2003 ford explorer xlt vertical crack in fiberglass tailgate panel just below rear window glass (no impact to tailgate occurred - called dealership and they noted this is a common problem).
2003 Ford Explorer body complaints
Page 10 of 13: complaints 251 to 280 of 354, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The rear tailgate on my ford explorer has a vertical crack that runs through the ford medallion on the back. My neighbor had the same problem with his explorer and replaced it. When I looked on a google search, I find this is a common problem with explorers. Not replaced, the piece will fall off and possibly create a road hazard.
Paint bubbling up on front of hood on 2003 ford explorer.
We purchased a certified used 2003 ford explorer eddie bauer 4x4 in june 2006. One morning in mid-feb 2007, we discovered a crack in the lifegate glass applique that started from the top down, approximately 8" left from the center of the gate. There was no evidence of impact to the plastic, but rather a stress crack. Since that time, the crack has grown wider and all the way through the plastic applique. Now, another crack has started on the right hand side approximate 6" from the center of the liftgate. We contacted the local dealership in mid-feb 2007 and they stated we would have to pay for the cracked liftgate and it would cost approximately $800. We continue to observe other ford explorer's in the local area with similar cracks in their liftgate plastic applique.
The rear window on the liftgate of my 2003 ford explorer imploded as I was waiting at a traffic light. The window did not just crack...it shattered into pieces. My car was not hit by another car or by an object. An initial problem arose before this event. A crack formed on the molding just below the window where the ford symbol is located. This is an issue I have read about from other people with explorers. I have read other cases of the liftgate window shattering but more often during opening or closing of the window. In this case, I was completely stopped at a traffic light when this happened.
2003 ford explorer "eddie bauer" ~49,000 miles. Vehicle was parked and shows no evidence of impact. Weather conditions were near standard. Plastic panel below rear window split in two and has ~1/16" gap. Split is vertical and very near center of panel. It passes under center of "ford" oval symbol. Not sure if there is danger of rear window or broken panel pieces falling off vehicle. No repair has been undertaken, still attempting to get manufacturer to repair apparent defect.
Panel below rear window cracked while vehicle was parked. I'm concerned of a safety hazard after reading on internet that the panel can fall off after this crack. It has not been fixed yet because ford claims it is not covered under its extended premium warranty.
Paint problems paint keeps on blistering and peeling all over the vehicle.
I own a 2003 ford explorer. Six months ago I notice a split on the back of my vehicle near the rear window. The split was on the body of the vehicle. At first I thought someone damaged my vehicle. Then I noticed when it gets really hot the split closes up and disappears. I called ford to see if there was a recall they said no. I tried to explain to them that there ought to be. I took a survey. There were at least 1 out of every 5 ford explorers had the same issue. I contacted the dealership and they said that it was caused by stress on the vehicle(what ever that means) I think ford needs to repair this problem because it can become "unsightly"
The plastic trim panel on the rear hatch of my ford explorer xls cracked from top to bottom, with no provocation. I understand this is a common problem. My local dealer service rep said they had repaired "dozens of them", after he told me ford would not stand behind this obvious defect. The crack expands and contracts noticeably with temperature changes, and I believe the composite is not properly formulated resulting in instability of the material during temperature changes. Clearly, this is a manufacturing defect for which ford should provide a remedy. My explorer still looks great, and this is the only blemish. At the quoted cost of over $700 to replace the entire hatch assembly (the only option offered), I will live with the annoying crack and tell everyone I see about ford's unwillingness to help.
2003 ford explorer. Liftgate panel cracked from right under glass all the way to bottom of panel right thru the middle of ford emblem. Appears to be common problem with this model. From all I read ford will not fix problem even though it is their fault.
I have a 2003 ford explorer. I have, or it looks to be several stress cracks below the back glass of the hatch. They range anywhere from an inch to seven or eight inches. I took this to the ford house in haltom city, they said there was nothing that could be done but to check with other owners to see if this is happening to their explorer. I have since noticed literally at least 75 explorers with the same thing. The ones I have spoke with have the same problem. Ford does not want to replace this cost. I think after 2003, ford changed the way they made the back hatch and it doesn't have the same seven or eight inch molding under the glass. I am afraid that if I open the glass section on mine or close it, it will break the glass or the glass will come out. What can we do about this?
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact noticed a seven-inch crack in the plastic molding of the hatchback door hinge. Recall # 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) was found. The dealer stated that his VIN was excluded from the recall, however the contact feels that it should be included. The current mileage is 46,000 and failure mileage was 34,000.
2003 ford explorer has structure: body: hatchback 6" vertical crack in plastic below hatchback window. Recall 04v442000 does not apply to my VIN number however is same problem. Spent 40 minutes on phone with ford and they stated that I must complete a complaint form.
