2003 ford explorer cracked rear hatch

[taxman9]

2002 Explorer XLT, same issue as everyone else, long crack on back panel between glass and seam. Doesn't seem like the worthless people at Ford are doing anything to resolve the issue (free or paid for). Anyone have any luck with remedies? Either body shops, dealers, or at home?

[Elin]

I just purchased a 2002 Ford Explorer on Thursday. Friday morning I noticed a crack in the rear hatch under the window. I was searching for the part when I found this website. Now I know it is due to defective material. The salesman where I purchased the car (a Ford dealership) told me he would try to get it fixed but said not to get my hopes up. I feel Ford (the big guys) should have it fixed at no charge to me or anyone else with this problem because the part is made with defective material. If a class action suit is started for this problem I want to be included.

[jfckpw]

I also have this wonderful crack in my 2003 Explorer, mine goes all the way from the top to bottom, it is a upside down Y. I contacted the Ford Dealership today and was told this is a common problem and that it is a defect from the factory but they will only cover the repairs if it is less than 3 years old and less than 36K miles. The Ford Dealership told me that the glue that was used on these Explorers was defective glue which is letting water get behind that cover and when it gets cold and freezes, it causes this crack. I also feel they are the ones who are to blame for these defects so they should be fixing them. I was told by my insurance agent (which by the way, your insurance won't cover it because it is a manufacture defect) to contact the Zone Rep. which you can get the number to contact them from the dealership. Has anyone had any success with doing this???

[jcisko1]

I just purchased a used 2004 Explorer XLT a few days ago. I noticed that the driver side window hinge didn't look quite right, but thought nothing of it. Today I tried to open the tailgate window and the hinge fell apart and I had a heck of a time getting the window back into place. It didn't break the window, but it did upset me. I called the ford dealer about this but they only gave me a voicemail. The window locked back in place with no leaks that i found yet, it is pouring here. The hinge is now fried and should be replaced @ no charge to me. Guess I should have checked this site sooner. 2004 is the same body style as '02&'03. I didn't notice any cracks below the window yet, but the temp was 60 in Cleveland and rainy, changing to snow tommorow. We will see what happens.

[CO_MIKEY]

I'm planning to cover the crack in my son's rear hatch with a piece of 0.5mm X11" X11" carbon fiber sheet with 3M adhseive backing that's available from protechcomposites for $21/sheet. Heck of a lot cheaper than the $400 at a body shop. Should be able to cut the carbon fiber sheet about the width of the indentation below the panel and cut out a hole for the emblem and then peel the cover off the tape and stick it in place. If there's a bit of a crack at the top of the panel under the edge of the glass, or around the emblem, this can probably be filled with silicone caulk to keep out dirt and moisture. Haven't received the carbon composite sheet yet but the stuff is real tough, not bad looking on most body colors and is workable with hand tools - Dremel tool, sand-paper, etc. If you replace the panel with a new one, what's to say it won't just crack again??? Put a carbon fiber panel over it and the panel should spread the stress and make it stronger than new.

Good Luck!

[starbell]

I too had the dreaded crack on the rear hatch too! I went on a cruise in October and my sister had my truck, when I got back the mysterious crack was on there. The weird thing was that she did not drive the truck while we were gone, and it was in the garage the whole time. Now that I have found this site, and seen literally hundreds of Explorers here in Texas with the same crack I know without a doubt that FORD needs to do something about the issue. It bothered me so much the I contacted the dealer. They of course knew about the frequent occurance of this problem and were not obligated to do anything because the manufacturer is not addressing the problem. I was lucky because the dealership where I purchased my vehicle from, I actually have bought 4 vehicles myself, and my family have purchased probably 10 additional vehicles, and to save my patronage to this dealership, they did fix the panel for me at no charge. But i'm sure this is the exception not the rule obviously. So far it has held up, I'm hoping that they did not use the same glue again when they did the repairs!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jeffxxx0]

I also have the crack on my rear lift gate, just below the window just to the right of the emblem as everyone else has mentioned but one thing is a bit different then all others thus far. My crack is on a 2005 Lincoln Aviator, even though the Aviator is basically a dressed up Explorer. One other prior post mentioned bad glue, wet/ cold weather. When I noticed my crack I was on a business trip in Orlando Florida, in and out of the rear hatch many times. The morning I first notice the crack the weather had been wet the night before and that morning was cold, low 30’s, cold for Florida anyway. Since I had been in and out of the hatch many times the day before, when I noticed the crack I knew it had happened that night / morning. The crack was so fine it first appeared to be a black head hair but when I tried to wipe it away with my finger I could tell it was a crack. One other thing, my Lincoln emblem to the left of the crack has always been “unappealing” in appearance due to what looks to be water intrusion under the clear plastic. I do believe it is a material defect and water / cold weather plays a roll. I am still under warranty and will see what my local Lincoln dealer will say, they have been great so far with my Aviator and I hope there will be no problems. I will repost after I contact my dealer.

