2003 ford explorer cracked rear hatch

[fmrmarine]

I'm a new guy to this forum but am familiar with forums such as the one we use for our RV. It's wonderful for an auto nut like me or anybody who needs hands on advice. So.......thank you AF.
My 2005 Ford explorer recently got a crack in the top hatch panel. No hit or abuse. I think it's a faulty manufacturing Job. My body man says he has replaced ones on NEW vehicles. Any experience with this out there?
Thanks in advance....

[steve11]

two different types of materials glued together. when cold and you wash with hot water, it shrinks. there is a service bulletin, but not recall.

[fmrmarine]

Originally Posted by steve11

two different types of materials glued together. when cold and you wash with hot water, it shrinks. there is a service bulletin, but not recall.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll start bugging the Ford rep through my dealer. It's obviously a defect. Maybe I can stir up a small hornets nest!

[fmrmarine]

I can't believe I'm the only 03 Ford owner with a cracked upper rear hatch. Maybe it WAS my wife that is the culprit. Anybody else out there? I need more ammo so I can bug the Ford Rep or my dealer.
Thanks

[bellis50]

Originally Posted by fmrmarine

I'm a new guy to this forum but am familiar with forums such as the one we use for our RV. It's wonderful for an auto nut like me or anybody who needs hands on advice. So.......thank you AF.
My 2005 Ford explorer recently got a crack in the top hatch panel. No hit or abuse. I think it's a faulty manufacturing Job. My body man says he has replaced ones on NEW vehicles. Any experience with this out there?
Thanks in advance....

fmrmarine,

You are not alone. My wife got back from the grocery store two days ago, went to open the hatch and dicovers it had cracked in two places. I have never personally ever heard of such a thing happening let alon seen it. There are no indications of any type of impact it just cracked right down the middle.

Knowing how difficult Ford can be I have since taken pictures and performed some research to see if anyone else has experienced the same issue. The Explorer is 2002.

I would appreciate you updating this thread with any new updates and as I will with my dealings with Ford. This is clealy a manufacturing defect and Ford should fix it at no cost.

Thanks

Bill

[fmrmarine]

Originally Posted by bellis50

fmrmarine,

You are not alone. My wife got back from the grocery store two days ago, went to open the hatch and dicovers it had cracked in two places. I have never personally ever heard of such a thing happening let alon seen it. There are no indications of any type of impact it just cracked right down the middle.

Knowing how difficult Ford can be I have since taken pictures and performed some research to see if anyone else has experienced the same issue. The Explorer is 2002.

I would appreciate you updating this thread with any new updates and as I will with my dealings with Ford. This is clealy a manufacturing defect and Ford should fix it at no cost.

Thanks

Bill

Bill,
Thanks for the reply.
I agree that Ford should pay. I happened to be at a body shop a few days ago. There was a Merc Mountaineer that they were replacing a panel on just like ours. I haven't fixed mine yet and will not until I've had the chance to get to the proper folks. Maybe now with the holidays over I will devote time to it. Seems funny that after several cold seasons that it would happen now. It was about 25 degrees when mine let go.
I'll keep you posted.

Paul

[Mike12345678]

The panel on my hatch is cracked too. My car was OK when I parked it at work, but when I came back I immediately realized the panel was cracked. Nobody was able to touch it where I parked the car. I went to the dealer and they told me it was my fault. They claim I slammed the hatch shut. The hatch is a glass window. If you slam it, the window would break, since it is on the inside. The plastic is just glued on from the outside. I saw two more Explorers at the dealer with the same problem. THe dealer told me, if I think this was a material defect, I should call Ford. When I did, Ford customer service directed me back to the dealer. The plastic is glued to the glass hatch from the outside. The glass expands when its heated from the inside, or through the defroster, but the plastic doesn't. It cracks due to different expansion of both materials. I consider this a problem Ford needs to take care of, since the repair costs about $250. The mechanics at Ford and at a body shop told me this happens all the time. I will keep bugging Ford and even escalate to consumer groups if they don't want to take care of this problem.

[rico5331]

Hello All,

The same thing happened to me. I have a 2002 Explorer XLT. I live in Renton, WA, about 20 minutes SE of Seattle. Our weather here for the past few days (Feb,15,16,17) has been about a low of 26 degrees Farenheit. Wednesday and Thursday morning, my vehicle was iced over, but not this morning. It felt just a lil bit warmer. Currently, the weather reads as 28 F. I stopped to get gas this morning before work, and approached my vehicle from the rear and didn't even notice it then, so I don't know if it was there at that time or not. When I arrived at work this morning I noticed that the tailgate panel that the ford "applique" is on (Just below the glass) was cracked about a couple inches from the center, with a 1/4 inch gap in between the cracks. I started thinking to myself how and when it could have happened, because there has been no impact to the rear of my vehicle. I didn't notice the crack last night when I drove it. My co-worker who was carpooling with me this morning suggested it might have something to do with the cold weather. I immediately googled "2002 Explorer cracked tailgate panel" when I got to my desk, and sure enough, there are a few forums where they are talking about the same problem. When thinking about it, it was even more weird, because there was no ice on my vehicle today, so I didn't even use my defrost, as I had Wednesday and Thursday, but i don't think it cracked until today. In my case, as I purchased my car used, I don't have warrantly coverage for it, so most likely I will have to pay out of pocket. But I am trying to find the part number for the panel, and also wanted to keep in touch with anyone else who had this problem to see how your situation is going, So I can formulate a plan of action. If you could e-mail me at [email protected] or PM me with any future developments, I would really appeciate it.

Thanks,

Rico

[pickarw]

Add 2 more 2002 Explorers to this list. My bother came over yesterday and was upset because he had noticed a crack in the rear hatch just below the window (just right of the Ford symbol). We both looked at my Explorer and there was no sign of a crack. I went out to my Explorer today (26 degrees currently) and guess what.. SAME CRACK! This has to be a manufacturers defect.

Based on the previous referenced $250 estimate, I would say something has to be done. I thinkwe have the makings of a class action lawsuit if Ford does not step up and do something about this.

Has anyone been successful in getting Ford to do something about this?

[tmh620]

Originally Posted by pickarw

Add 2 more 2002 Explorers to this list. My bother came over yesterday and was upset because he had noticed a crack in the rear hatch just below the window (just right of the Ford symbol). We both looked at my Explorer and there was no sign of a crack. I went out to my Explorer today (26 degrees currently) and guess what.. SAME CRACK! This has to be a manufacturers defect.

Based on the previous referenced $250 estimate, I would say something has to be done. I thinkwe have the makings of a class action lawsuit if Ford does not step up and do something about this.

Has anyone been successful in getting Ford to do something about this?

A little bit of internet research.....

Make sure your vehicle is actually one affected by this recall before you go, oe they will turn you away, and rightfully so. Everyone gets so upity about these things, yet they don't want to perform and due dilligence to see if they actually qualify for coverage. (not picking on you pickarw, just trying to point out that a few minutes of research would reveal what everyone is looking for here.....)

Good Luck guys (and ladies)

Safety Recall 04S20

At no charge to the vehicle owner, dealers are to replace both the right and left hand liftgate glass ball stud mounting brackets with a new design bracket. In addition, dealers are to replace both the right and left hand liftgate window hinges. This must be performed on all of the affected vehicles in your inventory as well as vehicles that have been delivered to customers.

[pickarw]

Thank you for the feedback, I understand your point and would just like to point out that part of being on this site shows that some research would have had to have been done.

The notice that you copied into your thread applies to the hinges that attach the rear liftgate window onto the vehicle. This is not the issue discussed in this group. The issue is a cracked plastic panel just below the glass.

p.s. The hinges on my vehicle were replaced with the recall when the notice was put out a little more than a year ago.

[tmh620]

Originally Posted by pickarw

Thank you for the feedback, I understand your point and would just like to point out that part of being on this site shows that some research would have had to have been done.

The notice that you copied into your thread applies to the hinges that attach the rear liftgate window onto the vehicle. This is not the issue discussed in this group. The issue is a cracked plastic panel just below the glass.

p.s. The hinges on my vehicle were replaced with the recall when the notice was put out a little more than a year ago.

Oops, my bad....

[kmartin]

I left my vechicle at an airlines parking to return home after a week on 2/24/06 and find a crack in the top panel of the rear hatch of my 2002 ford explorer. No hit or abuse to the vechicle. The vertical crack is to the right of the ford "applique" about 1/8" wide extending from the bottom of the glass straight down hatch. I agree that this has to be a manufacturing defect. based upon what I have read regarding the other mishaps, and not sure if this plays into the cracked hatch problem. But from I was told that the weather in Detroit, Michigan on 2/22/06 the high for the day was 49 degrees and a clear sunny day with the low of 19 degrees. I will be talking with the ford dealership. if you have had any success with this problem please post a message and let everyone know.

Thanks

[tylerstreet]

Hi -
The rear liftgate on my 2002 Explorer also cracked. I brought it up with the dealership when it was a small crack (when the replaced the hinges on the window for the recall) and they told me that it was a paint blemish and referred me to a body shop. Now, after driving up to the cold weather in Lake Tahoe, California, the crack has enlarged and spread into about 4 cracks - it looks TERRIBLE. The dealership told me that it'd cost $500.00 to fix since my car is now out of warantee. This feels like a runaround to me and I think that they should replace the part. Anyone know what to do or how to pursue FORD on this?
Thanks.

[ternce]

I recently had the same thing happened with my 2003 Explorer. One moment there was no crack and then suddenly there was a 1 inch long vertical crack to the left of the Ford Emblem from the window downward. I have not spoken to a dealer yet, but plan to. I googled and found your threads. Living in Texas, though, I would say it had to do with the heat and we recently had a cool down. This has to be a defect as I have never had a car spontaneously crack. I will keep up with your postings. If anyone has found out about a recall or warranty info, please post.