Audited US model-year file

2002 FORD Explorer Sport Trac

Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.

Model-year evidence is not a VIN check.

A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.

Official VIN lookup ↗

01 · Safety actions first

4 NHTSA recall campaigns

Exact model-level NHTSA results for 2002 FORD Explorer Sport Trac. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.

01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2006-03-23

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Campaign 06E026000
Summary

CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.

Consequence

WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

Remedy

PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.

02
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2007-08-03

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Campaign 07V336000
Summary

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.

Consequence

THIS COULD RESULT IN AN UNDERHOOD FIRE.

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 AS AN INTERIM REPAIR. AS SOON AS REPAIR PARTS ARE AVAILABLE (EXPECTED OCTOBER 2007), OWNERS WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO RETURN TO THE DEALERS FOR INSTALLATION OF A FUSED WIRING HARNESS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 13, 2007, AND MAILING COMPLETED BY SEPTEMBER 19, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-888-222-2751.

03
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2003-08-05

SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER

Campaign 03V281000
Summary

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. IF THE BOLT FRACTURES AND DOES NOT JAM IN THE SEAT BACK FRAME, THE SEAT BACK MAY RECLINE UNTIL IT MAKES CONTACT WITH AN OBJECT BEHIND THE SEAT, SUCH AS THE SECOND ROW SEAT CUSHION.

Consequence

THE DRIVER COULD POTENTIALLY LOSE CONTACT WITH THE STEERING WHEEL OR FOOT PEDALS DURING SUCH AN EVENT, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

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. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON AUGUST 29, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.

04
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2001-05-22

TIRES:TREAD/BELT

Campaign 01X001000
Summary

THIS IS NOT A SAFETY RECALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SAFETY ACT. HOWEVER, IT IS DEEMED A SAFETY IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN BY THE AGENCY. EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTION: FORD IS REPLACING ALL FIRESTONE WILDERNESS AT 15, 16, AND 17 INCH TIRES MOUNTED ON FORD TRUCKS AND SUVS. FORD REPORTS TREAD SEPARATION CAN OCCUR DUE TO A COMBINATION OF THE SENSITIVITY OF THE TIRE DESIGN TO STRESS, AGING, AND MANUFACTURING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PLANTS. FORD IS REPLACING THESE TIRES TO PREVENT POSSIBLE PREMATURE TIRE FAILURE. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: THE VEHICLES LISTED BELOW MAY HAVE BEEN ORIGINALLY EQUIPPED WITH FIRESTONE WILDERNESS AT TIRES OR MAY HAVE HAD WILDERNESS AT TIRES INSTALLED DURING THE FIRESTONE RECALL LAUNCHED IN AUGUST 2000. CERTAIN 1991 THROUGHT 2002 FORD EXPLORER CERTAIN 2001 THROUGHT 2002 EXPLORER SPORT, AND SPORT TRAC CERTAIN 1997 THROUGH 2002 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER CERTAIN 1991 THROUGH 2001 RANGER CERTAIN 1999 THROUGH 2001 EXPEDITION CERTAIN 1991 THROUGH 1994, AND 1997 MODEL YEAR F-SERIES CERTAIN 1991 THROUGH 1994 BRONCO NOTE: BOTH ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT AND REPLACEMENT TIRES ARE AFFECTED.

Consequence

SHOULD THE TREAD SEPARATE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, A VEHICLE CRASH COULD OCCUR, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH.

Remedy

THE REPLACEMENT/REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM FOR THIS CAMPAIGN EXPIRED ON MARCH 31, 2002. HOWEVER, CUSTOMERS CAN CONTACT FORD AT 1-877-917-3673 OR GO ON-LINE TO WWW.FORD.COM FOR POSSIBLE ASSISTANCE.

02 · Owner allegations

3,622 NHTSA complaints

Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.

Crash mentions
163
Fire mentions
71
Injuries reported
213
Most-reported component labels
POWER TRAIN1,577
STRUCTURE533
SUSPENSION445
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING195
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL183
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM179
Complaints across nearby Ford Explorer Sport Trac model years

Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.

  1. 1672001
  2. 3,6222002
  3. 782003
  4. 862004
  5. 662005
  6. 1002007

A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all Explorer Sport Trac years with specs and fuel economy →

03 · Agency review

3 NHTSA ODI investigations

An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.

PE09020
Closed 2009-08-19 · opened 2009-04-21

VEHICLE ROLLAWAY ALLEGATIONS

NHTSA source ↗

STEERING:COLUMN · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

DP05005
Closed 2006-01-04 · opened 2005-09-22

SPARK PLUG EJECTION FROM CYLINDER HEAD

NHTSA source ↗

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

PE03020
Closed 2003-09-05 · opened 2003-05-21

FRONT SEAT BACK RECLINER ATTACHMENT

NHTSA source ↗

SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER · Associated recall campaign 03V281000.

04 · EPA configurations

Fuel economy & specifications

FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.

EPA configurations
4
Combined economy
15–17 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
13–15 / 18–20 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
4 L
Cylinders
6
Fuel type
Regular
Drive
4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive · Rear-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Standard Pickup Trucks 2WD · Standard Pickup Trucks 4WD
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$3800–4300

05 · Evidence strength

Exact identity. Explicit limits.

No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.

exact match

Recall campaigns

4 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.

exact match

Complaints

3622 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.

exact match

ODI investigations

3 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.

canonical only

Model aliases

Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.

not published

Manufacturer ownership

No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.

PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT

Identity, freshness and provenance.

The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.

Permanent public ID
https://modelyearfacts.com/vehicle/2002/ford/explorer-sport-trac
NHTSA make ID
460
NHTSA model ID
1804
Match key
2002 · FORD · Explorer Sport Trac · US
Live evidence requested
EPA publication catalogue
Complaint matrix snapshot
Imported safety snapshot
nhtsa-investigations · exact match

NHTSA ODI investigations

Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.

Open official source ↗
US-market boundary

Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.

06 · Research paths

Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.

These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.

Offers status: held

Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.