Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While attempting to open the rear lift gate window, the hinge for the window broke and the glass became disengaged. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed his vehicle was not included in the recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v442000 (structure: body: hatchback/liftgate: hinge and attachments). The vehicle was not serviced for the failure. The failure and current mileages were 100,000.
2003 Ford Explorer body complaints
Page 6 of 13: complaints 131 to 160 of 354, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My 2003 explorer cracked from the back window to the ford emblem. Ford told me its not their problem and there is no recall initiated. I have 3 other friends who also have this problem. This needs to be recalled as it is by no fault of the owner and apparently is a factory defect.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated the rear lift gate hinges fractured and caused the rear windshield glass to fall and shatter from the vehicle. The dealer advised there were no recalls for the vehicle and any repairs would be at the expense of the owner. The vehicle was repaired accordingly. The failure mileage was 110,950 and the current mileage was 113,000.
2003 ford explorer limited edition crack in liftgate below the glass. Ford motor company told me there is no recall on it and to repair it myself.
A little over a year ago I and a friend came out of a grocery store to discover there was a hairline crack in the rear panel of my 2003 ford explorer. I drove right over to a ford dealership to report the incident. I do have an extended warranty for 100,000 miles. It was reported to the warranty company and I was denied repair. I was told I could pay $1,000.00 to have it repaired or put caulking on it to help to seal the crack. I put the caulking on it as I did not have the money to pay to have it fixed. I am retired and on a fixed income. Over the course of time the crack widened causing the panel and window to shift to the left. On monday 4/12/10 I opened the hatchback window to place a few items inside and the window came crashing down on my head almost driving me into the ground. The hinges broke and had a friend not been there with me I could not have lifted that window. He and I worked for 45 minutes to get it placed back to where it was not hanging and had to put bungy cords on to hold it in place. I have had a headache for 3 days now. I drove right over to a ford dealership to report the incident. The service manager took my information and contacted the warranty company who got back to him and stated they would replace the hinges. I told him this is unacceptable!! This crack has widened over the last year and the hatchback has shifted to the left. Replacing the hinges is a temporary fix. Like putting a bandaid on a compound fracture! I think the entire hatchback has weakened and if the big door falls on me I could be killed. At this point I am unable to utilize the hatchback at all and must climb over the back seat to retrieve anything behind it.
The upper panel on the back lift gate, cracked for no apparent reason. It has 2 cracks starting from one single one. It happened during the winter, so water must be able to get in under the seal and freeze and crack the panel. I have seen other explorers with this same condition. There has to be some kind of defect in the panel itself to allow this to happen.
Rear applique "rear liftgate panel" below the rear window cracked in half. No impact involved.
Water runs down front passenger seatbelt apperatus, inside the car. Water damage seen on interior roof from water leaking inside the roof of the truck.
The trunk, on the half part keep on creaking I replace it once out of packet cost because for d doesn't want to pay for the repair.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While the contact was closing the rear lift gate the hinge broke without warning. Prior to the recent failure the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the federal safety agency campaign id #04v442000 (structure: body: hatchback/lift gate: hinge and attachments) repair was performed on the vehicle. The repair was insufficient and failed to address the safety defect. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection where the dealer refused to repair the vehicle free of charge. The current and failure mileages were 70,000.
I own a 2003 ford explorer and was closing the window of the back hatch when the rear lift gate hinge failed and broke and the window became dislodged and hit me in the head. My son was standing next to me and thankfully the window didn't fall out completely and land on him! I have contacted ford and they said that although there was a recall for this very same problem, your agency did not identify my vehicle as being affected and they will not repair it at their cost. Again, they said it was because your agency did not identify my vehicle as being affected by this defect. At the present time, the window is hanging by the struts and the left hinge. Further, I have gone online and seen that many other people have had this very same problem and it was not covered by ford's recall. This is a major safety issue as that window could have fallen out and landed on my son! Thankfully, I was not seriously injured. I can't believe that this has not been recalled more extensively. I think it is reasonable to expect that a window or a door is not going to fall off a hinge and potentially cause a serious injury. Safety is a reasonable expectation!
The rear lift gate cracked down the center. Every ford explorer lift gate I see has a crack down the center. This has to be a defect in the gate. There are just too many people with the same problems.
I have a 2003 ford explorer xlt with the crack in the back panel next to the emblem. I came out to my car and it was cracked all the way from the window seal to the bottom of the hatch. I called the 800 number that ford gave me to call and they told me there is no recall and the part. There are several thousand people with this same complaint. The local body shop told me that the problem is in fords design of the panel. They have zero reinforcement next to the emblem to close the door which is right in the middle of the door, where normal people push to close it. This manufacturing defect in the explorers from 02-03 is very well known and quite possible over time could cause a weakening in the rear window of the vehicle and eventually lose it's support and fall.
I own a 2003 ford explorer. The back hatch below the window is cracked. I've seen many with the same defect in parking lots. One woman I spoke with said hers flew off into the windshield of a minivan & caused an accident. I e-mailed ford motor co. They will not issue a recall. This is a safety hazard and with so many vehicles so easily found in parking lots with the same defect is concerning me. I can't afford to have this fixed right now what do you suggest?
