2002 explorer

I have a 2002 Ford 2wd Explorer XLS. We recently had very cold temperatures followed by a warm up. I had not been using my rear access window in compliance with the recall. I lifted the entire rear door to access the rear. Today I noticed that the plastic panel that runs beneath the window has a straight crack through it with a 1/16 inch gap. There is no sign of any other damage. We called the Ford dealership to see if this was related to the recall. Of course, it wasn't, but they knew of the problem and weren't surprised. Of course there is no current recall to cover this and they are pretty sure my warranty won't cover it either. Has anyone else seen this problem? I can't believe they consider this acceptable wear and tear. I live in North Carolina and temperature extremes are not the norm or very severe. This car is kept in a garage.

it is common, look at the post a few below you

I have a 2002 4 door 4WD Explorer and just had the same problem. I live in southern Maryland. We had a relatively cold day about a week ago. High temp was around 35 dge F. I had the left gate open and when I closed it I heard a loud crack. I looked at the cladding at the base of the lift glass and it was cracked from top to bottom. The crack was approx 1/8 in wide. I took it to the body shop at my dealer. They said that they thought it would be covered by Ford. The Ford Warrenty Dept said that it was not a safety issue and was not covered. I got hte impression from the dealer that this problem has happened inthe past with 02 and later Explorers. I think the only recourse is to pay for the repair out of pocket and keep the bill incase they issue a recall at a later date.

Our Explorer had a straight vertical crack on the composite tailgate (just below the tailgate glass)....at first they made out we backed into something but there was no other damage..it just appeared after a road trip...this rear door composite panel was then replaced by warranty. This door is an application where formed metal is preferred over composite materials.

From a customer satisfaction perspective it's not wise for FORD COMPANY to continue with this rear door panel that has ongoing failures!