How many miles will a 2002 Mazda Tribute last?
Half of the 210 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2002 Mazda Tribute that list mileage came after 68,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 156,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 384 complaints on this model year; 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 210 complaints on the 2002 Mazda Tribute that list mileage, the middle half came between 30,000 and 112,000 miles; 61 (29%) came after 100,000 miles, 24 (11%) after 150,000 and 7 (3%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2002 Tribute last?
The 210 mileages owners gave run from 1 to 310,912 miles. A quarter are at or under 30,000 miles, half at or under 68,214, three quarters at or under 111,337 and nine in ten at or under 156,840; 61 (29%) came after 100,000 miles, 24 (11%) after 150,000 and 7 (3%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2002 Tribute 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.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1 mile |
| 25th percentile | 30,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 68,214 miles |
| 75th percentile | 111,337 miles |
| 90th percentile | 156,840 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 310,912 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 61 (29%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 24 (11%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 7 (3%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 1,386 NHTSA owner complaints on the Mazda Tribute that list mileage came after 82,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Mazda Tribute last? →
Common problems with the 2002 Tribute
NHTSA's file holds 384 owner complaints on the 2002 Mazda Tribute. Owners named engine cooling most often: 124 complaints, and half of the 41 that list a mileage came after 23,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 124 | 41 | 24,000 |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 60 | 42 | 60,000 |
| Electrical System | 41 | 20 | 50,000 |
| Air Bags | 37 | 26 | 74,000 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 37 | 19 | 73,000 |
Of the 384 complaints, 19 report a crash, 24 report a fire and 11 report an injury (13 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 Tribute a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad Tribute: 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 384 complaints, the 2002 ranks 2nd of the 10 Mazda Tribute model years from 2001 to 2011 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2001 (563). The fewest: the 2011 (14).
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 Tribute | 563 | 233 | 68,538 |
| 2002 (this page) | 384 | 210 | 68,214 |
| 2003 Tribute | 199 | 150 | 74,351 |
| 2004 Tribute | 157 | 130 | 100,000 |
| 2005 Tribute | 377 | 312 | 101,000 |
| 2006 Tribute | 135 | 111 | 77,000 |
| 2008 Tribute | 202 | 169 | 82,000 |
| 2009 Tribute | 36 | 30 | 85,200 |
| 2010 Tribute | 39 | 30 | 57,000 |
| 2011 Tribute | 14 | 11 | 39,000 |
Every Tribute year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Mazda Tribute years to avoid →
2002 Mazda Tribute recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 9 recall campaigns that name the 2002 Mazda Tribute (7 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.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 15E045000 | Jun 3, 2015 | SUSPENSION:FRONT:WHEEL BEARING |
| 14V174000 | Apr 4, 2014 | STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS |
| 12V357000 | Jul 27, 2012 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CABLES |
| 12V016000 | Jan 20, 2012 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE |
| 07V157000 | Apr 10, 2007 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE |
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 Tribute 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 Tribute.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 174 of the 384 complaints on the 2002 Mazda Tribute give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: TRIBUTE and TRIBUTE HYBRID. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: TRIBUTE and TRIBUTE HYBRID.
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 Mazda Tribute questions
How many miles will a 2002 Mazda Tribute last?
Half of the 210 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2002 Mazda Tribute that list mileage came after 68,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 156,000 miles. Of the 210 complaints on the 2002 Mazda Tribute that list mileage, the middle half came between 30,000 and 112,000 miles; 61 (29%) came after 100,000 miles, 24 (11%) after 150,000 and 7 (3%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2002 Tribute that never had one.
What are the most common 2002 Mazda Tribute problems?
NHTSA's file holds 384 owner complaints on the 2002 Mazda Tribute. Owners named engine cooling most often: 124 complaints, and half of the 41 that list a mileage came after 23,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 384 complaints, 19 report a crash, 24 report a fire and 11 report an injury (13 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 Mazda Tribute a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad Tribute: 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 384 complaints, the 2002 ranks 2nd of the 10 Mazda Tribute model years from 2001 to 2011 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2001 (563). The fewest: the 2011 (14).
How many recalls does the 2002 Mazda Tribute have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 9 recall campaigns that name the 2002 Mazda Tribute (7 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 Mazda Tribute 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 Mazda Tribute.