VehicleVerdict

2002 Ford Ranger engine problems

The 2002 Ford Ranger has 46 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 10% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

46

Engine complaints

10%

Share of year

1

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Ranger engine complaints by model year57 complaints1983: 1 complaints1984: 2 complaints1985: 3 complaints1986: 9 complaints1987: 7 complaints1988: 15 complaints1989: 13 complaints1990: 16 complaints1991: 16 complaints1992: 20 complaints1993: 14 complaints1994: 27 complaints1995: 17 complaints1996: 36 complaints1997: 19 complaints1998: 57 complaints1999: 51 complaints2000: 43 complaints2001: 35 complaints2002: 46 complaints2003: 27 complaints2004: 24 complaints2005: 17 complaints2006: 20 complaints2007: 4 complaints2008: 6 complaints2009: 6 complaints2010: 5 complaints2011: 4 complaints2019: 30 complaints2020: 16 complaints2021: 15 complaints2022: 6 complaints2023: 2 complaints2024: 5 complaints2025: 7 complaints2026: 1 complaints
Ranger engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“I OWNED A 2002 FORD RANGER WITH 45,000 MILES ON IT. MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING IT AND CAME TO A STOP AT AN INTERSECTION AFTER EXITING AN EXPRESSWAY. BLACK SMOKE STARTED COMING OUT OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. WITHIN 10 MINUTES, THE TRUCKS ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND COCKPIT WERE COMPLETELY ENGULFED IN FLAMES…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · May 6, 2006 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2002 Ford Ranger have?

NHTSA has 46 complaints about the 2002 Ford Ranger engine — 10% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.