Tailgate Problems of Lincoln Aviator

I noticed a crack on the back panel of my tailgate. There was no accident or incident and since then I have noticed at least 3 other cars in my small town with the same defect. I have written to Ford and gotten no response. From what I have seen on the internet, this is not an isolated problem. I feel that Ford/Lincoln should recall the affected models of car (including Ford explorers) and make these repairs. The mechanism that keeps my tailgate window closed and locked is also broken and I think it is directly related to the crack in the tailgate. This compromises our safety in the car by making the car unable to be locked properly. Someone could easily get into the car from the tailgate and steal anything in the car, steal the car itself, and pose an immediate threat to our personal safety.

See all problems of the 2005 Lincoln Aviator 🔎.

I purchased this vehicle as a certified used vehicle. It had an extended warranty. Once it expired I've experienced every single complaint people have stated online about this vehicle. As of today (12/02/13) it still has only 74,000 miles on it and the latest problem is the transmission needs to be replaced but they don't know why. I am a stay at home mom and wear-and-tear on it is very minimal (grocery shopping, to and from school, etc. ). I have never had so many problems on a "so called" luxury vehicle before! I've had bad coils in cylinders 3, 4, 5 (twice), and 7 replaced under Lincoln's recall. The tailgate panel cracked (just like all the other people who own this vehicle and the mountaineers have complained about), but they won't fix it. In addition, a white plastic piece fell out of the top half of the tailgate and now it will not close anymore therefore I can no longer take it through car washes. The bracket for the sun visor on my passenger side completely deteriorated and caused the visor to suddenly dangle from the roof of my car while driving. Now, I cannot flip it up and it causes a blind spot. There is also something faulty with the brake light switch which drains my battery on a regular basis and I have to have my jumped. The brake light switch has been replaced 3 times now because it is has shorted out. To complicate matters, every time I take the car to the dealership for these repairs, they insist on doing a "diagnostics check" and every time they want to charge a fee for this service. Every time the price is different. . . Some times its $50, sometimes its $100. This vehicle is a lemon and I will never buy a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury again.

See all problems of the 2004 Lincoln Aviator 🔎.

Without impact the tailgate applique of my 2004 Lincoln Aviator cracked. I understand this is common among Ford explorers merc. Mountaineers and Aviators as reported by my local Ford dealer and various bodyshops and thousands on the internet with similar defects. Ford wont fix if its out of warranty . The broken tailgate section can dislodge and cause damage to pedestrians or motorists. Please advise as this is a widespread manufactures defect. Thank you.

2005 Lincoln Aviator has crack in rear applique panel. This crack occurred with no accident just appeared after a frost. This problem was relayed to Ford? Lincoln home office but nothing was done to repair the problem by Ford. The leak will destroy the inside panel and will eventually rot the back tailgate.

The contact owns a 2004 Lincoln Aviator. She stated that there was a crack on the side of the tailgate near the Lincoln emblem. The vehicle was repaired at her expense; however, there is another crack in the same location. Her mechanic stated that the crack is due to the cold weather. The dealer stated that she needed to have the vehicle inspected. The vehicle will be repaired again at the owners expense. The failure mileage was 30000 and the current mileage was 51525. Updated 04/16/10. Updated 07/13/10.

A 6 inch crack developed at rear center tailgate body panel made out of plastic below the rear window. There had been reports that the rear window could fall out and internal tailgate components could be damaged due to water entry from the crack. This appears to be a common problem from my research.