2002 Ford Thunderbird: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 116 complaints
116
Total Complaints
33,266mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Top Issue
6
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

18,775 25th Percentile
33,266 Median Mileage
56,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
18
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
12
ENGINE
12
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
10
AIR BAGS
10
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
8
STEERING
4
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
3
STRUCTURE
3
SEATS
2

Severity Assessment

6
Crashes
0
Fires
5
Injuries
1
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE ADVISING THAT FORD IS CONDUCTING A SAFETY RECALL TO INSTALL AN INSERT BEHIND THE DRIVER SEAT LOWER TRIM ON THE VEHICLE. CONSUMER VISITED THE FORD DEALER AND LEARNED THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THE RECALL. CONSUMER WOULD LIKE TO HAVE FORD ORDER THE PARTS AND SEND T..."
"VEHICLE DRIFTED OFF THE ROAD AND HIT AN OBJECT AND NEITHER AIR BAG DEPLOYED. DRIVER DIED FROM CHEST INJURIES. *MR *JB"
"WATER LEAKED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, WITH THE HARDTOP INSTALLED, PASSENGER SEAT AND FLOOR WERE VERY WET. CONSUMER WAS CONCERN ABOUT THE AIR BAG IN PASSENGER SEAT AS WELL AS ELECTRONICS UNDER PASSENGER SEAT.*JB"

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

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