2002 Ford Explorer Sport visibility problems

Filed Feb 1, 2015 · Body, Visibility · 116,677 miles · NY

This is the second time this has happened. My rear tailgate window exploded. The car had been on for about ten minutes, warming up. I loaded my items into the car through the tailgate window. When I was done, I closed the window. Before it was even closed, the window exploded into thousands of pieces. There was glass all over. The window was recently replaced at the ford dealership.

Filed Dec 2, 2013 · Body, Visibility · 120,000 miles · LA · 1 injury

The ford explorer sport has a rear hatch that includes a glass section that has the ability to be opened to load items into the trunk area of the vehicle. Three separate times the rear windshield has blown out as it has been opened / closed. The rear windshield is made of tempered glass and when it breaks it explodes into the person operating the window. There has not been any injuries besides a few small cuts, but having glass explode into a person is dangerous. After the first failure the glass was simply replaced. The first failure occurred as the rear glass was opened. After the second failure, the car was brought to a ford dealership to fix the issue. The second failure occurred as the glass was closed. The third failure occurred 12/1/2013, it has yet to be fixed. This most recent failure occurred as the glass was closed.

Filed Nov 6, 2013 · Body, Visibility · 89,100 miles · NC

When I open the back glass window, one hinge broke off. I try to set the window, the other hinge broke. I have to tie a rope to keep the glass from falling off. *tr I find on line there is a recall for 2002 - 2003 ford explorer liftgate glass hinge and strut brackets, the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v442000. When I contacted ford dealer and ford company, they say my vehicle VIN is not covered by the recall. If other ford expolorers are covered, why my VIN is not covered? Is it because there are fewer ford explorer sport built, and less people complain about the problem? I think the recall should expand to cover all explorer build in 2002 - 2003.

Filed Sep 15, 2013 · Visibility · 280,433 miles · TN

While unloading items from back I had the half glass open, as I walked away the back glass just slammed down and shattered everywhere.

Filed Oct 11, 2011 · Visibility · 40,000 miles · LA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer sport. The contact stated that the rear window hinge was broken. The contact stated that the failure occurred a total of three times prior to the most recent failure. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the window hinge needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 82,000.

Filed Jun 26, 2011 · Body, Visibility · 88,676 miles · IN · 1 injury

I was opening the rear glass on my 2002 ford explorer sport when the hinge broke and the glass fell on my arm. I was lucky to catch it before it hit the ground. I now have a huge bruise on my arm. I contacted ford the said my truck was not included in the recall because of where it was built.

Filed Feb 15, 2010 · Visibility · 110,000 miles · FL

I was stopped at a red light in my 2002 ford explorer sport in 43 degree weather with no temperature controls being used when my rear windshield shattered into the vehicle. I then pulled over to a safe location and inspected the broken glass. There were no foreign objects in the back of my vehicle indicating malice. After doing some research it seems this is not the first time that a 2000-2004 ford vehicle has had this kind of an issue. Again, the temperature was only 43 degrees, my vehicle was at a complete stop, and no temperature controls were being used.

Filed Nov 2, 2009 · Visibility · 80,000 miles · KY · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer sport. While standing behind the vehicle, the rear window exploded without any prior warnings. She sustained minor to moderate injuries. The vehicle was in the process of being towed to the dealer. The dealer advised her that the failure was caused by a defect. However she has to pay the deductible out of pocket because there was not a recall, and the warranty expired. The failure mileage was 80,000. The vehicle identification number was unavailable.

Filed Oct 28, 2008 · Visibility · 70,000 miles · IA

My husband and I own a 2002 ford explorer sport. Friday, oct. 24th, 2008 we had traveled out of town about 2 hours away from our home. We were on our way home and we were completely stopped at a red light. All of a sudden we heard a huge boom and the rear liftgate glass shattered. We did have the police come out and inspect the vehicle for any indications as to what may have caused the glass to shatter. They did not find anything that would have caused the problem. When my husband and I got home we did some research online to find out if there was a recall on this type of problem. We did find that in 2001 ford recalled thousands of ford explorers for a similar issue. We contacted ford and were told that our vehicle was not part of that recall. They directed us to the federal safety agency to file a complaint due to our issue being almost identical to this recall. We feel that this is a manufacturer defect and that our vehicle should have been included in this recall. We have the vehicle in the shop right now and at this time we believe that the glass, hinges, rear windshield wiper mechanism, struts and any other parts affected are being replaced. We have a $500 deductible and our insurance is covering the balance of the cost at this time, which is over $1000. We would like to file a complaint at this time because we do feel that our vehicle exhibited the same malfunctions as the 2001 recall.

Filed Nov 27, 2007 · Visibility · 50,000 miles · FL

Air conditioning/fan controls knobs & face of cd player on dash gets increasingly hotter as the vehicle runs. The panel with the control knobs is very, very hot to the touch and begins to smell very hot when vehicle is running. I am concerned of a fire as my son is a paraplegic and I have read that the ford explorer has fires. I asked the dealer about this possible electrical problem and they don't seem concerned.