Other suspension problem on the 2002 Ford Ranger
When other suspension problem gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Ford Ranger report other suspension problem at a median of 95,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles, from 17 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 100,000 miles. It is the 8th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 35,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 155,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 119,800 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
12% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35,200 miles | 44,994 miles | 94,000 miles | 123,060 miles | 155,000 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
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,000 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 13 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2008, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 1996 at 160,000 miles.
By volume the 2000 carries the most reports, with 48; the 2002 has 21. 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.
Vehicle has a slight vibration at 65 MPH that increases in severity as speed increases. At 85 MPH it has a very pronounced vibration that must be considered dangerous. Vehicle was returned to dealer four times. The dealer essentially told customer that ford would not warranty a vehicle over the legal speed limit. This was the final answer after several attempts were made to convince the customer of other causes, most of which were essentially ridiculous. (the customer was in the auto repair business for 17 years.) the customer took the technician for a test drive to demonstrate the severe vibration. The technician proposed the possibility of a defective rear drive line. The technician's supervisor then drove the vehicle himself then stated the vehicle definitely had a pronounced vibration, but ford would not warranty the problem. Since the vibration was discovered while passing an obviously intoxicated driver (for safety reasons), the customer definitely considers this a safety hazard. After viewing several other complaints at the NHTSA site, it is all to obvious that this answer/refusal is becoming a very common practice among…
While driving at 35 - 40 MPH right rear end completely separated and fell off the truck. When this occurred driver lost control of the truck, but didn't have an accident. Dealership indicated that a pin inside the rear axle assembly sheared off.*ak please provide details
I purchased a 2002 ranger edge 4x4 , it had 4 miles on it. I have since replaced the airbag sensor, ABS sensor, front end had tobe realigned due to a bad alignment at the factory,the tires in the front had to be replaced at 4500 miles. Now at 38000 miles the 4x4 drivetrain was leaking at the front cover. The breathing tube was throwing oil out onto the engine . I was told by ford company and a ford tech. That this was a e4nginnering problem. It was replaced at my cost of 796.00. The cover was replaced with a part that was used previous to 1995, part number is fof6tz-4033-ba. My complaint is why is this not a recall and can I expect future problems. *jb
Also reported on the 2002 Ford Ranger
Other body or interior problem
Other speed control problem
Other powertrain problem
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure
Other engine problem
Other wheel or tire problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 21 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 suspension problem happen on the 2002 Ford Ranger?
Across 17 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 95,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other suspension problem on the 2002 Ford Ranger?
21 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 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