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Engine coolingPart report

2002 Mazda Tribute Engine cooling Problems

Complaints
124about this part
Share
32%of 384 total for the year
Median mileage
24,000miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 124 complaints about the engine cooling of the 2002 Mazda Tribute, 32% of the 384 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 24,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 6 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

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

“I pulled onto a dirt road because there was smoke coming from the front of my car and when I stopped I opened the hood and there was like a small fire coming from under the hood I got scared called my mother and 2 seconds later the whole front of the car was on fire.”

NHTSA complaint #10459548, filed 2012-05, 180,000 miles

“My 2002 Mazda Tribute stalled on me today while drive 40 MPH. I have 14,890 miles and just had Mazda perform my 15000 mile service this past weekend. This is my second incident of this complaint. I filed an earlier complaint from a 09/30/2002 incident with an odi # 767970. At that time Mazda performed service bulletin 01-014/2r.”

NHTSA complaint #10010263, filed 2003-03, 14,889 miles

“I started my car and the 'check engine' light flashed on-and-off. Thinking it would go away, I drove to route 3 in south shore, ma. Once on the highway, the light did not stop flashing, so I pulled over. Thirty seconds after pulling over in a rest area, white smoke appeared from under the hood. 10 seconds later, black smoke came from the hood which was accompanied with a burning smell. Luckily, someone from massdot was in the rest area and we determined that it was a car fire. We proceeded to step back and call 911 from a safe distance. …”

NHTSA complaint #10428792, filed 2011-10, 120,000 miles

“The spark plug in my Mazda Tribute 2002 blew out of the socket causing me to hunt down a valve cover. The mechanic said I didn't tighten it enough which is false I believe there is a equipment defect with the compressing somehow. I purposefully retightinened the remaining two that I could get at and the mechanic said the very next day that they where loose. I used a torque specified wrench to the manuals description is there a problem with that years ford made mazdas. A fire could break out or an explosion.”

NHTSA complaint #10256172, filed 2009-01, 190,000 miles

“I have a 2002 Mazda Tribute and the car stalls for no reason while driving at about 40 m.p.h. Engine just quits and lose power steering. Have to pull over and restart car. This is a very dangerous situation. I have been lucky the 5 times this has happened. Dealer has been unable to fix.”

NHTSA complaint #10010870, filed 2003-03, 1,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Engine cooling: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
200821%
200654%
200521%
20041711%
20032312%
200212432%
200116730%
2000360%

Other parts of the 2002 Mazda Tribute

Brakes
80 complaintsElectrical system
41 complaintsAir bags
37 complaintsVehicle speed control
37 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
35 complaintsBody and structure
26 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
22 complaintsSteering
15 complaintsSuspension
13 complaintsFuel system
7 complaintsOther or unknown
7 complaintsEngine
6 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2002 Mazda Tribute

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