Most common 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac problems
Share of the 144 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford Explorer Sport Trac complaints by model year
Best Explorer Sport Trac years: 2006, 2009, 1997. Years to avoid: 2001, 2002, 2007, 2004, 2003. Compare all years →
2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac recalls (2)
Vehicle speed control
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 disconnected…
Seats › Front assembly › Recliner
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with high back seats, the upper bolt on the driver's side high back seat, that attaches the seat recliner mechanism to the seat back frame, could fracture.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver seat upper bolt with a metal spacer and bolt. In addition, seats with tubular back frames will have the fully threaded lower recliner bolt replaced with a partially threaded bolt.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac:
Vehicle rollaway allegations
In response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), Ford stated consumer reports of higher than expected efforts when shifting into and out of park could be a result of a groove being worn into the swing arm ramp of the steering column.
Front seat back recliner attachment
By letter dated August 4, 2003, Ford notified the agency that it is conducting a voluntary safety recall (NHTSA recall no. 03V281) involving certain model year (my) 1998-2001 Ford explorer / Mercury mountaineer 4-door, my 1998-2000 Ford explorer 2-door and my 2001-2002 Ford explorer sport and sport trac vehicles equipped with high back seats.complaints allege that the driver's seat back reclined without warning.a…
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
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…
What 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac owners say
Transmission & drivetrain all 32 →
On feb.12 2016 still no dash warning lights my Ford Trac..I left my home in drive moved onto highway 66, the truck would not shift as I tried to increase my speed up onto the 66 highway the RPM ran up only, I had to shift into second gear to get off road drove back home. Now the truck will not move when shifted into drive or reverse. I only had in 2nd gear this is a automatic transmission.fluid is still okay. What is wrong with this truck?.milage is 123242
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. While attempting to shift into park, the gear shifter fractured behind the cluster. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
Engine & cooling all 24 →
I bought a Ford Explorer Sport Trac in aug. Of 2002. Ever since it was a year old I have had nothing but problems with it. I had it 6 times for the same issue, they replaced the same part 4 times, that did not help. They finally called the Ford help line and found out they needed to replace the whole gas tank. My truck the first time lost all power while driving down the road, I shut it off and it restarted fine. I took into the dealership and they had to re-program the main computer chip. Next, my truck wouldn't start unless holding down the gas pedal then finally it would start and there would be a black smoke cloud that would come out of the tail pipe each time. The new gas tank finally fixed this problem! …
I bought this truck on February 20th, 2004 with a little over 20,000 miles. On February 24th, 2004, after leaving the dealership my truck died on a busy street on two separate occasions. The salesman told me that the truck had flooded. On June 10th, August 12th, November 19th, and again on December 2nd, 2004 (the only ones I wrote down it does happen more often) my truck also died while driving down the road. These have all been very serious incidents where I felt lucky to not only be alive but that I hadn t hit anything or anyone else. The technicians from the dealership have looked at my truck on all these occasions and gave me little or no excuse for the truck to die. At this time I ve asked for a reasonable refund with no success&&I m at a loss&&&please help!!!!
Electrical system all 21 →
There was not warning lights on dash, truck slowed down then engine raced up all on its own turned I turned off road shifted to nutral and sat until the racing stopped continued on to auto part store where they plugged into engine it read strange codes..
Vehicle is a 2002 Ford Sport Trac with approx 42K miles. Began with rapid flashing of left turn signal. Rear turn and brake lamp were inoperable. Replacing bulb had no effect. Found positioning steering column to a higher tilt position corrected malfunction. Removed steering column cover and found 4 wires pulled out of connector on multi-function (turn signal switch). Wires move in and out as column is moved through tilt range. Wires out at bottom of tilt and in at top of tilt range. Removed connector part # e6db-14489-da. 3 connector pin retainers fell out and were recovered. A fourth was found to be in the connector but not retaining it's pin. Connector must be replaced to correct problem. Also the wiring harness is secured above the tilt pivot point of the steering column. …
2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 15 / 20 / 17 |
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | RWD | 14 / 19 / 16 |
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 14 / 18 / 16 |
| 4.0L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 18 / 15 |
EPA ratings. Class: Full-size pickup.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac a good car?
Based on 144 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2002 Explorer Sport Trac rates avoid: 4.5× as many complaints as a typical year of the Explorer Sport Trac at the same age. It is one of the Explorer Sport Trac years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac?
The transmission & drivetrain — 32 complaints, 22% of all complaints for this model year, most often about automatic transmission. Next are the engine & cooling (24) and electrical system (21).
How many recalls does the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac have?
There are 2 recalls for the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, the most recent from August 3, 2007 (vehicle speed control). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2006, 2009 and 1997. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2001, 2002, 2007, 2004 and 2003. See the full Ford Explorer Sport Trac years comparison.
At what mileage do 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 50,000 miles; 50% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.