Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Both the rear spring shackles as well as the brake lines have failed on my 02 Ford f150 due to rust and this is a common concern. I am a senior master technician for Ford and we repair these on a regular basis due to rust. Both are clear safety concerns when they fail and should be addressed. And with the Ford windstar axles and subframes being covered by a recall due to rust I do not understand why other rust related safety concerns are not recalled. If one rust related concern is recalled then all others should be as well, it should be all or none. On the rear spring shackles, they will snap in half and the rear eyelet of the leaf spring jams into the bottom of the truck bed, with the bed being the only thing keeping major damage or an accident from happening. …
I was driving my 2002 Ford f-150 VIN # ([redacted]) down the highway at 45mph when it started wheel hopping from the rear very bad, there was a school bus stopped letting children off & as I was braking it was hopping & was a near miss, this was close. I pulled the truck off the side of the road to inspect as I am mechanically inclined & retired, for the first 10 years of my life I worked in the automobile field because I had schooling for it, anyway I looked under the truck & spotted the problem right off the bat, both rear center leaf springs are broken bigger than crap. I am 54 and a die hard Ford fan and have been since the age of 16, that is all I have owned & I am thinking about switching brands because this is not the first time I have been disappointed with this truck. I am the second owner, I bought it in 10/2004 with 13,000 miles. …
The rear portion of the frame is rotten to the point that the let springs hangers are ready to break off the frame and the spare tire holder is also ready to fall off. I just replaced the rear spring shackles due to the were also rotten and broke. The gas tank straps were also a problem due to rust but Ford though enough of the problem there was a recall on that, Toyota had a problem with rusted frames and did a massive recall on that issue. Why hasn't Ford done the same thing? The frame should be the last thing one needs to worry about with any vehicle. The truck currently has 146000 miles and now we need to figure out what the next move will be with this vehicle. Repair it, junk it or trade it ?????
Shimmy / bad vibration at 50+ MPH. Has been happening for awhile - gotten new tires and wheels, balance/rotate, new brakes and they are talking about a new controller arm or something...did some research and it seems this is common for this truck and Ford not willing to do anything about it? Quality issues and no concern for people's safety...nice. Have had to pull over to the side of the highway many times because of this - guess people have to die in order for Ford to take notice. Sales down due to customer dissatisfaction among other things...
My daughter was rounding a corner in her Ford f150 king ranch truck make a hard pull to the right and she tried to correct it at that time her truck began to flip over twice. She ended up in a 10ft upside down totaled her truck and broke her collar bone. There was a wrecker driver on the scene that notice the rear axle on the drivers side of her truck had broke in half at the tire. Spoke with the original owner and they said there son had complained to them about a noise in the rear end but they couldn't find anything wrong.
Consumer 2002 Ford f-150 supercrew top shaft piston for the shock absorber broke. The consumer stated that he never carried more than 500 pounds in the cargo bed nor ever pulled anything (motorcraft shock absorber, ash-144, 2l3z-1825-fa, h751b 103805 100604, bar code: 31508 407657, ml1193 rev 5/01).
I was told during a routine oil change that my truck needed tie rod ends and ball joints (not just some of them but all of them) I checked the internet and it seems there have been multiple complaints about these. Is there any investigation going on or a possible recall for this problem.
Bad shimmy / vibration front end. This has been this way since I bought it new. Have taken it back to Ford on 4 different times. Once they tried to fix it but hasn't been resolved. Think it is a safety issue at higher speeds.
My truck that I bought brand new is a 2002 Ford f150 supercrew that I take very good care of. The truck has just over 64,000 miles on it. On occasion I do use the truck like a truck and tow a 19' boat with it and I use it to pick up lumber etc... Three weeks ago I began to hear an odd metallic sound from the back of the truck while going over bumps in the road. I climbed underneath and grasped different components of the suspension and drive train and pushed and pulled on them expecting to find something loose. I didn't find anything. The next day I was driving down the road and I heard a very loud boom! I pulled over and again looked at the rear end of the truck and found that the mount that holds the rear leaf spring to the frame body had broken rather violently and sent the end of the spring with half of the mount thru the underside of the truck bed. I was able to limp home. …
Saw tv note on daimler-Chrysler recall re: ball joints. My wife has a similar issue with a GM f-150 (independently verified by a mechanic as excessive wear for 20,000 miles and is already making the noise Chrysler says is a warning)--but dealer says it's within specs, and GM says it won't go against dealer. New husband is very worried for his wife given that ball joint is already at the stage that is quoted as "consumer would have warning because of noise"--yet no repair offered or even thought needing further review.
Suspension complaints in other F-150 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 2002 Ford F-150?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the suspension of the 2002 Ford F-150, 2% of the model year's 821 complaints. The component named most often is rear (4 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Ford F-150 suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 2002 Ford F-150, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2002 Ford F-150 suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 64,000 miles, and 18% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.