Cracked panel below rear window. Also, rear window appears loose.

- Paradise, CA, USA

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.

- Saugus, MA, USA

I have this crack in the middle of my liftgate and I have seen some other Ford Explorer 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 Ford with the same crack on the middle of the lift gate.

- Wesley Chapel, FL, USA

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

- Wallins, KY, USA

Paint bubbles in the hood. The dealer just responded that it was a manufacturers problem and that I would just need to replace the entire hood at a large cost.

- Greenwich, CT, USA

Rear panel cracked under window. There was no damage to vehicle, an di have seen several Ford Explorer with the same crack.

- Richlands, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that when opening the rear lift gate, the hinge fractured and fell back, striking him in the head. The contact received a minor injury as a result. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 70,900.

- Newmark, DE, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer XLT. The contact stated that the panel below the rear window of the tail gate developed a crack. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated it was a design flaw and the panel needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 75,000.

- Edmond, OK, USA

The paint on the roof of my 2004 Ford Explorer is chipping. I spoke with two auto body shops and 1 Ford dealer, and they all said that the chipping is due to the fact that the primer did not adhere properly to the vehicle, so the paint is chipping. In reviewing this issue, I read online that there is a multitude of people experiencing the same issue. I spoke with Ford, and they told me that there is no financial assistance available to help me, although they acknowledged that this issue is their fault. I would like there to be a recall so that I can get this issue resolved.

- Iron Mountain, MI, USA

2004 Ford Explorer. In 2008 the rear back panel cracked and was replaced by Ford at a cost of $100 to me. It is now 2011 and the rear back panel has cracked again but this time the crack(s) appear on either side of the Ford emblem. Ford needs to recall these back panels because they are defective.

- San Lorenzo, CA, USA

1-"miles to E" have always registered as dashes after a fill up since 2004. Dealer says nothing is wrong and to add gas additive (which doesn't work) or I can have it fixed at my expense. Dealer has been sold and new dealer now has "no record" of my previous complaints-- whenever I had the car in for service I asked them to check it. I see plenty of other complaints for this same problem but Ford refuses to fix this as well. 2-back hatch below window has cracked recently. Husband had same vehicle different year and his cracked as well. Dealer acknowledges many vehicles with same problem but says there is no recall and Ford will not fix it. I see there is now a class action suit for this defect. Just wanted to go "on record" as another unhappy Ford owner (of over 40 yrs).

- Salisbury, MD, USA

My 2004 Ford Explorer's rear trim underneath the rear window blew off the truck at 60mph. The (whole trim) shot through the sky like a boomerang. It sent a motorcyclist behind me off roading. It very well could have lead to his death as there were tree's a few feet away. I have not replaced any parts yet in fear it may happen again.

- Summerville, SC, USA

Vertical crack under the rear window.

- Bow , NH, USA

While removing grocery bags from the rear of my 2004 Ford Explorer XLT, the left liftgate hinge snapped and the window half of the rear liftgate door came apart leaving the left side of the door still attached to the hydraulic liftgate bar but otherwise dangling and unsupported. Then I could not shut the door so we propped it with pillows to ease the stress on the left side. I had problems with the liftgate hydraulic bar collapsing on my prior Ford Explorer but those repairs were covered under a recall. This morning Ford denied there was a recall for my present vehicle and refused to provide any information on prior recalls involving the same liftgate apparatus failure that occurred to my 2004 model. I called the Ford dealer who said they would have to charge me for towing to bring my SUV for repair there. My local repair shop that is less than one mile away is coming to pick up the vehicle and repair it. I think Ford has still not resolve these liftgate apparatus problems after all these years of being on notice of the structural problem and even having prior recalls for 2002-03 Explorer!! I could have been seriously injured had the door collapsed on me. It also could have caused the window to shatter and my liftgate glass door fully breaks away from the car, it will result in body damage to the rear bumper.

- New Canaan, CT, USA

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

- Irwin, PA, USA

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.

- Pasadena, MD, USA

Hello, I have a 2004 Ford Explorer truck with a crack on the back of the hatch door. I don't know where this crack came from. I contacted the Ford company about this issue but since my vehicle is no longer under warranty they aren't willing to help. I first notice the crack about a year ago. When I contacted Ford to find out if this was a recall they said no. Recently I have been noticing that a lot of the Ford Explorer trucks I see all have a crack on the same portion of the truck. I spoke to another individual with a Ford Explorer and she doesn't know where the crack on the back of her truck came from either. We think this maybe a recall issue. I just started writing down the license plate numbers of the various Explorer trucks I see with the same or similar crack on the back hatch. Although I only have six tag numbers right now, I know that their are many more trucks with this problem. I seen more trucks but at the time I wasn't documenting the license plate numbers. There was also a recall on the hatch window in 2003 for the Ford Explorer truck. In 2007, I had the same issue as the 2003 recall on my 2004 vehicle but was told I had to pay to get it fixed myself because there wasn't a recall reported for 2004. Although it was a year later. It is obvious that the issue wasn't resolved because I had the same problem. There is also a break light switch problem. This issue has your break lights randomly coming on although the vehicle is turned off. Which drains the battery and causes you to have to get the brake switch fixed and a new battery. Please help me. I had no luck with the Ford Motor Company in resolving these issues.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

Rear applique has cracked down the middle for no reason. I contacted the a dealer and they were aware that this was a defective item from Ford, but Ford has not issued a recall. I contacted Ford and was told they are not aware of this issued.

- Poquoson, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer XLT. The contact stated that the rear tailgate metal was fractured in half in the center near the Ford emblem. The contact was concerned that the rear windshield could shatter because of the failure. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or a local mechanic for the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 87,000 and the current mileage 88,200.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

I have a 2004 Ford Explorer, and one day the car is fine the next there is a crack on the rear panel I though it was my fault but then I started seeing more explores with the same crack it has to be a defect.

- Louisiana, LA, USA