Two problems related to air bag on-off switch have been reported for the 2002 Ford Escape. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Ford Escape based on all problems reported for the 2002 Escape.
My wife's 02 Ford Escape (with less than 50k miles) just had one of the gas tank straps break due to corrosion. Major fire/safety hazard if the gas tank hits the ground. Very similar issue known with f150. The dealer is charging us $1k to fix!!! this same car is also in the shop every other month for a faulty airbag switch/relay that we've spent hundreds of dollars to fix. The Ford motor company makes me sick! why is it so hard for these guys to do the right thing? it blows my mind.
In April 2005 my airbag light came on. Took it to Ford autoland and was told I needed to pay to have some switch or module replaced cost over 400. 00 dollars. Had the repairs completed and now 18 months later same problem and I am told I have to pay another $400 to fix same problem.