Tailgate problems of the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer

I own a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer. The tailgate developed a crack between the emblem and the rear glass lift. It was fixed once already and has since cracked again. Since this crack has developed, the door ajar light has come on. I have noticed the same crack in almost every Ford explorer and Mountaineer that I see. I contacted the dealer to have it repaired again and was told that they only cover the repair once. I don't feel I should have to pay out of pocket for an obvious manufacturing defect. I then contacted Ford and was told there is nothing they can do for me. Keep in mind, I have also had numerous visits for my transmission having issues from the beginning and I have also had issues with the cruise control where it suddenly "takes off" and goes really fast. Ford needs to stand by it's vehicles and fix them when there are obvious manufacturer defects!.

Hello and good day, when I 1st purchased my Mountaineer (purchased used with approx 119,000 miles) I took it to get it washed. When I was getting it washed the rear hatch panel (the rectangular panel under the glass with the make and model name) cracked and broke apart. I tried to contact Ford and Mercury concerning this to explain what happened and how part of the car literally fell off. They informed me that they would not recall this but that I could take it to my local dealer and they could fix it for $750! I did research to find, literally, thousands of complaints about the same exact problem. People's rear hatch panels are falling off while driving all the time, I see it on the road alot. Since the panel fell off, the retaining metal piece that holds the reatch hatch clasp in place to the door, it rusting off. This is because the panel is broken off and water/ice has rusted the area, where usually water and ice could not reach it. This small problem is not causing multiple problems. I am concerned that more of my rear panel will fly off while driving and cause an accident I am concerned that my rear hatch panel will come open while driving (the clasp could rust off anytime) and cause an accident or it will fly open and stuff will fly out of my car and then cause an accident I am concerned that my panel will open while parked and my car /possessions will be stolen I am concerned that the door clasp will cause my car alarm (factory) to go off and run my batter down and/or short out my electrical system. . Read more...

I own a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer. The tailgate developed a crack between the emblem and the rear glass lift. Since this crack has developed, the door ajar light has stayed on consistently, causing the interior light to stay on, draining the battery, which had to be replaced. I have noticed the same crack in almost every Ford explorer that I see. I have not yet attempted a repair because I don't feel I should have to pay out of pocket for an obvious manufacturing defect.

A large crack spontaneously formed running vertically down the panel of the rear liftgate of our 2002 Mercury Mountaineer near the emblem. I have not been able to ascertain if the crack has led to a failure of the tailgate integrity as far as waterproofing is concerned. .

Tailgate has developed crack in the plastic of the gate. The plastic is bonded to the rear window glass. Apparently dissimilar expansion coefficients result in cracking of the gate. Local repair shop has replaced 3 in the last month, not including mine.

The rear panel of ,my 2002 Mercury Mountaineer was replaced when the rear window blew out. This indicint occurred when the vehicle was parked in my driveway, and we found later that there was a massive recall due to this defect. Now, the rear panel is literally peeling away from the truck, we took it to the dealer where we usually go for repairs and was told that the vehicle is no longer under warranty and that we would have to just live with it. I find this completely unacceptable. The vehicle is barely three years old and I have had several problems with it; although most of them have been adressed, I am completely shocked that I have to drive around wondering whether the rear panel is going to fly off and possibly cause damage to another vehichle or even worse cause injury to an individual. I am contacting Ford motor company today to formally let them know of my complaint, becuase I'd like to know how long is the warranty period on a manufacturers defect that was repaired. Thanks, denise.

: the contact stated the tailgate was cracked below the window. When the vehicle was purchased, the tailgate was already cracked. The service dealer repaired the crack. A year later, the tailgate began cracking again and has progressively become worse; its cracked all the way down through the plastic panel below the window. The contact stated that the window comes down so hard that it may be the reason for the cracking tailgate.