Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. While attempting to shut the rear glass on the liftgate, the hinges failed and prevented the glass from closing. The hinges were bent back into place in order for the liftgate glass to close, but currently it cannot be used at all. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealer for repair. The contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 90,000 and current mileage was 91,000.
2004 Ford Explorer body complaints
Page 13 of 15: complaints 341 to 370 of 426, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Plastic applique on liftgate cracked while vehicle was parked and liftgate was not being used. This is the second time this has happened since we purchased the vehicle five years ago. The crack continued to spread until now the piece is in two separate pieces. The pieces are loose and could possibly come off while driving which could be a dangerous situation. Ford refuses to fix this even though it is clearly a design flaw in all 2002-2005 explorers. We have seen many explorers on the road and on used car lots with this same defect.
I bought it brand new in 2004 and have taken very good care of this vehicle, but it hasn't returned the favor. I have had multiple transmission problems that ford says that they all do it and won't fix it. My tailgate cracked next to the ford symbol, once again won't fix it. My paint on my hood is peeling off. I only have 50,000 easy miles on it but looking at it and driving it you would think that it had 150,000 on it. I will never buy ford again!
2004 ford explorer right rear liftgate glass hatch hinge has failed. Glass hatch did not fall but is hanging by remaining hinge and is unstable or unsafe. Issue same as the federal safety agency action number: rq08003.
The rear hinges on my 2004 ford explorer are faulty, they cracked and are barely holding my glass window up. For ford, this is not a new issue; the 2003, 2002, and 2007 models have a recall on this issue. Ford will not recall the 2004 models that have the same issue. This is costly and is dangerous. While driving, the hatch could possibly causing the glass to break.
I bought a 2004 ford explorer xls and just started to notice the paint on the roof is beginning to peel off, which is now happening in two locations. I searched online and did see other similar complaints due to a primer defect in these models. As of today no recall has been offered but I feel ford should fix this problem. I complained to ford and they told me that this is not covered under my warranty. I spent a lot of money on this vehicle and plan on using it for at least 4 to 5 more years. I am scared to get a car wash thinking more paint will come off.
I have 2 issues that I would like addressed. 1. I believe that I have an electrical short or something because my radio keeps going out on the drivers side. This has been happening for about a year or so now. Not sure how to go about correcting the issue because I don't know if it is covered under warranty or not. 2. My hatchback has a crack in it and I am wondering if it is on recall to be replaced since I see alot of the same crack on other explorers.
The back glass hinges on 2004 explorer broke causing the glass to come off my vehicle. Luckily I caught it and had my husband come undo all the pieces so nothing else was broken.
2004 ford explorer was parked in my driveway and, after opening the liftgate and attempting to close it, the right hand hinge fractured and landed on my hand. Luckily my husband was right beside me and he was able to lift it and there was no injury to my hand. The left hand hinge was fractured on one side and we had to remove the hydraulic arms to close the liftgate and duct tape it closed. After reading online that the 2002/2003 explorers had been recalled I hoped they would also include the 2004 models. I checked with the dealership and it was not covered. My truck was manufactured in march 2004 and there is a good chance that 2003 parts were used so ford should stand by their product and honor the recall for the 2004 models. This is a major safety issue and I was lucky that this happened in my driveway with my husband beside me and not on the highway where it could have fractured and blown into the traffic behind me. I hope there are other drivers who come forward to report this problem as I know there have to be a lot more of us out there! The dealership replaced the fractured hinges at a cost of $122.
Of the numerous issues with this vehicle, the worst is the transmission (40,000 miles ). Same old story. Started with clunking and hesitation and surging when shifting into reverse and now is 'clunking' into gears 2 and 3 during normal driving. The rear drivers side window motor has been replaced twice. The rear window panel has a vertical crack to the left of the ford symbol that just mysteriously occurred even though we don't even use the window. The truck stalls when the cruise control is applied below 45 miles an hour. My wife and I really loved this truck but like many others we have become embarrassed by our purchase. If this kind of fraud were to occur with any other product we would have some sort of recourse but not surprisingly the motor company's seem to enjoy a certain level of protection. The 'better business bureau' won't even listen to car complaints. Given the severe and ubiquitous nature of the complaints about this vehicle it comes as no surprise that no remediations is forth coming from this organization, the manufacturer or any other. The cost of these vehicles is a burden to say the least and is financially devastating to those of us who purchased them in good faith only to have a 30,000 dollar vehicle become useless and dangerous before reaching 50000 miles. Like all the other 'victims' of fraud, I am wasting yet more of my time by complaining about it.
2004 ford explorer. A crack appeared on the rear tailgate panel directly below the tailgate glass and next to the ford emblem. The dealer, summerville ford, summerville, sc, informed me that although he sees this problem often on this explorer body style, no recall has been issued and ford would not pay for the repair. Obviously, ford is aware of this poor design resulting in body integrity failure, based on the other explorers I have witnessed on our roads with the same damage and the other complaints to the federal safety agency. But ford is refusing to do anything to correct this failure. I notice the new explorers no longer have this poor tailgate design. This is damage caused by ford's poor design and should be acknowledged and repaired by ford.
2004 ford explorer rear lift gate glass hinge snapped and allowed glass to fall. Issue appear to be similar to action # rq08003.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. While the contact was attempting to close the rear glass door, the door completely detached from the hinge, which connected it to the vehicle. The failure occurred without prior warning. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 60,000. Updated 10/14/08 *bf updated 10/23/08.
