Other powertrain problem on the 2002 Ford F-350 SD
1 crash 1 of the 9 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other powertrain problem gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Ford F-350 SD report other powertrain problem at a median of 40,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 45,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 25,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 75,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 48,399 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
13% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26,268 miles | 38,137 miles | 39,391 miles | 44,918 miles | 74,667 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $400–$4,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 17 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2023, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2000 at 150,000 miles.
By volume the 2020 carries the most reports, with 37; the 2002 has 9. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
2002 ford super duty powerstroke diesels with 4 wheel drive. The 4 wheel drive system on these trucks is called, "electonic shift on the fly" ... There is a dash mounted knob on the dash. The nob has written, "4x2"-4x4 and 4x4 lo". This past snow storm in northern nevada had chains or snow tire restrictions. So, on my way to work I turned the dash knob from 4x2 to "4x4. The 4x4 system light on the dash lit up and the truck went into 4 wheel drive. Shortly after driving and proceeding from a "stop sign" the rear tires started to spin, nothing from the front tires!! The dash light still showed 4x4 mode.. I pulled to the side of the road and turned the knob from 4x4 to 4x2 and then back to 4x4. Again the 4 wheel drive system worked.. Upon climbing up a slight hill the rear tires started sliding causing the back of the truck to "fishtail". Again, without warning the truck left it's 4 wheel drive mode and went back into 2 wheel drive..this is extremly dangerous!!!!the truck unlike a 4x4 system that just does not work or quits working, tells the driver it is in 4x4, but without warning, goes back into 4x2 mode. This defect can cause…
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 40mph, there was a vibration from the rear suspension followed by a noise from the driveline. The vehicle was seen by an independent repair shop. The mechanic replaced the rear universal joint, but the problem persisted. The vehicle was returned to the repair shop for further inspection. The mechanic determined the universal joint needed to be replaced again.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f350 super duty. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to have a safety recall repaired. At that time, the contact was informed that the vehicle needed to have an oil change. Also, the oil pan needed to be changed because it was rusting and pitting. The cost to replace the oil pan on her diesel engine is $2,399.82. The contact stated that the rear universal had to be replaced at 27,770 miles and then had to be replaced a second time, in addition to the carrier bearings at 47,325 miles. The vehicle was under warranty the first time, but the contact paid for the repair the second time. The recall number was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 58,347. Updated 02-04-08. *kb the consumer stated replaced weatherstrip, replaced rear u joint, disc pads replace, and replaced broken console lid. Updated 02/04/08 *tr
Also reported on the 2002 Ford F-350 SD
Other engine problem
Tire blowout or tread separation
Other wheel or tire problem
Other electrical problem
Misfire or rough idle
Engine sensor failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 9 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other powertrain problem happen on the 2002 Ford F-350 SD?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 40,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 45,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other powertrain problem on the 2002 Ford F-350 SD?
9 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed