Tailgate is splitting.
2003 Ford Explorer body complaints
Page 7 of 13: complaints 161 to 190 of 354, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Just happen don't no why the bottom frame of the lift gate has two cracks and im afraid that one of these days the glass may fall off the frame and cause an accident, thanks hope we get help with this problem.
My 2003 ford explorer has peeling paint on its hood .this is a wide spread complaint.
While driving down the street, I heard a loud noise that startled me. It was dark and I did not know what the noise was. I examined the car and a vertical crack had appeared in the back lift door panel that is just below the back lift window. Since this incident I have noticed other 2003 ford explores in several different states with the same flaw. The flaw occurs on either side of the ford emblem or right through the middle of it. The flaw seems to occur in other mercury models as well, with the same engineering design. I believe this crack is due to stress and an engineering flaw. I reported it to ford several months ago as I continue to see more and more vehicles with this defect.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that the hinges for the rear liftgate fractured and almost caused the glass to disengage and cause injury. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments); therefore, they would not assume any responsibility. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 130,000.
My wife and I own a 2003 ford explorer. Under the federal safety agency campaign id number 04v442000, the liftgate glass struts brackets and glass hinges were allegedly repaired. One of the glass hinges that was allegedly replaced had failed. The hinge pin for this hinge has been sheared off in a similar manner to the problem with the original hinges covered under the above referenced recall. My ford dealer and ford are entirely unwilling to address this issue under the original recall, stating that they have met their obligation. Since the 'replacement' hinge has failed in the same manner as the original I am left with only two possible explanations. The 'replacement' part is similarly flawed or the part used in the recall was not the replacement part. Regardless of the explanation, a safety issue remains with the glass liftgate on my 2003 ford explorer and it is my belief that this directly relates to the above recall. The liftgate glass has not (yet) fallen, but with a failed hinge such a accident will occur.
On 5-14-09 at about 7:15am I got my children's diaper bag out of the back of my 2003 ford explorer my hatch door was fine. I then went to work and it was a warm day but not hot. At about 6:10pm the same day I went out to get something out of the back and I saw it. There is 2 cracks the upper part of the hatch in to the left of the ford emblem. One starts at the window and goes down the other starts at the bottom and goes up. At that point I contacted the toyota dealership that I purchased the vehicle from and took the vehicle to them to look at. The service guy said he had no idea what could have made this happen. He stated he could tell it had not been hit or anything and that it wasn't a flex point. He told me to contact the local ford dealership. I contacted apple ford (lynchburg va) on 5-15-09 and was instructed they had seen many cases of this but they can't do anything until ford puts out a recall. I then contacted ford motor company and was instructed they will not fix it but to have a dealer look at it. My concern is if the window falls out because of this what is it going to do to my 1 year old and 3 year old in the back seat or the people in the care behind me on the road. I have done nothing to make this happen. It is a default from the company that could potentially cause harm. I have also researched it on the internet and found via google there are lots of people like me. If water gets down through the crack it could very well rust the latching mechanism and make it fail to work properly.
The back rear panel of the hatchback cracked for no apparent reason. It is a manufacturers defect which the company is unwilling to pay for.
I have a 2003 ford explorer it has a crack in the rear panel under window of liftgate I had it replace before for the same problem now ford refuse to fix the crack saying the have no records of this problem.
Horizontal crack in lift gate running from top of piece (bottom of window) to bottom of piece.
The panel below the glass on the rear hatch of my wife's 2003 ford explorer cracked forno apparent reason. The dealer tells me it will cost $800 dollars to repair plus a body shop expense (paint). I've noticed on many forums on the internet that this is a very common problem and ford should address it!
We have owned the subject 2003 ford explorer xlt since it was new. The rear liftgate hinge holding the rear glass failed. I understand that this failure is the subject of the federal safety agency recall #04v442000. Ford informs me that they will not fix this continuing safety defect because they replaced the hinge once before in 2006. I have no record of such a repair, not do I agree that ford's policy of only performing one replacement is valid. Even if they did replace it once, the design is clearly defective and the safety issue still remains. I would expect the federal safety agency to direct ford to properly fix the problem, rather cause me to pay ford for yet another replacement for the ineffective one they previously performed.
Large spontaneous stress crack appeared, bisecting the upper liftgate body panel on my 2003 ford explorer. Ford refers to this part as liftgate glass applique.
The back lift gate (hatch) of my 2003 ford explorer has a vertical crack under the window next to the center ford logo. I noticed on the internet that 1,000s of other people to include in our city are having the exact same issue with explorers and mountaineers. This happened in winter. I see in car stats there are complaints there too.
Rear hatch below window has cracked from top of panel to bottom this may have been due to cold weather but I'm reading about all kinds of these cracks happening in all provinces and states. When is ford going to accept the fact this is a defect and make a recall?
Rear tail gate has a crack in the fiberglass from the window all the way down.
The hood on my vehicle is blistering and bubbling off in many areas.
