Every record we hold for this vehicle, as plain tables, with nothing added. The consumer page shows the same records with the maintenance schedule, price ranges and nearby shops around them.
vehicle
2002 / ford / thunderbird
known issues
6 clusters (reviewed 2026-09-20)
complaints
93 on file (2002-08-08 → 2023-09-05)
recalls
0
investigations
0
fars
14 occupant deaths, crash years 2010-2024 (legacy-code)
10884413 THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS FOR SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER, TEMP AND FUEL GAUGES FAIL TO TURN ON WITH HEADLIGHTS. THE DIMMER SWITCH IS FUNCTIONAL SINCE OTHER LIGHTS FOR ODOMETER, RADIO, A/C FUNCTION CORRECTLY. FUSES CHECK OUT. CANNOT VIEW SPEED WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT
10822589 TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED TO ILLUMINATE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING
11244929 THE CLUSTER LIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT ON MY 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD. WHEN THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED I REALLY DON'T KNOW SINCE THE CAR IS MAINLY A SHOW CAR AND WHILE DRIVING THE CAR AT DUSK COMING BACK FROM A CAR SHOW THE CLUSTER LIGHTS DID NOT COME ON
Seat belt webbing and buckle defectSEAT BELTS3 complaints2003-01 → 2009-01thunderbird-2002-seat-belt-webbing-buckle
10254226 TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD. IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE, HE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT WEBBING WAS CUT. THE VEHICLE WAS RELATED TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 02V169000 (SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING)
10012481 THE DRIVER SEAT BELT FAILED TO RELEASE. *JB
10003667 AFTER THE FRONT PASSENGER SEATBELT HAD BEEN FASTENED, IT WOULD ALLOW ANY MOVEMENT. *JB
Ignition coil failure with engine misfire and stallENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING44 complaints2003-04 → 2017-12thunderbird-2002-ignition-coil-misfire-stall
10014291 TWICE MY 2002 THUNDERBIRD'S ENGINE HAS STOPPED WHILE I AM DRIVING IT. BOTH TIMES, IT OCCURRED AS I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN IN FRONT OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC IN A 55 MPH ZONE. WHEN IT QUIT, I WAS UNABLE TO STEER OR CONTROL THE VEHICLE IN ANY WAY
10406163 TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THE IGNITION COIL WAS FAILING. THIS FAILURE CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO MIS-FIRE AND SPORADICALLY, THE VEHICLE WOULD ABNORMALLY ACCELERATE
10594453 DRIVING 45 TO 50 MPH, ENGINE STARTS CUTTING OUT, RUNNING ROUGH. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STARTS FLASHING WHICH REQUIRED THE COIL PACK TO BE REPLACED BY FORD
Airbag warning light and clockspring failureAIR BAGS12 complaints2002-09 → 2019-02thunderbird-2002-airbag-light-clockspring
8019718 VEHICLE DRIFTED OFF THE ROAD AND HIT AN OBJECT AND NEITHER AIR BAG DEPLOYED. DRIVER DIED FROM CHEST INJURIES. *MR *JB
10416705 TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVERS SIDE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT HAD BEEN ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENATL PANEL FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO MONTHS
11097139 AIR BAG NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AND FORD HAS NO REPAIR PARTS AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. *JS
Vehicle speed control surge and brake non-responseVEHICLE SPEED CONTROL7 complaints2005-02 → 2015-09thunderbird-2002-speed-control-surge
10128841 THIS COMPLAINT IS REGUARDING A 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD. I AM THE ORIGIANL OWNER, AND HAVE HAD THE CAR IN A FORD REPAIR SHOP 4 TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. THE ENGINE THROTTLE STICKS, USUALLY WHEN THE THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED
10329148 TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD. WHILE TRAVELING AT SPEEDS OF 35 MPH, THE CONTACT APPLIED THE BRAKES BUT THE BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE. THE CONTACT PROCEEDED TO CRASH INTO THE REAR OF ANOTHER VEHICLE
10108837 WHEN THE CONSUMER ATTEMPTED TO APPLY THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE SURGED FORWARD ABOUT TWO CAR LENGTHS. THE CONSUMER STATED THE BACK TIRES SPIN AND THERE WAS A SMELL OF RUBBER. *JB
10461858 VEHICLE STALLS AND WONT RESTART UNLESS YOU PUT IN A NEW 15 AMP FUSE FOR THE FUEL PUMP CIRCUIT. FUEL PUMP IS FAILING. THIS IS A KNOWN PRODUCT PROBLEM ON THE FORUMS AND FORD HAS NOT ANNOUNCED A RECALL
10404034 TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD THUNDERBIRD. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE FUEL PUMP CAUSED THE FAILURE TO OCCUR
10818532 WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH ON STATE ROUTE 179 MY VEHICLE STARTED RUNNING ROUGH THAN STALLED COMPLETELY MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO STEER AND STOP THE VEHICLE. I HAD IT TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP WHERE THEY REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP
FARS counts every occupant death in a fatal crash, whatever the cause — it does not mean the vehicle was at fault or defective. Counts are not adjusted for how many of each vehicle are on the road.
Cite this
Derived data is CC BY 4.0. Link back to the page you used. Text and BibTeX below.
Wrench.Pro (2026). 2002 Ford Thunderbird vehicle data [dataset]. https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/2002/ford/thunderbird
@misc{wrenchpro_2002_ford_thunderbird_2026,
author = {Wrench.Pro},
title = {Wrench.Pro vehicle data: 2002 Ford Thunderbird},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/2002/ford/thunderbird}},
note = {Derived from NHTSA public records. CC BY 4.0.}
}