[MustBCaffinated]

OKAY.....so I posted a thread w/out seeing yours first but I have the exact same dilemma.........WHAT CAN WE DO? If this is a manufacturing flaw - shouldn't we as a group be able to address it with FORD? Please count me in and let me know what any of you have done in the past about contacting the company...THANKS.
Must B Caffinated

[jeffxxx0]

2005 Lincoln Aviato, I went to my Local Lincoln dealer and they said they have seen many of these same cracks. They didn’t bat an eye to do repair under warranty and even gave me a rental car while repairs took place, it took about three days. As I said before my local Lincoln dealer (Roy Brown of Crystal River Fl.) has always been great and their service is a big reason I will be buying another Lincoln soon.

[shorod]

It wouldn't suprise me if the Lincoln service is better than Ford, even throught the same dealership. When my wife had her Passat (which she traded in for a Lincoln LS) we had coil pack issues. The same engine in the Audi A4 had a recall for the coil packs, but for the Passat, they were just addressed through a TSB, so the VW customer had to purchase the coil packs when they failed. Buy the premium model, get closer to premium service, I guess. I'm experiencing almost the opposite though, my co-worker gets better service on his Nissan than I get on my Infiniti. Plus, his dealership is local, mine is 2 hours away.

-Rod

[Dave80]

Ok here is my problem:
I've had the same cracked rear panel problem on my 03 explorer. I had it fixed under warranty about 3 years ago but....it has been coming unglued ever since. I pulled the panel off yesterday and spent about 3 hours removing the adhesive from the lift gate. The dealer and another body-shop used is a black possibly windshield glue. Has anyone had success reattaching the panel with other products? I purchased some 2 part epoxy from an auto store but I'm apprehensive about using it? After dealing with this panel coming off and considering I have 80,000 miles on the vehicle I'd be willing to live with it cracking again and not worrying about the panel falling off on the highway.

On another note I noticed the atom smashers at ford redesigned the lift-gate on the new models and did away with the panel. The question should be who doesn't have a cracked panel on there lift-gate as opposed to who does. Every explorer I see on the road is cracked. I guess it's better than the tires blowing out and having the thing roll over...oh wait.

[Johnny Mullet]

This has always been a common issue with these models along with all the other problems they are plagued with.

JB Weld works really good on plastic and fiberglass believe it or not. If you can get ahold of the LORD MFG product called "Fusor", then use it instead.

[Adrienne Mobley]

Hello,

I have a 2003 Ford Explorer with the same problem. I came out to my car and it was cracked. I called the 800 number that Ford gave me to call and they told me to take it to the nearest Ford Dealership and have it evaluated. I did and the guy there said I have seen a lot of Ford's with this problem but there is no recall and the part is 6 grand...I was shocked. My sister who lives in AZ also has the same crack. I was driving by a house yesterday and took a picture of one in a garage with the same crack...I'm shocked that Ford wont' fix this...I told them that I'm going to the news with this...I'm going to contact the Turko Files tomorrow..

A. Mobley

[tgalatis]

Hello All - New to this forum _ found you all after researching the cracked rear hatch on my wife's 2004 Ford Explorer - now I see that many others have the same problem.

I am looking for others with the same problem in S. Florida for a potential class action lawsuit against Ford - they are dragging their feet on making repairs to my wife's vehicle and I have had enough with their delays.

Please send me an email if you are interested in joining a class action lawsuit to be filed here in SE Florida - Broward County

Thanks,

Ted Galatis

[shorod]

You wouldn't happen to be a lawyer would you? Does anyone involved in a class action lawsuit actually "win" other than the lawyers?

Hmmm, would you be the Vice Mayor from Broward County?

-Rod