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Electrical systemPart report

2002 Ford Escape Electrical system Problems

Complaints
123about this part
Share
12%of 1,027 total for the year
Median mileage
60,000miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 123 complaints about the electrical system of the 2002 Ford Escape, 12% of the 1,027 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 60,000 miles. 32 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Neighbor woke me saying my car was on fire. Car wasn't on, the key was not in, and it had sat overnight. Called fire department and fire put out. Car is totaled because the firemen had to break into the engine compartment. Engine area burned with nothing but metal visible and a melted battery. I have pictures.”

NHTSA complaint #10660158, filed 2014-11, 172,000 miles

“Arrived home, parked vehicle in driveway and shortly after my wife took our puppy outside and saw my car was on fire under the hood, I was able to open the hood and saw flames and sparks coming from the drivers side firewall area, called fire dept after my fire extinguisher failed to fully put out the fire fearing it would catch the house on fire as I was parked less than 10 ft from it.”

NHTSA complaint #10551228, filed 2013-11, 144,000 miles

“I put the vehicle in reverse to back up and when I put vehicle back in drive it died/stalled. This has repeatedly happened along with dying at stop signs, red lights and multiple times at slow speeds. Also the vehicle has repeatedly stumbled at various speeds up to 65 MPH.”

NHTSA complaint #10593908, filed 2014-05, 184,000 miles

“I drove my vehicle home from work (less than 5 miles). When I pulled into my driveway and parked my vehicle, smoke began to pour out from the engine compartment. When I opened the hood there were flames directly in front of the driver side near the fire wall. These flames were originating from the ABS module location.”

NHTSA complaint #10406493, filed 2011-06, 160,000 miles

“My driver's side headlight went out. I went to the local autozone to get a replacement bulb. When I removed the headlight plug, it looked like it was melted. I removed and installed a new light bulb. I then tested the new bulb to make sure it worked. It did not turned on. The headlight plug seems like it melted at some point.”

NHTSA complaint #10343466, filed 2010-07, 70,500 miles

Related service bulletins

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2025727%
20242736%
20234141%
2022198%
20213410%
202016010%
2019376%
2018573%
20171566%
2016958%
201513512%
201421610%
201333912%
2012427%
20111179%
201021610%
20091438%
20081367%
20073012%
2006347%
200515311%
2004316%
2003397%
200212312%
200113614%
2000120%

Other parts of the 2002 Ford Escape

Engine cooling
294 complaints
Brakes
195 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
105 complaints
Vehicle speed control
100 complaints
Body and structure
87 complaints
Suspension
80 complaints
Air bags
79 complaints
Steering
70 complaints
Fuel system
37 complaints
Engine
36 complaints
Other or unknown
36 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
34 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2002 Ford Escape

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology