The Used Car Index

2002 Champion Defender problems

No complaints are listed for the 2002 Champion Defender. NHTSA's API and bulk file list none in this build.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as CHAMPION DEFENDER.

At a glance

Complaints
0
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
1,552
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
1

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Model-generated complaint tags: No complaints are listed for tagging.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

2 recalls.

04V521000

Date: 2004-11-02. Systems: EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY.

Defect: ON CERTAIN BUSES EQUIPPED WITH SURE-LOK WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT SYSTEMS, THE SPROCKET TEETH OF THE RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY IS OUT OF ALIGNMENT.

Consequence: IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, THE WHEELCHAIR MAY NOT BE ADEQUATELY SECURED POSSIBLY RESULTING IN INJURIES TO A WHEELCHAIR OCCUPANT.

Remedy: SURE-LOK IS CONDUCTING THE OWNER NOTIFICATION AND REMEDY FOR THIS CAMPAIGN. DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT RETRACTORS AS NECESSARY. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT SURE-LOCK AT 1-908-231-1804 OR CHAMPION AT 810-724-6474.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

04V519000

Date: 2004-10-28. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Defect: ON CERTAIN TRANSIT BUSES, A LIGHT GAUGE STEEL WAS USED FOR THE FLOOR FRAME CROSSMEMBER LOCATED IN THE FLOOR SUB-FRAME.

Consequence: DRIVING THE BUS ON SOME ROAD CONDITIONS COULD CAUSE THE SUB-FLOOR CROSSMEMBER FRAME TO CRACK. THIS CONDITION CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: OWNERS WILL INSPECT FOR CRACKS AND IF CRACKS ARE PRESENT OWNERS ARE TO CONTACT CHAMPION FOR REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS. THE RECALL BEGAN NOVEMBER 16, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT CHAMPION AT 1-800-788-1976.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

1 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
SEATS1

10153609

Date: 2018-12-28. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SEATS.

The mounting bolt to install the Freedman driver?s seat to the Ford OEM seat track may not have been sufficiently tightened during installation.

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.
  • NHTSA's complaints API and bulk file list no complaint for this make, model and model year in this data build.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
DEFENDER0

Same model, other years

All model years | All Champion models

Other Champion models, 2002

Sources

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