Hatchback/liftgate Support Device problems of the 2004 Ford Explorer

Rear glass liftgate hinge broke causing glass to fall out of position. Vehicle was stationary and liftgate glass was being opened when the hinge failed. This is the second Ford Explorer this happened to. The first one was a 2006 Ford Explorer.

The liftgate glass hinge on my 2004 Ford Explorer broke as I was closing the rear window glass. Without warning it just came undone with the screw popping loose. Cheaply made material of the liftgate glass hinge was clearly the cause, along with a faulty design that allows the bolt to strip out of the hinge.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear liftgate was cracked. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for repairs. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 89,846.

The rear liftgate panel cracked for no apparent reason.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was an excessively long fracture in the rear liftgate near the manufacturing emblem below the rearview window. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

Liftgate has a crack and the hinge to the liftgate broke due to crack. It is hazardous to drive due to possible falling while driving or parked.

The rear liftgate window hinge broke off and the entire rear window fell on my wife. The hinges are made of a white type of metal that has corroded and sheared off. The pins inside apparently broke and it didn't appear to be falling off, it just came off. The window hit my wife in the arm and leg. We were lucky it wasn't one of our kids closing the gate at the time or that they weren't inside when it happened or this could have been a lot worse. After searching online for information about this issue I found thousands of complaints about this exact issue and hundreds of post of injuries incurred from this. Ford recalled other vehicles with the same issue with the same part and yet the 2004 was never included. Something needs to be done. A part over time shouldn't break off and cause a safety hazard.

The hinge on the right side of the rear liftgate glass is falling off. I purchased this vehicle used in August 2012. The hinge seemed to be in tact then but has slowly been corroding and falling off. The glass makes an awful noise when I drive over pot holes, bumps, etc. I do not use the glass in fear it will fall on me. There have been times when I turn my vehicle on and the message center says "rear liftgate ajar" only to find that somehow the glass liftgate is not latched. Nobody uses it so unsure if the corrosion and broken hinge is causing the glass to ajar from the latch. I called a local Ford dealership to see if this has been recalled on my vehicle, as it has on numerous other 2004 Ford Explorer. I was told it was not recalled and the part is $50/piece. The left hinge is starting to do the same as well. I am scared that this will eventually fall off while I am driving the vehicle and think this should be recalled as it is a huge safety issue.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the hinges on the rear liftgate broke and the window fell down on the contact¿s shoulder, resulting in a shoulder injury. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the hinges on the rear liftgate needed to be replaced. The dealer also stated that the vehicle was not included in the recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number: 04v442000 (structure: body: hatchback/lifgate: hinge and attachments). The failure and current mileages were 160,000.

The pins on the liftgate window are breaking through the hinge. The driver side has broken clean through and the passenger side is beginning to break through even though I haven't used it since the other one broke. There is also a crack under the window on the back lift door.

Rear liftgate glass hatch failure hinge and attachments back glass fail off.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer limited. The contact stated that the rear liftgate was fractured and the contact was concerned that the window would possibly fall out while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they advised him that the failure was not a safety concern and offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

The liftgate glass hinge on my 2004 Ford Explorer (model exxltspnbx) broke while closing. There is only one bolt holding each of the two hinges onto the glass and the bolt broke on one of the hinges. Fortunately, I held the glass as to not slip down and pull the other hing causing it to break. The window lift did hold it but would not slide back up. The lift had to be removed in order to shut and latch the window door. The back panel below the window was cracked when I bought the car and this may have lead to shifting in the window and additional stress added to the bolt in the hinge. This is the same problem that occured in the 2002 and 2003 hatch window hinges. There are many examples online of the bolt breaking in the 2004 models but a recall has not been issued yet as has the two previous years.

2004 Ford Explorer eb. Back liftgate cracked below glass. No accident or impact occured.

Vehicle rear liftgate has a crack down the middle of it. Failure occurred at approximately 63,000 miles. Problem confirmed as common problem with this year/model of Explorer. No repair or replacement as of this time.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear liftgate exhibited a fracture that started from the top of the manufacturing emblem and down to the bottom of the liftgate. The contact spoke with the manufacturer but was advised that there was nothing that could be done to assist. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was 89,000 and the failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. While the vehicle was parked, the contact stated that the lift gate strut fractured without warning. The failure was similar to NHTSA campaign id number:04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments). The dealer and manufacturer informed the contact that his vehicle was not included in the recall and offered no additional assistance. No repairs were made. The current mileage was 35,000 and the failure mileage was 30,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. On October 7, 2010, the contact noticed that the rear liftgate glass had a crack in the panel. The dealer stated that there were no related recalls. The contact called the manufacturer who stated she might be eligible for reimbursement, if there failure became a recall. The current and failure mileages were approximately 57,000.

Closing the glass liftgate on a 2004 Ford Explorer, the hinge pin pulled through the hinge structure causing the glass to drop. While attempting to catch the glass hand was pinned, but no injury was suffered.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. She stated that when closing the lift gate the hitch snapped and the glass almost fell out as a consequence. The dealer was contacted and they stated that there were recalls for the same problem for the 2002 and 2003 vehicles. Nhtsa action number, rq08003, structure body, hatchback/liftgate, support device visibility glass, side /rear structure body, hatchback/liftgate, hinge and attachments were related to the failure and was closed on October 24, 2008. The contact temporarily repaired the vehicle. The contact is afraid to drive the vehicle since the hinge could snap and potentially cause serious injuries and/or a crash. The failure and current mileages were 79000.

I have this crack in the middle of my liftgate and I have seen some other Ford Explorers and found on internet complaints about it. I called Ford dealer and they said there was no recall for this. As I have said. I have seen other Fords with the same crack on the middle of the lift gate.

The rear liftgate glass hatch on my model year 2004 Ford Explorer broke off and left the glass hatch hanging on one hinge almost falling off, while I was opening the glass hatch from the rear of my vehicle. I immediately called the dealer to report the problem. I brought the car to the dealer and was charged $415. 01. Not including rental car cost,to repair my car. I literally open the hatch door and it fell off. No one should open a car door and it falls off. This could have been one of my children opening the door and they could have been injured badly by this defect in the car.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear hinge liftgate was fractured. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 04v44200(structure: body: hatchback/liftgate: hinge and attachments)but the dealer informed the contact that his vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure yet the vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was 76,000 and the failure mileage was 76,000.

2004 Ford Explorer XLT closing liftgate glass and hinges sheared on both sides. Hinges need to be replaced waiting for part. Have original hinge parts. No rear glass on vehicle until replacement parts are available.

Liftgate glass applique cracked.

The rear window lift gate has cracked from the bottom of the rear window to the bottom of the liftgate causing the rear window to be unstable and possibly fall off while driving.

Plastic applique on liftgate cracked while vehicle was parked and liftgate was not being used. This is the second time this has happened since we purchased the vehicle five years ago. The crack continued to spread until now the piece is in two separate pieces. The pieces are loose and could possibly come off while driving which could be a dangerous situation. Ford refuses to fix this even though it is clearly a design flaw in all 2002-2005 Explorers. We have seen many Explorers on the road and on used car lots with this same defect.