I have 2003 ford explorer xlt. One morning in mid-march of this year, I observed a crack in the platic panel under the window on the tailgate. My wife and I knew we had not had any type of impact in that area that would have caused the panel to crack. I took the vehicle into the ford dealership and spoke with a service technician about it. Since the vehicle was just over 3 years old and have just over 30k miles on it, the cracked panel was not covered under warranty. However, the technician told me that he had seen a number of these problems and it was caused by the way the panel was attached. I had the crack repaired - cost over $400. I sent a letter to the ford customer response center in detroit with pictures and copies of the repair invoice asking them to reimburse me for the repair cost. After 30 days, I had not heard from them. So I sent copies of the letter by certified mail to the ford dealership, the customer response center and to the ceo of ford. The dealership called me and said this was a ford problem, not a dealership problem, so the dealership was not going to take any action. I finally received a call from the ford customer response center, and they wanted to know if I would accept a 50% reimbursement for the repair. I agreed only to find out the next day from the ford dealership that information about this problem could be found all over the internet. I am very upset that the ford motor company could be so unethical to negotiate a settlement that is clearly evident a design flaw. I believe they should should be required to reimburse any owner of a 2003 ford explorer who has this cracked panel repaired. I also think a class action suit should be brought against ford seeking compensatory and punitive damages for failing to reimburse for the repair and acting unethically by trying to place some of the blame on the owners by trying to negotiate the reimbursement amount for a flaw that is clearly their own fault.
Without impact, '03 ford explorer liftgate panel cracked from glass, around ford emblem, to bottom of panel. Very common problem. No cooperation from ford.
Cracking in the liftgate panel. The panel below the glass on my explorer has cracked down the middle.
2003 ford explorer. Consumer states that the vehicle bottom rear liftgate is cracked. Consumer believes concern is related to recall on the hinges for the liftgate. The consumer believed the cracks on the liftgate were due to weakness. Updated 07/08/07.
Rear liftgate had a crack just below the glass on the 2003 explorer. I am concerned that the glass will become loose and fall out and hurt someone. This same problem happened on my 2002, ford explorer. I have seen several explorers with this same crack. Ford should replace the liftgate with a better designed one.
The rear tailgate on the 2003 ford explorer cracked when I closed it after taking an item out of the back of the car. I had seen many other vehicles of the same make and year with this problem but did not know what may have caused the problem until it happened to me. I did not abuse the tailgate ,and I did not use any extra effort to close it than I normally would. I called my local ford dealer , and they told me to bring it and they would fix it at no charge. When I called later on the day I dropped it off. They informed me they had performed the recall work on the hinge and ball pivot, but they could not repair the tailgate because the vehicle was out of warranty. I contacted ford and they told me they were aware of the problem with the tailgate situation on this vehicle but it had not been posted as a recall item.
Plastic under (attached to) rear liftgate window cracked. Crack runs top to bottom, around the ford emblem. Entire liftgate needs replacing. Ford says I have to pay for it. I have seen several explorer on the highway with the same defect. Don't really know if this would be a safety issue, but I'm sure the integrity of the structure would be compromised in a rollover.
Following the actions taken by the ford dealership to correct the fault with the rear door/liftgate recall, a large crack developed on the liftgate from the bottom of the glass to the bottom of the liftgate. I have noticed this same crack on several other explorers. I have been told that this is not something that ford recognizes as an item for "recall." I am unsure of the integrity of the structure of the rear door/liftgate.
Crack in body of tailgate with no cause; crack started at the bottom of the back window and ran to the bottom of the panel.
There appeared without warning a big crack in the rear liftgate of the 2003 ford explorer. The crack goes from the bottom of the glass all the way to the bottom of the liftgate. The crack expands and shrinks according to the temperature. So far it got as wide as 1/4 inch. . The crack is in the shape of a peace sign.*ak nothing hit the vehicle; it's stored in a garage everyday. I went to mallouf ford dealership in north brunswick nj and they said I'd have to pay $800 to fix it. There was another person in the dealership at the same time with the same problem. I went online and found a slew of other ford explorer owners with the same problem. My concern is the glass of the rear lift gate not being properly supported and will eventually become loose, crack or fall out. Let's not wait for something horrific to happen before this growing problem is fixed.
2003 ford explorer. The back door panel that has the ford emblem on it is cracked in half from the top to the bottom next to the emblem. I see many of them like this. Ford wants me to pay for this defect. It's their defect.*ak updated 09/16/08.
Tl*- the contact stated that while driving the 2003 ford explorer with 43000 failure mileage) a crack on the rear of the vehicle made the hatchback fly up while driving. There was recall 04v442000, but this vehicle was not included. The vehicle had not been taken to a dealer about the crack, or the hatch flying up. The current mileage was 44264.
Tl*- the contact stated that there was a crack on the panel on the rear gate underneath the window on the 2003 ford explorer. When opeing s the liftgate it felt shaky and unstable. The contact stated this causes the door ajar warning light to remain illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealership, and they informed her the back panel on the rear liftgate needed to be replaced. The vehicle currently has 120,000 miles.
Crack in back hatch by ford emblem.
Tl* - the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer xls. The contact stated that there was a panel below the rear window that cracked in half vertically. The vehicle was parked in the driveway ,and when he got to the vehicle he found it that way. He had not driven the vehicle that day. The contact was concerned that there were many complaints concerning this problem. Also, the rear window of exploded . The failure and current mileage were 48000.
Cracked panel below glass on 2003 ford explorer, both on mine and my wife's explorer, both bought brand new within a month of each other.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2003 Ford Explorer?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history