Consumer received a recall for the rear hatch . The cylinder was defective. Dealer had no parts for the recall.
2002 Ford Explorer body complaints
Page 14 of 17: complaints 371 to 400 of 486, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Consumer received recall 04v442000 concerning rear liftgate glass. Dealer was unable to perform recall repairs because parts were not available. *ak.....
My children and I went to the bowling alley and my son went to the back of the vehicle to get his bowling ball bag and when he went to close the liftgate it shifted to the left and exploded around him. I took vehicle to fritts ford saturday to have it looked at. The service manager told me that ford was not responsible because the glue holding the hinge was still there and that there was damage on the panel and it had broken the glass inside the panel where we could not see it. The damage he "saw" was 2 superficial scrapes on the paint, there was not any dents, creases or bowing of any kind to the panel. Even though I had done my research on this site and knew that there was a problem with the struts, I could tell that this man would not listen to me and I would not get it repaired there. I have since taken my vehicle to raceway ford and am waiting for the advisor to call me back. At raceway they acknowledged there was a recall and seem willing to help me.
When the vehicle was parked rear liftgate window shattered when it was opened. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
The rear liftgate window assembly came completely out of the frame. Vehicle was immobile at the time of the occurrence. Consumer contacted the dealer, who was unable to assist the consumer. Vehicle was 2000 miles over warranty.
We own a ford explorer in my wife's name diana giraldo. On sunday 9/19/2004 she opened the back liftgate and the hinge broke and the top half (glass ) of the liftgate almost came down on her. The SUV was brought back to fullerton ford in somerville nj where it was bought in may of this year. They charged us for repairs and the part also for a loaner car while they were repairing it. It turns out there is a recall on this which I found on your web site. Ford motor company was called and they said the recall letters haven't went out yet so we would have to pay. They only replaced the hinge and not the liftgate struts which was the parts in the recall also. Recall number 04v442000 on your site , ford recall number 04s20
While opening my rear hatch window of a 2002 ford explorer, the driver-side hinge (strut.pco) which lifts the window came off, decompressing hard enough to completely shatter the window above me. I had several cuts to my neck, arms and head but nothing life threatening. I went to ford about this and they admitted that they were aware of such a problem but because I am beyond the 36k factory warranty, they would not do the repairs for me. I asked about the extended warranty which I paid $2000 for and was told that this warranty would not cover any repairs. I had to pay my $500 insurance deductable to cover the repairs at my loss. Since june, I have searched all over the internet and find literally hundreds of complaints which not only had the same outcome, but the same sort of freak accident. Why does ford not value safety? If my 2 year old child were standing next to me as he always does, he might have been killed.
The right side piston assembly on the rear tailgate failed. As I was going to close the tailgate, the whole window shattered on top of me, resulting in glass in my face and the top of my head. I have done some research and seen that there is a "safety campaign" concerning this issue. What does that mean? I have contacted the dealer and have gotten no response.
Drivers side lift arm on rear hatch failed to retract, causing hatch to close with arm extended resulting in damage to left hinge on drivers side rear hatch. Lift arm was defective in that it would not work properly. Required replacement of drivers side lift arm and drivers side hinge. Rear hatch now does not line up properly.
While closing the rear lift gate, the entire glass portion exploded. The consumer discovered that there was a recall and was never notified. (recall#04v442000) the consumer requested reimbursement. Scc pe04045.pco.
While opening the rear door hinges broke. Consumer took vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the hinges and struts needed to be replaced, and replaced them. However, a few months later while closing the rear door the glass broke. No one was injured. Vehicle was taken back to dealer, and the mechanic replaced the window.
On june 4, 2001, I took my vehicle to world ford kendall service (florida registration #mv-06413) for repair (invoice #w71526) of the left rear liftgate cylinder which was detached from its bracket, the mechanic (jose fuentes) tried three times to repair it according to ford motor company's technical service advisory #01t02 and was unable to repair it, the service representative (jose tejedo) even went to one of their stock vehicles, a new 2002 ford explorer to change the lift gate cylinder with mine and it detached after two closings, the service representative also stated that the flip-up glass was bending in the middle during closing and creating a potential for the glass to shatter, he also stated that ford needs to come up with a better way to fix it and that ford needs to recall it. Pe04045_pco re-eval to det to be valid since pe opening_pco
When closing the rear hatch glass window shattered. *ak pe04045.pco
The rear lift gate hinge became loose and the lift gate arm snapped out, I only had this vehicle for six months, I contacted the local dealer the person at the parts dept had exactly the same issue with exactly the same vehicle except his was under warranty my has 54k, he recommended contact their body shop which it was very familiar with the issue they checked any recalls regarding this issue their computer reported a somehow familiar issue with the 2002 ford explorer, they also mention that as of 2004 they had redesigned the location of the lift gate arm placement. They suggested new parts from ford for $21.77 + labor. I'm looking this as an issue that should be recalled since has been a little use to this vehicle and this has been a common problem at the local dealer or doing a little research online. Pe04045.pco.
