Hatchback/liftgate problems of the 2002 Ford Explorer - part 1

The rear back hatch cracked.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the lift gate window was shattered on the ground. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. After diagnosis they advised him that the hinges fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 140,738. The current mileage was approximately 149,229.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. When entering the vehicle, the contact noticed that the rear liftgate below the window was cracked. He was concerned that the window panel would fail and cause the glass to slide out and shatter. No repairs were made to the vehicle. The contact is in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer and notifying the manufacturer. The failure and current mileages were 83,000.

My wife opened the rear hatch to get groceries out. It started falling on her. Her friend reached to lift it up and it exploded on my wife when she tried to lift it off my wife. I am debbie's husband. We bought the car in 2004. They recalled it in 2006 to put the new hinges on, that were supposed to be Ford's recall fix for the problem. It did not resolve the problem. It appears that people are still having the issue after their so called fix. Its time for Ford to really fix the problem or pay consumers for their loss through a class action suit. I tried to tell my wife to stick with gm SUV's. The Ford has been a big disappointment in many areas. It never got the mileage we were told it would get. We get 16 to 17 on the highway. We were told we could get 24. The chevy vortech does get the 24 mpg and our safari van does it daily.

We have a Ford Explorer XLT 2002. The rear window lift gate would not stay up on its own, so my son pushed it up, and the rear window glass exploded. He and my husband received minor cuts and it came very close to my sons eyes. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The vehicle was parked at his residence when he observed that the rear liftgate exhibited a crack near the emblem. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The failure mileage was 100,000. Updated 2/22/10 updated 05/10/10.

I own a 2002 Ford Explorer XLT I was lifting my rear glass window not the whole liftgate just the glass I was about 3/4 of the way up when I heard this loud noise and was showered by falling glass and then eventually struck by the bottom of the door. I called Ford they say there is nothing they will do to fix this issue I have done some research on this and it seems that I am not the only person with this issue.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. When the contact manually closed the liftgate, the rear glass exploded unexpectedly. The vehicle was repaired according to NHTSA campaign id number 011010000; however, it failed to sufficiently correct the safety defect. The vehicle has not been repaired. The contact was concerned of the safety risk involved. The failure mileage was 76,249 and current mileage was 76,259.

My husband opened the liftgate to my 2002 eddie bauer Ford Explorer to bring our hurricane supply kit into the house. Afterwards, he went to close the liftgate, just as normal, and the glass, without any warning, exploded into hundreds of pieces and the frame below the glass crashed to the ground. Glass was found halfway down the driveway, under the car, inside the car, and on top of the car. The hinges were clearly both broken and wires were separated from the liftgate. My husband was standing to the side of the car when he closed the liftgate and luckily only had a minor cut on his toe. The liftgate did not touch anything and was not hit by anything or forced to close immediately prior to it exploding. I essentially have a three-sided car right now. Ford issued a recall (04s20) on the liftgate glass hinge and ball stud bracket earlier and I had that repair completed on 09/25/07. The description of the explosion is verbatim of what was described in the recall, however Ford customer care denies any responsibility stating that part is no longer under warranty as does the dealer who originally repaired the recalled part. This could have been extremely disastrous if my husband had not been standing off to the side or if anyone had been inside the car, especially children. Ford should be required to pay for any incidents that happen involving the hinge and ball bracket even if the repair was made as they requested per the recall. Doors do not just 'come off' for no reason. Their method of 'repairing' the recall is not sufficient as there are blogs online with many other exact complaints.

I was loading groceries into the back of my 2002 Ford Explorer when the liftgate window exploded. The hinge on the liftgate had actually broken, shattering glass everywhere. My hand was cut and I was hit in the head by the liftgate. While devastating, it could have been tragic. I had the hinges and liftgate serviced and repaired several years ago due to a recall issued by Ford for a manufacturer's defect. Apparently, the problem was repaired with other defective parts or wasn't repaired at all. When I contacted Ford, they refused to pay for repairs and referred me to my insurance company, who said it was a Ford problem. I am stuck with the 1,400. 00 bill but Ford loses my business.

Rear tailgate on my 2002 Ford Explorer was recalled for the hinges to be exposed since then the tailgate would exhibit random door ajar indications. Recently the plastic panel on the outside under the glass has split vertically in the middle.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The back hatch was partially opened, and when opened all the way it shattered. There is a safety recall 04v442000 - structure:body:hatchback/liftgate: hinge and attachments. The vehicle is currently at the dealer. The current and failure mileage was 80,000. The purchase date was not available. Kg.

Rear liftgate glass shocks were no longer holding up the window when open. Replaced both shocks, closed the liftgate glass and the window exploded, resulting in the bottom trim piece falling and shattered glass flying everywhere. Fortunately their were no injuries.

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer and a crack appeared overnight in the rear lift gate panel. This seems to be a recurring defect in Ford Explorers and Ford should be accountable to fix the defect.

2002 Explorer rear window exploded when my 14 year old daughter closed the top lift gate. Rear window recall was performed in 8/2007 Ford will not cover cost ($1,400. 00) for repair.

Stress fracture running vertically along plastic panel of liftgate directly under back window appeared. The crack is located to the left of the Ford emblem running from the glass the length of the panel. No force of any kind was applied to the area to cause this crack. I live in a cold weather climate with rain and snow and am now worried about water getting inside and effecting the electrical system. Since this is a commonly documented problem, that could lead to further more serious problems, Ford should replace the panel.

2002 Ford Explorer rear hatch plastic panel cracked completely through, top to bottom directly above and below the oval Ford emblem. Ford customer service ran the VIN. No. And told me this panel had been replaced once already.

The paint on my 2002 Ford Explorer was peeling off the panels between the windows after 3 years (and it's primarily parked in my garage). After contacting Ford and appealing to 2 different dealers for assistance, I decided I could live with it because it was cosmetic flaw even though the dealers admitted that this was "normal" for this to happen. However, on Dec 26, 2007, I went out to my car in the morning while out of town,and noticed a three inch crack in the body of the rear hatch, just to the right of the Ford logo. This did not happen as a result of being closed too hard or any other logical cause. It just cracked on its own. I called Ford about this problem and they said that I would need to take it to a dealer for an estimate. I complied with this request and took it in. The dealers service manager told me that at one time, there had been funds available for this repair, but not anymore. I was told by Ford that since it was out of warranty, they could not help me. So Ford is well aware of this problem but will do nothing to remedy the problem. This happened as a result of a manufacturer's defect, but since I took care of my vehicle by parking it out of the elements, it did not manifest until the car was out of the warranty period. I also believe this poses a safety issue because the cracked plastic is a bit sharp and I do not wish to cut my hand when closing the door.

2002 crack on hatchback panel under rear window. On December 26, 2007 I went into my garage and noticed 2 cracks, one on each side of the Ford emblem, each about 3 to 4 inches long. I know for sure they were not there the night before because we had taken some packages out of the hatchback, and there were no cracks. It is evident that the 2002 Ford Explorer has a faulty manufactured hatchback. When I searched this problem on the web, it was surprising to find out that it had the highest amount of complaints than any other exterior complain. This is an accident waiting to happen. Once the cracks run down to the bottom of the panel there is big potential that the window will fall out. This leaves the window at risk to fall out and injure someone.

Rear lift gate cracked in the middle.

I recently purchased a used 2002 Ford Explorer. The middle section of the hatch cracked down the middle. Upon further research I found this is a widespread problem with Explorers of this year model. It's obvious to all those who own one that the problem was a defect in material from the manufacturer. Ford refuses to fix it or even make partial restitution for having it repaired.

Outside cover on hatch lid cracked just below the glass. Have seen several other Explorers with the same problem. I talked to the owners and they also have had no response from the dealerships in our area. I have talked to 15 other owners and have seen many more cars with this crack.

Cracked lift gate/ upper half.

The problem is my 2002 Ford Explorer rear window liftgate, my panel below the rear window is cracking for no reason, I do not use is part of the liftgate, after doing some research on the internet I found over 100 owners with the same problem. This is a design and engineering safety problem that will allow the rear window to fallout or explode when operating the door or normal driving of the vehicle . Ford motor company should replace the panels at no charge to the owner of 2002 and up Ford Explorer with this tailgate design.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear liftgate had cracked right below the glass. The crack is spreading. The current mileage is 52,000 and failure mileage was 45,000. Updated 09/05/07.

The lift gate (window portion) of my 2002 Ford Explorer has sustained a crack directly down the middle under the glass. The crack is clean cut and appears to expand and close when the weather is cold and contracts and closes when the weather is hot. I have no idea how the crack appeared. I noticed it approximately 2 month ago and has not had any incidences that would warrant the crack. Since I've noticed the crack, I've seen two other explores that have the same crack in the same location as mine, and starting wondering if this is a body defect. Can you please research this concern for me and notify me of your findings?.

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

2002 Ford Explorer XLT, plastic trim piece below rear window glass cracked all the way. This was a safety issue as the glass could fall out without proper structural support. Ford issued a recall for the rear glass hinge posts, but the will not fix the plastic which broke as a result of normal closing of the hatchback. I found a forum with 129 postings on it today claiming the same issue. . Read more...

The rear window liftgate has cracked vertically from the glass all the way to the bottom of the panel for no apparent reason (I. E. Happened overnight while rear window was completely closed). I have noticed that most Explorers in my area with the same liftgate have the same vertical crack in the same location. Concerned with potential glass breaking due to some structural defect in the window liftgate.

There is a large crack in my tailgate that starts at the back windshield glass and runs halfway down my tailgate. I guess there are a lot of people with these cracks and Ford should be held responsible in paying for these repairs. I spoke with the local Ford dealership and they said they know about the problem but they do not want to fix it. I will never buy a Ford again if they are going to treat their customers like this. . . Please help us get them to recall this. Thanks.

Rear liftgate of 2002 Ford Explorer develops crack on piece below glass.

Daughter came out of school to find crack beneath rear window. Thought to be result of hit and run in parking lot. Took to dealer who said it is a known defect. Repaired at no cost to us, no problem. Good dealer! we are very good Ford customers, having bought exclusively Fords for 20+ years. This will not deter us from buying Ford again.

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer that has several cracks on the liftgate that just appeared one day. I have seen several other Explorers with the same problem and am not sure why this has not become a recall.

Rear hatch on 2002 Explorer trim piece at bottom cracks. . Thsi is a common problem and Ford knows about it but will not fix.

2002 Ford Explorer, crack in rear panel below rear window. Ford will not repair, it is a common problem among many 2002 Ford Explorers.