"How reliable is the 2002 Ford Escape?"

"Based on 1388 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Ford Escape has a median complaint mileage of 89000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Ford Escape?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Ford Escape is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 1388 total complaints filed."

2002 Ford Escape: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1388 complaints

1388

Total Complaints

89,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

41,273 25th Percentile

89,000 Median Mileage

132,073 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

135

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

SUSPENSION

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

AIR BAGS

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SERVICE BRAKES

Severity Assessment

Crashes

147

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE STOPPED RUNNING WHILE AT SPEED ON THE ROAD. DEALER DIAGNOSED PROBLEM AS A SEIZED ENGINE. THE 3.0 L V6 ENGINE IS GOING TO BE REPLACED. VEHICLE ONLY HAD 331 MILES ON IT. *AK"

"VEHICLE WAS GOING 45MPH AND STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. CONSUMER HAD ONLY OWNED VEHICLE FOR 4 DAYS. DEALER COULDN'T FIND A CAUSE, BUT KEPT IT TO INSPECT FURTHER AND GAVE CONSUMER A LOANER VEHICLE.*AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE 135 complaints

25th: 8,000 mi Median: 8,790 mi 75th: 17,000 mi

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 76 complaints

25th: 10,343 mi Median: 18,750 mi 75th: 42,636 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 74 complaints

25th: 67,000 mi Median: 100,000 mi 75th: 145,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 65 complaints

25th: 27,850 mi Median: 86,500 mi 75th: 129,500 mi

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 63 complaints

25th: 21,997 mi Median: 71,300 mi 75th: 100,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

OH: 122 CA: 116 PA: 89 NY: 80 MI: 73 TX: 70 NC: 69 IL: 66 FL: 60 VA: 53

Who Files Complaints?

37.3%

Original Owners

62.7%

Second+ Owners

Ford Escape — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2001	1387	81,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	109
2003	736	94,160	SUSPENSION	55
2004	715	111,070	SUSPENSION	49
2005	2030	109,000	SUSPENSION	54
2006	626	85,000	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	25
2007	350	71,800	POWER TRAIN	22
2008	2398	98,000	STEERING	80
2009	2337	83,000	STEERING	53
2010	3171	57,600	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	43
2011	1867	52,000	STEERING	50
2012	788	52,100	FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM	57
2013	3660	73,000	ENGINE	64
2014	2608	74,000	ENGINE	78
2015	1225	74,000	POWER TRAIN	37
2016	1178	71,400	POWER TRAIN	46
2017	3080	69,000	ENGINE	50
2018	1943	80,000	ENGINE	38
2019	637	58,300	ENGINE	33
2020	1907	41,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	28
2021	349	30,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	14
2022	253	33,503	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE	10
2023	130	13,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	1
2024	128	9,062	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	2
2025	24	3,250	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	0

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28