The rear hinges on my 2004 ford explorer fell apart and the window fell off. This same issue was recalled for 2002 and 2003 ford explorers but ford would not honor the recall for my 2004 vehicle using the same defective hinges.
On august 8, 2008 I opened the back glass of my 2004 ford explorer at which time the bracket at the top of the glass broke loose causing my glass to fall. It hit me in the head when it fell and would have possibly fell on me if the other bracket had not stayed in place. I contact ford motor company but have been unable to determine what model years of the ford explorer were recalled previously for this same problem. My explorer was not covered under the recall but I believe it should have been as ford installed faulty brackets on my truck. Currently my husband purchased a "recall kit" from ford to correct their faulty equipment and is in the process of trying to fix my back glass so that my vehicle is drivable again.
I was driving and just entered the expressway when I got to the bottom of the ramp my back window on my trunk raised up and halfway fell off and when I got out to look at the damage. The passenger side hinge is very loose and the driver side hinge completely broke off and the suspension shock that opens and closes that window. I was terrified when this happened and I panicked and luckily I was already so close to the exit ramp. I called ford and was told how much the parts were and how much labor is but the service person mentioned that he has had alot of people complain about that shock that opens and closes the window. I am waiting for my parts to come in now.
1. Opened rear hatch glass on 2004 ford explorer. 2. Hinges failed on glass hatch disconnected from body. 3. This just happened. Have to buy replacement hinges.
As I stopped to get gas I noticed my vehicle had a crack right on the plastic along the right side of the ford emblem directly under the tail gate glass. I called the dealer and was told it is was a common issue but could not do anything about it unless I pay out off pocket for it or the company recall the part. I have no problem paying to resolve the issue, the problem I have is I take good care of my car alot (I own a show style car) and this seems to be a recurring issue everywhere else with this same type of vehicle and I would like to know what the ford co is trying to do to address this issue? I go this site from a forums site ( http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/explorer/2004/body_paint/cracked_panel_below_the_rear_window.shtml ) what can be done to address this issue?
I noticed a paint bubble on the hood of my 2004 ford explorer. Is this a paint defect that is causing my vehicle to rust? I would like to know if ford is doing anything to fix this problem since it seems that many other owners are having the same problem.
Just noticed after 32,000 miles and about 3 and one-half years of ownership that paint on front edge of hood of 2004 ford explorer is blistered in several places and beginning to chip.
Paint has started to bubble and peel off of the hood of my 2004 explorer. I was told by a ford mechanic they have been seeing alot of this because of the metal used in the hoods- should not be happening for a car barely 4 years old. My old explorer was much older and never had this problem.
2004 ford explorer rear back panel has a significant crack which came on suddenly. I did not realize that this problem has happened to others until I started checking on how to fix it via the net.
Exterior paint on the hood of my ford explorer 2004 is blistering and chipping. I don't think this should be happening.
The rear window liftgate hinges on my 2004 ford explorer failed. Hinge pins are corroded and just sheared right off. Looks like the hinges become loose and go slightly out of alignment and when hatch is opened the pins break. Appears there was a recall for this same problem for the years prior to my model year. From the review of this website does not look like ford has solved the hinge problems. The earlier recall was # 04v442000. Can the recall be extended to cover the 2004 (and maybe later years)?
Closed the back glass of the tailgate with normal amount of force and crack appears from glass to fiberglass ( right next to ford symbol).
My gas gauge on my 2004 ford explorer has failed me many times. I took it to my dealership & they told me to add some fuel additive to my gas tank & this would cure the problem. Well it has not & my warranty is out!!! I'm very concerned for my wife's safety if she runs out of gas, so we have to keep a written log as to the mileage before fill-up's. I'm told the sensor is bad & would cost close to $1,000.00 to repair. I have complained to ford & they refuse to repair since the warranty is out. I have also complained to ford about a back hatch panel that has cracked for no apparent reason directly under the exterior ford emblem & they will not repair this since it is out of warranty. These are both for sure manufacturer defects, that ford should be made to repair at their cost.
My ford explorer has a two part rear lift gate. The main liftgate works fine, however, the smaller glass lift gate "collapsed" when I was opening it. It is a hinged lift gate with hinges that attach to the glass. One of the hinges failed and the glass door collapsed (hitting me on the head and cutting my hand). The hinge that broke looks as if it may have cracked right where the retaining pin is located securing the glass door to the hinge attached to the body. The hinge appears to be made of a cast iron or "pot metal", which could be subject to breaking or cracking. When it broke it also caused the other hinge to come disconnected. The door is just "hanging" by the door shocks. The auto is a 2004 ford explorer. I am taking it in to have it repaired, but wanted to file this report due to the nature of the failure of the part and the potential for physical injury. *tr updated 05/05/08.
My 2004 back rear window panel cracked- defective panel from ford, approx every ford explorer has the same problem and ford will not recall as a mfg defect you can find hundreds of complaints for the same problems on all ford explorers 2002 to 2005.
Paint on top of hood bubbling at two spots on front passenger side and also on numerous locations on under side edge on front of hood, a large paint blister on underside at hood latch and several paint blisters on back under side of hood by driver windshield.
A crack appeared above and below the ford emblem on the back flip up window at approx 50,000 miles.
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