2002 Ford F-150: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 2002 Ford F-150. The newest campaign is 11V385000. NHTSA received the report on 29 Jul 2011. The NHTSA record gives the component Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly / Mounting. NHTSA has 821 complaints on file for this model year. 3 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 11V385000, in the NHTSA record

Ford will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicles to a ford or lincoln dealer to have the fuel tank straps replaced with straps that have increased corrosion protection. Early in this campaign, if replacement straps are not available, dealers may install a cable support under the strap as an interim repair or a steel reinforcement over the existing strap as a permanent repair. Any repairs will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on september 16, 2011. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall campaign number is 11s21

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

2 campaigns, newest first. 5,600,000 units in total.

11V385000Received 29 Jul 2011. 1,100,000 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly / Mounting
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Ford is recalling certain 1997 through 2003 model year ford f-150, 2004 model year ford f-150 heritage, 1997 through 1999 model year f-250 less than 8,500 lbs. Gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr), and 2002 and 2003 lincoln blackwood vehicles manufactured from june 20, 1995, through august 4, 2004, originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia. Prolonged exposure to road deicing chemicals may cause severe corrosion of the fuel tank straps which secure the tank to the vehicle.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
As a result of the corrosion, one or both straps may fail allowing the fuel lines to separate from the tank, or in some cases, causing the tank to contact the ground. Either scenario may result in a fuel leak presenting a fire hazard.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Ford will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicles to a ford or lincoln dealer to have the fuel tank straps replaced with straps that have increased corrosion protection. Early in this campaign, if replacement straps are not available, dealers may install a cable support under the strap as an interim repair or a steel reinforcement over the existing strap as a permanent repair. Any repairs will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on september 16, 2011. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall campaign number is 11s21
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 11S21. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 12 Sep 2011.
05V388000Received 7 Sep 2005. 4,500,000 units.
Vehicle Speed Control
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles equipped with speed control, the speed control deactivation switch may overheat, smoke, or burn.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
A fire at the switch could occur.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
By letter dated september 12, 2005, owners were instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected. Owners who have had their speed control deactivated are being notified that parts will be available and advised to make an appointment to reconnect the speed control beginning in february 2006. Owners who did not have their speed control deactivated are being notified to have their system remedied beginning in february 2006. Owners are urged to avail themselves of the free disconnect service as soon as possible because of the significant risk of fire. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. (note: also see recalls 05v017 and 06v286)
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 05S28. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 12 Sep 2005.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

821 complaints, 965 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

2002 Ford F-150
All 2002 vehicles

2002 Ford F-150: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2002 F-150	All 2002 vehicles	F-150, all years	Mentions
Engine and Engine Cooling	204.1	100.3	57	197
Electrical System	114	94.6	81.6	110
Vehicle Speed Control	90.2	39.2	59.2	87
Engine	68.4	23.4	93.9	66
Fuel System, Gasoline	67.4	32.4	45.9	65
Power Train	54.9	119	190.6	53
Seat Belts	51.8	17.8	9.7	50
Structure	46.6	62	43.7	45
Air Bags	38.3	73.7	25.3	37
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	30.1	76.5	37.8	29

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 31.

Complaints that report a crash: 51
Complaints that report a fire: 95
Injuries in the complaints: 60
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 17 Jul 2026

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2002 Ford F-150, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2011, with 89 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2002 Ford F-150
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA11006	Engineering analysis	Fuel Tank Strap Failure Due to Corrosion	Fuel System, Gasoline / Storage / Tank Assembly	4 May 2011	19 Aug 2011	11V385000
DP05005	Defect petition	SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD	Engine and Engine Cooling / Engine	22 Sep 2005	4 Jan 2006
EA05005	Engineering analysis	ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES	Electrical System	22 Mar 2005	2 Aug 2006	05V388000

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2002 Ford F-150The recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2002 Ford F-150: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/f-150/2002/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: FORD MOTOR COMPANY

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2002 Ford F-150?: 5,600,000 units in 2 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford F-150 have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 169 recall campaigns for the Ford F-150, model years 1984 to 2027. 2 of them name the 2002 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2002 Ford F-150 name most often?: Engine and Engine Cooling: 197 of 965 component mentions, or 204.1 per 1,000. For all 2002 vehicles the figure is 100.3 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2002 Ford F-150 open?: No. Each of the 3 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.