2003 ford explorer cracked rear hatch

[fmrmarine]

I have just noticed a cracked upper hatch panel on my 2003 Ford xlt explorer. It was not hit or abused. It looks like it could be a bad panel manufacturing job. Has anybody had this problem and has Ford offered any explaination? The body shop says they have replaced these on even new vehicles!

[maui4me]

Yes, my 2002 Eddie Bauer has done the same. The lame story the dealer service dept. said that I'd used incompatible washer fluid in the vehicle. As almost all washer fluids are methanol/surfactant/water solutions, this was a bunch of baloney.

Their body shop said that it was a bad epoxy/plastic mix that allowed the piece to expand and contract too much with temperature changes. I've noticed the cracks width changes very noticeably with temperature changes, so I think they are probably correct. They also said that they've seen a bunch of them do it in 2002/2003 models. Same problem with the Mercury version.

Unfortunately, they'll only cover it's replacement under the mileage warranty, not time. Mine did this about a year ago and it came in under the 3 year mark but the vehicle had about 50k on it at the time it became noticeable. I've got the 100k extended powertrain warranty but they won't budge. They said it would be $200 to replace it. The upper liftgate is all glass and this hatch panel is epoxied onto it. A very poor defect!

[sjho]

just noticed a crack on my '02 in the same place - how did you get it fixed...how much was it? do you know if the glass is secure ?

[keithlal]

Originally Posted by fmrmarine

I have just noticed a cracked upper hatch panel on my 2003 Ford xlt explorer. It was not hit or abused. It looks like it could be a bad panel manufacturing job. Has anybody had this problem and has Ford offered any explaination? The body shop says they have replaced these on even new vehicles!

Well, I've got the Liftgate Crack blues also. Just got back from the L/M Dealer and the service gnome said that they've seen that before, but it's only covered in the original warranty (3/36). The area dealer rep will call me in about 2 weeks to discuss. I won't hold my breath though. Will keep all informed.