How many miles will a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac last?
NHTSA holds 26 owner complaints on the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac that list a mileage past 100,000 miles: 8 past 150,000 and none past 200,000. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 144 complaints on this model year, 106 of them with a mileage, and half of those mileages are at or under 46,208 miles; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 106 complaints on the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac that list mileage, the middle half came between 20,000 and 100,000 miles; 26 (25%) came after 100,000 miles, 8 (8%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2002 Explorer Sport Trac last?
The 106 mileages owners gave run from 18 to 187,675 miles. A quarter are at or under 20,000 miles, half at or under 46,208, three quarters at or under 100,000 and nine in ten at or under 147,000; 26 (25%) came after 100,000 miles, 8 (8%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2002 Explorer Sport Trac wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 80 of the 106 came at or under 100,000 miles. The 26 past that mark show the 2002 Explorer Sport Trac still being driven at those mileages, not how many reach them: NHTSA's file counts complaints, not the vehicles on the road.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 18 miles |
| 25th percentile | 20,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 46,208 miles |
| 75th percentile | 100,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 147,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 187,675 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 26 (25%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 8 (8%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 548 NHTSA owner complaints on the Ford Explorer Sport Trac that list mileage came after 56,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Ford Explorer Sport Trac last? →
Common problems with the 2002 Explorer Sport Trac
NHTSA's file holds 144 owner complaints on the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Owners named the powertrain most often: 32 complaints, and half of the 27 that list a mileage came after 71,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 32 | 27 | 72,000 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 23 | 17 | 16,573 |
| Electrical System | 21 | 14 | 46,208 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 19 | 13 | 99,522 |
| Structure | 16 | 13 | 52,120 |
Of the 144 complaints, 7 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 5 report an injury (9 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 Explorer Sport Trac a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad Explorer Sport Trac: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 144 complaints, the 2002 ranks 2nd of the 8 Ford Explorer Sport Trac model years from 2001 to 2010 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2001 (167). The fewest: the 2008 (23).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Explorer Sport Trac | 167 | 115 | 71,760 |
| 2002 (this page) | 144 | 106 | 46,208 |
| 2003 Explorer Sport Trac | 78 | 52 | 58,000 |
| 2004 Explorer Sport Trac | 86 | 66 | 42,535 |
| 2005 Explorer Sport Trac | 66 | 51 | 68,000 |
| 2007 Explorer Sport Trac | 100 | 92 | 38,550 |
| 2008 Explorer Sport Trac | 23 | 22 | 62,000 |
| 2010 Explorer Sport Trac | 31 | 23 | 30,000 |
2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac (2 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2002 Explorer Sport Trac lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2002 Explorer Sport Trac.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 38 of the 144 complaints on the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: EXPLORER SPORT TRAC. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: EXPLORER SPORT TRAC.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac questions
How many miles will a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac last?
NHTSA holds 26 owner complaints on the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac that list a mileage past 100,000 miles: 8 past 150,000 and none past 200,000. Of the 106 complaints on the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac that list mileage, the middle half came between 20,000 and 100,000 miles; 26 (25%) came after 100,000 miles, 8 (8%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2002 Explorer Sport Trac that never had one.
What are the most common 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac problems?
NHTSA's file holds 144 owner complaints on the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Owners named the powertrain most often: 32 complaints, and half of the 27 that list a mileage came after 71,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 144 complaints, 7 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 5 report an injury (9 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad Explorer Sport Trac: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 144 complaints, the 2002 ranks 2nd of the 8 Ford Explorer Sport Trac model years from 2001 to 2010 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2001 (167). The fewest: the 2008 (23).
How many recalls does the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac (2 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac.