2002 Ford Escape Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 79 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2002 Ford Escape, 8% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 58,393 miles. The words owners use most often: “air bag” (44% of reports).
- 79air bags complaints
- 58,393median miles at failure
- 24mention a crash
- 14mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- $660typical repair cost reported by owners
- 21%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Air bag: mentioned in 35 of 79 complaints (44%)
- Airbags deploy: mentioned in 7 of 79 complaints (9%)
- Appeared dashboard remained: mentioned in 5 of 79 complaints (6%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical air bags repair on the 2002 Ford Escape at $660, and half of them between $450 and $700.
Based on 9 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2006–2014), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 54 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 79 complaints, 24 mention a crash, 14 an injury.
Ford Escape air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Escape | 1 | 4% | — |
| 2024 Escape | 6 | 8% | 118,000 |
| 2023 Escape | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2022 Escape | 4 | 2% | 34,000 |
| 2021 Escape | 2 | 1% | 3,000 |
| 2020 Escape | 13 | 1% | 12,700 |
| 2019 Escape | 11 | 2% | 40,500 |
| 2018 Escape | 9 | 0% | 59,381 |
| 2017 Escape | 21 | 1% | 47,634 |
| 2016 Escape | 24 | 2% | 46,617 |
| 2015 Escape | 17 | 2% | 60,500 |
| 2014 Escape | 32 | 2% | 45,000 |
| 2013 Escape | 54 | 2% | 30,705 |
| 2012 Escape | 25 | 4% | 43,492 |
| 2011 Escape | 26 | 2% | 65,000 |
| 2010 Escape | 14 | 1% | 65,000 |
| 2009 Escape | 14 | 1% | 23,435 |
| 2008 Escape | 31 | 2% | 68,119 |
| 2007 Escape | 12 | 5% | 60,000 |
| 2006 Escape | 17 | 4% | 62,816 |
| 2005 Escape | 34 | 2% | 75,000 |
| 2004 Escape | 45 | 9% | 75,704 |
| 2003 Escape | 60 | 11% | 71,349 |
| 2002 Escape | 79 | 8% | 58,393 |
| 2001 Escape | 63 | 6% | 76,500 |
| 2000 Escape | 1 | 20% | 33,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists air bags for the 2002 Ford Escape. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
The passenger side flashes with the Air bag symbol and has the seat belt too. Sometimes the symbol just stays on the dash board.
Gears is hard to shift to the right gear and lights went out early like a drain in electrical and my stearing is becoming hard to turn on streets and out my drive way
On 12/20/2013 i had the lower control arms replaced, and had to pay 1,279.79. In april 2014 you announced a recall for this same item. For some treason you excluded my car. Considering my car required the exact item replaced only 4 months prior, i am requesting to be reimbursed for the cost of that…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2002 Ford Escapes have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 79 owner complaints about air bags for the 2002 Ford Escape (8% of the 1,027 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2002 Ford Escape air bags?
No recall currently lists air bags for this vehicle.
At what mileage do air bags problems start?
The median reported mileage is 58,393 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
How much does it cost to fix air bags problems on the 2002 Ford Escape?
Owners report a typical cost of $660 (half paid between $450 and $700), from 9 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2002 Ford Escape?
The most frequent phrase is “air bag”, in 35 of 79 complaints, followed by “airbags deploy” (7).
Other 2002 Ford Escape problems
See all 2002 Ford Escape problems or air bags problems across all Escape years.