Tl-*the 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that the paint portion on the liftgate has cracked in several places just under the glass. The contact feels this can be a potential safety hazard because there have been other vehicles whose rear glass has broken. The failure mileage was 75000 and the current mileage was 80000.
2003 ford explorer xlt - overdrive light starting flashing and now the transmission slips when shifting from 1st to second gear. Engine revs to 3200 rpms and makes a loud noise before feathering the gas to get the transmission to shift into 2nd gear. Vertical crack in fiberglass tailgate panel just below rear window glass. No impact to tailgate occurred-crack just appeared.
2003 ford explorer , 70,000 miles rear lift gate cracked in middle splitting off in "y" shape there was no impact done to make this happen. Heard loud pop told that ford will not do anything & I will have to pay out of pocket.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. While the contact was examining the vehicle she noticed that there was a large crack on the panel under the rear window. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 115,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. She stated while utilizing the rear liftgate to remove items from the trunk compartment, the rear liftgate fell causing the glass to shatter. The contact was not injured. The manufacturer was contacted and although the exact same failure of her vehicle is related to the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v442000- structure, structure body, hatchback/liftgate, hinge and attachments as a result of the federal safety agency action number pe04045, her VIN was not included. No repairs were made to date. The failure and current mileages were unknown.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that there was a crack in the lift gate which includes a plastic part just below the window. The ford manufacturer informed the contact that there were no recalls and he should call the federal safety agency. The failure mileage was 116,000. Updated 2/26/10 *cn updated 07/09/10.
The plastic applique below the rear window of 2003 ford explorer cracked in cold weather. The vehicle was not in motion. It cracked when the rear defroster circuit was activated. Internet research indicates this is a widespread problem, possibly affecting 10-20% of vehicles manufactured. It is clearly a design problem. Ford, in it's infinite wisdom, glued the largish plastic trim piece directly to the rear glass. In cold weather, when the driver activates the rear defroster, the glass expands and the plastic trim piece, still exposed to the cold does not. This unequal thermal expansion results in the plastic applique piece cracking. This is a problem that should have been easily foreseen by design engineers. In talking with local ford body repair shops, the staff admitted that the issue is widespread. The repair costs about $500.
My 2003 ford explorer developed a crack in the rear applique from the bottom of the glass to the liftgate. After contacting my dealer, I was told to email ford, as this was a common complaint. After doing so, ford told me that although that are thousands of other complaints about this obvious defect in the vehicle, there are no recalls for this problem. Most of the people have paid out of pocket for the repairs. This is not possible for me. I am not in a position to do so. If the crack gets worse, I will have to put in a claim to our insurance company. Upon going online and googling ford defects, there are thousands of complaints about this ongoing problem with the ford vehicles. Please let me know, how to get a recall on this.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that the rear lift gate/applique split down the middle which caused water to enter the vehicle, also known as a cracking fracture of the panel. Recall number 04v442000, structure, body, hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments is related to the failure; however, the VIN was not included. The contact expects the manufacturer to be responsible for the repairs since there is an existing recall. The failure mileage was 104,000. Updated 01/12/10 *bf updated 01/15/10.
Liftgate glass applique damaged/cracked - service procedure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The rear window panel has fractured. The dealer was contacted, and he was advised that the ford manufacturer did not recognize this failure as a defect. No assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 28,700.
I own a 2003 ford explorer. I just noticed a crack in the panel underneath the rear window of my explorer. I have no idea what caused it. I noticed other explorers with the same exact problem. Ford needs to fix this. Didn't they get bail out money from uncle sam?!
Our 2003 ford explorer has what appears to be a stress crack on the plate below the rear hatch window, next to the ford emblem. I've seen dozens of explorers since this happened with the same issue, and thousands of complaints online regarding this defect, yet I am told that ford will not pay to repair their defective part, as there is no recall on it.
I just noticed a crack in the panel underneath the rear window of my 2003 ford explorer. I searched online to see if there is a recall & there is not. I came upon a website, www.carcomplaints.com & noticed several complaints as mine in the same make & model & around same mileage. I contacted ford to let them know my problem, referenced the site I found & how to initiate a recall or financially responsibility. I am the main driver & I can barely close the heavy trunk so I am sure I did not do cause the crack & it is a defect. I have tried to use the trunk as little as possible so I don't know if this would be concerned a safety issue. I have not done any repairs since I wanted to see if ford would take responsibility. Our car warranty will only cover the repair if it is a defect since the crack was not caused during an accident or excessive use. I thought I would try your site to file the complaint to see if I can get a resolution.
I owned a 2003 ford explorer. I was getting ready to go on a trip when I noticed that a vertical crack had formed in the middle upper liftgate panel below the window. I have no idea what cause. However, it appears to the same defect that others are describing in this same model. At the time it was about 90,000 miles on the odometer. Ford needs to make a recall on this issue.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. She stated that when she purchased her vehicle the hinge on the back of the window was broken. The dealer told her that there was a recall and that it could be repaired. The dealer later advised her that her VIN was not a part of the recall. Last year the dealer stated that they would not repair the broken hinge. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and current mileage was 129000.
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