The hinge broke on the liftgate of the vehicle.*ak pe04045.pco
The rear hatchback hinges failed, causing the window to fall into the vehicle. The dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak pe04045.pco
The hinges on the rear door popped off and shattered the glass. The glass fell onto the toddler standing by the door. The rear door was defective to the point that it could not be closed.
1) I opened the top part of the lift gate, and left it open 2) I heard a loud crash, while nobody was within 15 feet of the vehicle. The window had catashrophic failure, and laid on the ground in pieces. It appears that the weight of the lift gate was too intense for the strength of the glass. 3)it happened yesterday, and has not been repaired yet.
The vehicle was parked under carport. The rear liftgate glass exploded, when the hydraulic cylinders failed as well as the lower half of body of gate. The weather conditions were "normal," and the vehicle was not parked in direct sunlight and had only been driven for a short time that day. Our local ford dealership told us he "had seen this before".*ak pe04045.pco *sc
The rear window gate on our 2002 ford explorer has shattered twice from the simple act of closing the window.1.) my wife on both occasions was loading the back of the vehicle. The glass in the window shatters and spray bits of glass to a 5 -8 ft raidus. 2) this last incident she was in a crowded parking lot. She was closing the window gate when the glass shattered at about the half closed position. The bottom of the window gate fell to the ground, glass hit the cars on both sides our car. Glass hit her in the face and all over her upper body. Luckily she had her sun glasses on, so no glass was thrown into her eyes. It could have been alot worse had my 7 year old son been helping her like he normally does. 3.) ford motor company refuses to aknowledge the problem causing us to incurr over $1500 in repair costs or an insurance claim. The ford dealership we use says that it is a common occurance and they have numerous repairs of this type on 2002 explorers. Parts are readily available but it involves body work so it takes up to a week to get it fixed. *ak pe04045.pco
While the vehicle was parked, the rear hatch window exploded without warning. No injuries reported. Please provide additional information. *jb pe04045.pco
The liftgate bracket cracked and the glass shattered. When this occurred driver was standing against the liftgate, and sustained cuts from the pieces of glass. Recall 01i01000 was issued for this component, but this vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN. *ak pe04045.pco
Rear tailgate had a fracture about 10 inches long and the mold was touched up with paint prior to shipping or selling. It was cracked. Dealer stated that they had a service bulletin on this problem.
I opened the top part of the tailgate on my 2002 ford explorer last night and the right hinge broke and fell on my head. Luckily the glass didn't break and I wasn't injured. This is not the first case of this happening, I have come to find out. One of the other people this happened to (same year and model) was trapped underneath the hatch momentarily. I have documentation from this person of the incident that occured to him. This seems to be either a manufacturer's defect or something and luckily my 3 year old daughter who likes to climb in the back while I'm loadng the truck, wasn't there or it would have hit her in the head. Please tell me what I can do about this other than pay an arm and a leg to get it fixed and hope it doesn't happen again! *ak pe04045.pco
Recall 01l010000, driver's side liftgate bracket snapped, causing the glass to shatter. Dealership would not repair the problem because this vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN. *ak pe04045.pco
While closing the rear window rear glass unexpectedly shattered. No injuries reported. Consumer contacted the dealer for an appointment. *ak pe04045.pco
Rear hatch back window shattered when opened. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak dup of 10079152.pco
Hinge on liftgate glass broke and partially fell off, causing minor bruises finger & head injuries. Pe04045.pco.
Ford 2002 explorer. I had my one year old in a grocery cart, popped open the hatch, opened it and the glass shattered all over the cart with the bottom of the hatch swinging out toward the cart. Thankfully my child was not harmed. I went to ford, they said it was not covered under a recall and that it was not a safety issue. They said they had never seen anything like this and that it was my responsibility to fix. *nm pe04045.pco
I opened only the window portion of my back hatch and noticed that one of the hydraulic arms was no longer attached to the glass so I began lowering it and the glass shattered in my hands. Consequent repairs are going to cost over $700 being as it is out of warranty though just over 2 years old. *ak pe04045.pco
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