Vehicle was parked. Operator opened rear hatch glass, at which time the right hinge separated. This caused the glass to slam down. Fortunately, the operator was able to jump out of the way to avoid injury. The glass did not break, but the struts are bent. Both the right and left hinges appear to be defective and in need of replacement. The rear hatch is not usable until the hinges and struts are replaced.

- Woburn, MA, USA

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.

- Tremont, IL, USA

After a day of shopping I pulled into my driveway and parked my SUV. I went to open the rear window hatch when the left side came apart from the vehicle and landed on top of me. Fortunately the right side of the window was able to stay intact while my husband was able to run to my aid to lift the door up. I am four months pregnant and my three year old son was standing by my side. I have read that many complaints about this issue have been made to the Ford corporation regarding this problem but they continue not to rectify the issue at hand; while leaving vehicle owners helpless when this situation occurs. I read that this was a good avenue to report this issue since Ford continues to ignore the problem and wonder if my husband would not have been in shouting distance what would've happen to my son, unborn child and myself!!!!!

- North Olmsted, OH, USA

Rear hatch window hinge (left side) broke and released the glass while driving. Window fell to one side. I had to make an immediate emergency stop. It was difficult to prop window to a safe position and lock down. It must remain locked down until I can fix it.

- Chico, CA, USA

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.

- Muskego, WI, USA

When closing the rear window hatch, the left hinge that holds the glass completely let go of the glass. Fortunatley my husband was the one closing it and was able to catch the glass before it broke the other hinge and pulled the glass off completely. The right hinge was also bent, as the window will now not sit level to be put back into place. This should be recalled, as there is a large hazard of th window falling. What if my daughter had been standing underneath as usual, or he had not been able to catch the window and it broke and sen "exploding" glass pieces everywhere. I see that this appears to be a very widespead issue when looking through complaints. Also, the tailgate in my Explorer has also experienced the same mysterious crack that so many other vehicles have had. One day it was fine, then it was cracked. Could these issues be somehow releated? or is the entire hatch just full of flaws.

- Naples, FL, USA

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.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

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.

- Monticello, NY, USA

The hinges that hold on the rear window are starting to break. The 02 and 03 model Explorer were recalled for this but Ford refuses to issue a recall for the 2004 models even though this appears to be a huge issue affecting a large numbers of Explorer. I have caught it before total failure but many people have had the glass come loose and injure them. It is a huge safety issue.

- Denver, CO, USA

The contact owns a Ford 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the lower portion of the lift gate glass exhibited a long stress crack. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Covington, FL, USA

The plastic piece of molding underneath the rear glass window cracked and fell off. Nothing was done to prompt this. I have read that thousands of other vehicles have this same issue.

- Sparta, MI, USA

The left rear lift gate window hinge broke causing the window to fall and bruise my daughter's arm. Terrible design and fraught with peril.

- Austin, TX, USA

My 11 year old daughter went to close the rear window gate and the right hinge broke off at where the hinge attaches to the window. My wife and daughter tried to get it lined up with the hinge again but was not able to do anything with it and had to drive home with the windows hanging by the struts. Later when I got home I noticed that the right strut was not decompressing as well which probably put some pressure on the hinge. I tried to push it back up manually it wouldn't budge. I was able to remove the right strut and close and latch the window but now it's crooked and obviously not working. I did research and see there are tons of complaints about this same thing happening on 04 Explorer. I am very concerned that the window will fall off and this almost caused bodily harm to my daughter when it failed and fell.

- Chapel Hill, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was a 6-inch crack from the base of the rear window to the license plate. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted, but denied any assistance with repairs to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 70,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Trussville, AL, USA

After a cold spell in January the panel under the rear window fractured from the window down. We took the car to the Ford dealer and was told this is very common and it would be around $400 dollars to fix. If this is common why is Ford not correcting this without the customer having to pay out of pocket. It seems this is a manufacturing problem not a consumers!

- Canton, OH, USA

Rear body panel applique Ford series part #402A30.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

When we had the cold snap a few weeks ago, a plastic panel, under the rear window cracked. The cost to repair this is about $450 to $550. Searching on line, this seems to be a problem over a number of model years, as there are several hundred reports. In the past week, I have seen 7 more Explorer with a similar crack. Ford customer service says there is no recall. It is not a safety issue, but it is expensive to repair.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

Update on rear cracked panel: Rear back panel replaced twice. Ford service told me it would cost approx $800 to replace cracked panel again then suggested I take my '04 Ford Explorer to a body shop for a repair at a cost of approx $200 which I did. That repair lasted about 3 months...panel has cracked again. If the glass falls out someone is going to get hurt. It is ridiculous that Ford will not take full responsibility for this defective part.

- San Lorenzo, CA, USA

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.

- Borlingbrook, IL, USA

The rear passenger window hinge broke causing the glass to fall on top of me and hit me in the head and knock me down to the ground.

- Wichita, KS, USA