The back lift gate (hatch) of my 2003 ford explorer has a vertical crack under the window next to the center ford logo. I noticed on the internet that 1,000s of other people are having the exact same issue with explorers and mountaineers.
A crack in the rear hatch near the ford emblem on 2003-2005 ford explorers. Ford has a tsb (technical service bulletin) on this issue so they know it exists and yet they are refusing to do anything about it. The following website is just one of a few out there regarding this matter... Http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/explorer/2003/body_paint/cracked_panel_below_the_rear_window.shtml.
The rear hatch has cracked from the back glass down on both sides of the emblem. I called ford and they stated that they have had a lot of complaints about this same issue but it was not a recall and they would not fix it.
After only 24,000 miles, our 2003 ford explorer has experienced two problems with fiberglass & aluminum body parts. Below the rear window a crack developed in the fiberglass after closing the window during cold weather. After talking to other owners of the same model, I became aware of the fact that body shop owners are informing them that this is a common defect in that model. Since this is a common problem, a recall should be issued and the owner should have their vehicles repaired by ford. My dealer has said ford has not issued any recall on this issue. Why has this not happened? In addition, the aluminum hood is now showing bubbling under the paint, and the paint is beginning to peel off the hood. It is apparent ford has either had some defective paint delivered to their plants, or their is an engineering defect along with a manufacturing defect that has caused these problems. This is ford's responsibility, not the owner, and should be covered under warranty or recall regardless of the problem source. After review by ford's zone manager he concluded ford had no responsibility for this problem. Please refer to the following web sites for others who have had these problems with ford denying its ultimate responsibility for their mistakes: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=489142&page=2 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t489142.html http://www.lemonlawclaims.com/ford_explorer_cracked_paint.htm http://cbs5.com/consumer/ford.peeling.paint.2.755918.html how can ford issue 'service bulletins' on these issues, but fail to correct the problems? It is therefore quite obvious that ford is aware of these problems, but failing to address them satisfactorily. They then leave the dealer with the problem of informing the customer of their decision and taking all the 'heat' for ford motor company.
I own a 2003 ford explorer. Approximately 3 months ago, my wife and I noticed that the plastic trim between the rear window and the ford logo was cracked. I have since noticed it on a majority of 2002 - 2004 explorers. I have also found numerous online posts and other websites describing the same issue with other explorer owners and a refusal by ford to remediate the problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact stated that the liftgate hinge broke on the right side and the left side of the glass was wedged inside the roof. If the hatch had not been wedged, the glass would have shattered onto her feet or caused injuries. The dealer stated that the VIN was excluded from the federal safety agency campaign id number 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments), although the failures were identical. The vehicle was repaired at the contact's expense. The failure mileage was 74,555 and current mileage is 74,575. 4/01/09 *nj updated 04/07/09.
The paint has blistered and is actively peeling off of a substantial area of the hood of my 2003 ford explorer. According to lemonlaw.com, ford motor company had issued a service bulletin indicating a major paint defect in many 2000-2005 ford, lincoln, and mercury cars, trucks, and SUV's that use aluminum body parts. The bulletin further states that, "some vehicles may exhibit bubbling or blistering under the paint on aluminum body parts". I am not a lawyer, but I do know that warranty or not, this is a clear breach of all expressed and implied warranties due to the fact that the body parts and/or paint were defective from the start since the bulletin states that ford research admitted that the problem stems from iron contamination within the aluminum body part prior to being painted. I registered my complaints with my local dealer and with ford motor company, asking for full remedy of the situation. The only offer they make is a deal on a new car! I hope that filing this complaint will help the consumer who has been clearly hurt and is experiencing economic loss due directly to ford motor company. I have been trying to get this situation remedied since september 2008, but my complaint continues to be pushed aside. I believe they hope all of the consumers experiencing this problem will go away quietly.
Lift gate frame cracks right in the middle. I was told by cortese ford in rochester that they have seen several ford explorers with this defect and they believe it ha something to do with how the frame is put together.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. The contact noticed that the rear liftgate was cracked on her vehicle. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that it was not defective; therefore, she would have to pay for the repair. The contact disagrees and believes the manufacturer should pay for the repair. The manufacturer stated that there was no defect and will not assist with the repair. The failure mileage was 39,000 and current mileage was 54,300. Updated 03-04-09 *bf the back of the liftgate panel below the window cracked. Updated 03/04/09.
Plastic body panel below rear window on the lift gate has cracked.
Rear tailgate/liftgate door panel cracked in two places vertically while in garage parked.
We had cold weather the last few days (-11 below) and now there is a crack in body, just below the window on the rear hatch. It extends from the bottom of the window to the end of the hatch.
Cracked rear panel below the windshield. I have seen several ford explorers with the same problem as mine. I have also noticed several complaints on line at carcomplaints.com for the same problem. I reported the problem to ford customer relations, but they are not doing anything to fix the problem. This is the second one for my explorer and will not be replaced by me.
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