags37
- Suspension36
Complaints received, by year
| 2001 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 45 | |
| 2003 | 46 | |
| 2004 | 34 | |
| 2005 | 23 | |
| 2006 | 15 | |
| 2007 | 25 | |
| 2008 | 29 | |
| 2009 | 13 | |
| 2010 | 12 | |
| 2011 | 13 | |
| 2012 | 7 | |
| 2013 | 11 | |
| 2014 | 16 | |
| 2015 | 16 | |
| 2016 | 10 | |
| 2017 | 5 | |
| 2018 | 9 | |
| 2019 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 5 | |
| 2021 | 4 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 1 |
Complaints about the 2002 Ford Ranger peaked in 2003, when NHTSA received 46. 43% arrived between 2001 and 2005, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2002 vehicles, the 2002 Ford Ranger drew 2.3× the complaints of the median Ford Ranger year in the same window: 3rd highest of the 16 ranked years.
That makes 2002 one of the Ford Ranger years to avoid by our method.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 4/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 2/5
The 346 complaints about the 2002 Ford Ranger are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Ford Ranger by model year
Other 2002 Ford models
Newest record on this page: August 2, 2025. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted