Body problems of the 2002 Ford Explorer - part 2

On the afternoon of Dec. 10, 2010 at approximately 2:45 pm I noticed a large crack on the rear panel of my '02 Ford Explorer - eddie bauer ed. I had assumed that this was vandalism and reported it to the police department. On Monday I googled the description of the damage to my vehicle and come to find out that it was actually a defect in Ford Explorers - '02 - '04. I contacted the Ford company who took my complaint and referred me to my nearest Ford dealership. In speaking with the rep at the dealership they informed me that this was not a "safety defect" and they could not do anything about it. I was told that the estimated cost would be between $450-500. I also read that back in 2006 when this defect occurred that Ford was providing a "special assistance out-of-warranty" on Explorers where they would pay all but $100. Now apparently since Jan. 2007 they have stopped this and not the owners are to pay for the full cost of the repair. I do not see this as being fair due to the fact this damaged was not due to my own doing or another party. Ford should be responsible for this repair if not all, at least half.

Vertical crack in hatch of 2002 Ford Explorer. I look at other Explorers in the same time pereiod and they all have the exact same crack!!.

Crack in rear window surround, near center at a bottom.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the panel under the hatch fractured and allowed water to penetrate the vehicle. The water then made contact with the electrical components. The vehicle was taken to a private dealer where it was found that the panel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

I have purchased a 2002 Ford Explorer that was in mint condition on the outside and fair on the inside, well after having the truck a few months one day I noticed a huge crack by the Ford emblem on the back of the truck. There was no evidence of tampering, and I had not been in any accidents, so this troubled me knowing that this crack had just all of a sudden appeared on my truck. Well I went to the store later that day and passed another consumer on my way out of the store and noticed they were driving the same kind of truck, and lo and behold they had the same crack in the same place. I got their attention and asked if there was some kind of incident that may have caused it, and they responded by saying that it too just appeared on their truck, I have noticed many Ford Explorers ranging from 2002- 2005 having this same crack, keep in mind these are nice vehicles that have not been damaged. I do not know if this could be a potential safety issue or not, by it being so close to the rear window, but it does concern me that I pay money for a nice vehicle and there are defects that the company will not address. I have been out on the internet and there are many many complaints about this same mysterious crack with pictures in the same place on the truck, and I think Ford should recall this defective plastic and repair the cracks. Please help us , the consumers in resolving this matter. Thank you so very much.

2002 Explorer's panel on the back gate between the window and the bottom half of the gate is cracked in two different spots. I am afraid that this will come off and cause a traffic crash or worse.

About a year after I purchased my Explorer ltd, the rear logo panel started coming loose. I used special adhesive to attach it, but it just wouldn't stick. I tried pulling it off, but it wouldn't budge on the other side, so I tried a different adhesive. It stuck for a while, but as I was going down a busy street, it flew off almost hitting the car behind me. This very easily could have caused an accident and serious injury.

I own a 2002 Ford Explorer, there are cracks on the back panel below the rear window, these seem to happen in cold weather. I have seen many other Ford Explorers with similar cracks. I got an estimate and it is 1500. 00 to fix. Ford should fix this!.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. Cracks have developed under the rear window door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but no assistance was provided because there were no recalls. . The failure mileage was 40,000.

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer. The rear hatch upper glass plastic trim cracked next to the Ford emblem. This allowed water into the trim that caused the bolts holding the latch to rust through and completely fail. I replaced the entire glass last spring (2009). The replacement part also cracked in two places after a few months of michigan winter. The latch bolts in this unit are now rusting as well. It is obvious that the plastic trim expands and contracts at a different rate than the glass. Since they are bonded together, the weaker plastic fails. The cracks contract and expand depending on the temperature.

Driving on highway, no debris, and our sunroof exploded. As the screen was closed no injuries, but potential for cut and eye injuries by razor sharp glass. No one behind us affected. Huge noise very startling.

I got a Ford Explorer 2002 and the hatchback door is cracked, I had a Ford Explorer 2003 before and it had the same problem and I had seen other Fords Explorers from year 2000 to 2004 with this problem. I contacted the Ford headquarters company and I was told that they couldn't fix the crack because I had to contact you to complain so this will become a recall and they will fix it for me otherwise they are unable to fix it. I only buy Ford cars because I like american cars and also I feel I am helping the economy keeping jobs for the american people but I could buy any other brand! I really appreciate you taking the time to read my complain and maybe find a solution for this problem. Thank you.

The rear panel below the rear window of my 2002 Ford Explorer cracked. While in the car wash, two thirds of the rear panel fell off the back of the vehicle. I have found out that this is an expensive replacement and that Ford has been made aware of the problem. My concern is if it fell off in a car wash what would happen if it fell off while I was driving 55-65 mph on the highway? also, I am not thrilled about the idea of having to spend $500 to fix a piece of my vehicle that should remain intact.

Crack in hatchback directly below window.

Appeared out of nowhere. Large crack in vehicle below rear window possibly due to previous recall in oct 2004 - safety recall 04s20.

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer and the panel below the back window hatch has cracked for seemingly no reason. I found on the internet that this seems to be a common problem for the 2002-2004 block of Ford Explorers. I have just over 100k miles on my vehicle and Ford said that because it's out of warranty that they won't cover the repair. This seems to be the common answer that Ford is giving to everyone that is experiencing this problem too.

When I saw a crack on the Ford applique, I went to my local Ford dealer to see who I should contact about this problem. I've never had any problems with my Explorer; took excellent care of it; no dents, dings, accidents. The dealer told me I must have slammed the trunk too hard in cold weather. If that were the case, I should have cracks in all four doors (and the hood). They wanted to give me the name of a body shop to have it repaired. I said, no, this should be Ford's responsibility. I contacted Ford's corporate office, they replied that there's no recall nor is it under warranty and that I would have to pay for the repair. I will not! this was not something that I did! this is poor workmanship! I have had numerous Ford taurus station wagons before this Explorer, and have had no problems with them. . . I placed this complaint on "auto beef". My complaint was #304, there are now 315 complaints on the same problem. I'm afraid this could fall of while driving.

When I saw a crack on the Ford applique, I went to my local Ford dealer to see who I should contact about this problem. I've never had any problems with my Explorer; took excellent care of it; no dents, dings, accidents. The dealer told me I must have slammed the trunk too hard in cold weather. If that were the case, I should have cracks in all four doors (and the hood). They wanted to give me the name of a body shop to have it repaired. I said, no, this should be Ford's responsibility. I contacted Ford's corporate office, they replied that there's no recall nor is it under warranty and that I would have to pay for the repair. I will not! this was not something that I did! this is poor workmanship! I have had numerous Ford taurus station wagons before this Explorer, and have had no problems with them. . . I placed this complaint on "auto beef". My complaint was #304, there are now 315 complaints on the same problem. I'm afraid this could fall off while driving.

A crack appeared on the rear hatch door under the rear window. The crack just appeared one morning without any direct action. Now I have 2 cracks. A search on the internet showed that this problem is happening to many 2002 Ford Explorers.

2002 Ford Explorer developed a crack below the rear hatch window extending down and to the right of the Ford emblem. Since then I have observed these on dozens of Explorers. My vehicle was not involved in an accident, nor was the hatch being used when this occurred. I feel it is a safety issue since the glass could fall out on the highway. Ford in no way acknowledges the issue that has hundreds of complaints on message board.

My 2002 Ford Explorers hood is corroding. It's been over a year since the first spot appeared. I really didn't pay much attention to it because I thought it was just from wear and tear, but then 2 months ago 2 more spots appeared. On 10/3/08 I went to a body shop to see how much it would cost to paint, and I surprised to hear him tell me that the problem is really a Ford problem because it looked like the hood is made of aluminum and the paint isn't sticking. That same day, I went to the Ford dealer nearest to me and I was told that indeed there is a problem with these hoods and confirmed what the guy at the body shop said. He then told me that since my car is a 2002, 5 years has passed and I cannot have it replaced for free. This is unfair. I was not aware of the problem, and no one at Ford informed us. Had I known that it was their problem, I would have had it replaced when the first spot appeared.

2002 Ford Explorer - rear applique (plastic trim) under the rear window cracked, and a portion of it fell off the vehicle traveling 70mph. . Read more...

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer and the panel below the back window hatch has multiple cracks. I found on the internet that this seems to be a common problem for the 2002 Ford Explorer. I contacted Ford and Ford said that because it's out of warranty that they won't cover the repair. This seems to be the common answer that Ford is giving to everyone that is experiencing this problem too.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the molding on the rear of the vehicle was cracked. The vehicle has not been repaired. The current mileage was 77,000 and failure mileage was 65,000.

Crack on rear hatch of vehicle, this is the second time that it has happened. First time it was replaced at our cost.

Rear gate plastic that is directly below the rear window snapped due to cold weather most likely. Don't know why there is glass underneath this section, the whole thing should be metal.

Last summer 2007, I noticed a crack in the plastic panel beneath the rear window in my Ford Explorer. I took it into a body shop to ask how this could have happened and they told me that they had seen several Ford Explorers with the same defect and that the part had been recalled by the manufacturer. I looked up online the recall and saw that it was for the same year, make, and model of my Explorer so I took it to the dealership and they ran the VIN number and said that my particular car wasn't a part of the recall even though it is the same exact part and car. I then called the Ford national customer service line and filed a complaint and they did nothing about it. I was told by 2 autoshops that if I don't get the part replaced it could crack completely and the window can fall out of the car.

1. I took our 2002 Explorer in for the recall of the back window. When they installed it they put a small crack in panel in the back below the window. 2. The crack grew until finally the whole panel cracked in half. The edge is quite sharp and the panel is a bit loose now. 3. Ford refused to fix it. We track 2002 Explorers with this problem and have found that 1/6 have it. I saw another today prompting me to send this. . Read more...

Unexplained crack in the rear hatch lid.

My 2002 Ford Explorer has 2 cracks from top to bottom in the back rear panel. I noticed the first on around January 2007 and the second one January 2009.

A cracked rear panel on my 2002 Ford Explorer. To date, I haven't had any safety issues, but I've checked other online sites and seen quite a few submissions from other owners with the same issue. I cannot afford to have it replaced, and according to other owners, the problem will probably reoccur (it seems to happen during cold weather). Ford has not listed it on their recall site.

2 cracks in the hatchback above the logo.

The back panel below the rear window has cracked.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear hatch was fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the vehicle could be repaired but he could not guarantee that the failure would not recur. The manufacturer was contacted who offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the current mileage was 110,000.

The back panel below the rear window developed a 1/4 inch crack from running from top to bottom.