2002 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #659299
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS filed February 27, 2008
NHTSA complaint #659299 (ODI reference 10219320) concerns a 2002 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on February 27, 2008. The owner reports the failure occurred on February 25, 2008. The vehicle had 62,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to NN based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension:rear:springs, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD EXPLORER cohort independently describe similar suspension:rear:springs failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2002 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
I FOUND AN ~3" LONG PIECE OF UNKNOWN STEEL IN MY GARAGE. NOTICED THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE WAS ABOUT 2" LOWER THAN LEFT. THE UNKNOWN STEEL WAS PART OF THE TOP OF THE COIL SPRING. ALSO, THE BOTTOM OF THE SPRING WAS BROKEN AND THE SPRING HAD COME TO REST ON THE LOWER SWING ARM. TOTAL OF 3 BREAKS ON THE RIGHT SIDE SPRING. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS PLACED ON A LIFT THE RIGHT SIDE WAS FOUND TO HAVE TWO BREAKS, ALSO NEAR THE OPT OF THE SPRING. CALLED LOCAL DEALER AND WAS TOLD THEY HAVE REPAIRED 'A FEW OF THEM'. REPAIR GARAGE COULD NOT OBTAIN AFTERMARKET SPRINGS, THEY WERE TOLD THEY WERE ON NATIONAL BACKORDER. LOCAL DEALER WAS OUT AND RECEIVED 2 TODAY, WHICH WERE INSTALLED. I HAVE PLACED ~95% OF THE ~62,000 MILES AND VEHICLE WAS NOT ABUSED IN ANY FORM. OLD PARTS AND PICTURES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. *TR
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 659299 |
| ODI Number | 10219320 |
| Date Filed | February 27, 2008 |
| Failure Date | February 25, 2008 |
| VIN | 1FMZU72E02U |
Similar SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS Complaints for 2002 FORD EXPLORER
DURING A SERVICE THE REAR SPRING WAS FOIND TO BE BROKEN IN TWO PLACES. THE FIRST TWO COILS OF THE RIGH REAR COIL SPRING WERE BROKEN. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG INDICATOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE SEAT BELT LATCH SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK AND THEY ARE CHARGING HI
FAILURE OF BOTH REAR SPRINGS ON 2002 FORD EXPLORER. 95,000 MILES, NORMAL DUTY (NEVER OVERLOADED). SPRINGS LITERALLY BREAKING APART STARTING AT TOP. SUSPECT DESIGN OR MATERIAL FLAW. INTERNET SEARCH
BROKEN REAR COIL SPRINGS ON MY 2002 FORD EXPLORER. NOTICED WHEN CHANGING THE BRAKES. *TR
BOTH REAR COIL SPRINGS BROKEN. VEHICLE DROVE NORMALLY TO DEALER FOR WHEEL BEARING REPLACEMENT. HOWEVER, MECH. FOUND BOTH COIL SPRINGS BROKEN WHILE REPLACING LEFT WHEEL BEARING. *TR
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.