Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||||
| 16608 | 02/01/2003 | 10002493 | Unintended door unlocks without key in ignition (qsf). *tt | 09/03/2003 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 02/11/2010 | |||
| The tailgate cracks down the center. | |||
| 05/03/2011 | 117500 | ||
| My 2003 ford explorer was parked in my driveway and it somehow rolled down approx 150 feet and smashed into a tree. there was no one in the vehicle it was parked and the keys were in the house. i immediately called my insurance (state farm) and they had me call a collision garage to come out and they came within the hour. they have stated that the vehicle is a total loss. the next morning i called ford and they disregarded anything i said and said my insurance should take care of it. i am still paying on a loan for this car and i do have full coverage but i am now without a vehicle and i am scared to think of what might of happened if my daughters would of been playing in the backyard. | |||
| 11/07/2010 | 130000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. the contact stated there is a crack on the rear lift gate has a crack that goes from the top of the ford emblem up to were the window starts. the contact stated the rear lift gate had not been opened or closed at the time of the crack. the vehicle had not been inspected at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 130,000.rl | |||
| 11/08/2010 | 83000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. the contact has a crack on the rear lift gate that goes all the way across. the vehicle has 3 smaller cracks as well on the rear lift gate. the contact had not had the vehicle inspected at the time of the complaint. the contact stated that it looks like the rear window is going to explode. the failure mileage and current mileages was 83000.rl | |||
| 03/25/2010 | 135000 | ||
| There have been multiple problems with my 2003 ford explorer since i bought it brand new in august of 2003. but ironically they have all appeared after the warrently had expired. in september 2007 the air conditioning unit no longer worked. it cost me $2000 and a week without a car, to get it fixed. in august 2009 the passenger door window would no longer work. in september 2009 my suv started making a clicking sound when turning on the heater. since we lived in a warm climate this did not concern us much, as the heat had worked even with the clicking sound. but we moved to a colder climage and the heater went out in march 2010. in april 2010 the service engine light came on. after speaking with the mechanic, he said it was a transmission problem that occured when the car shifted from 1st to 2nd gear and from 4th to 5th gear. he could not give me any more infomration and was not willing to fix my transmission problem (he suggested i go elsewhere because he was not an expert in transmissions). in may 2010 the o/d light started flashing off. after speaking to mechanic again, he said it was retlated to the transmission problem. in august 2010 the door adjar light started coming on randomly, even when the door is not open. and in september 2010, i noticed my abs light will come on randomly. it does not appear to be triggered by any specific reason, and does not always come on. | |||
| 04/10/2010 | 110950 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. the contact stated the rear lift gate hinges fractured and caused the rear windshield glass to fall and shatter from the vehicle. the dealer advised there were no recalls for the vehicle and any repairs would be at the expense of the owner. the vehicle was repaired accordingly. the failure mileage was 110,950 and the current mileage was 113,000. | |||
| 03/09/2010 | 77000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2003 ford explorer and was closing the window of the back hatch when the rear lift gate hinge failed and broke and the window became dislodged and hit me in the head. my son was standing next to me and thankfully the window didn't fall out completely and land on him! i have contacted ford and they said that although there was a recall for this very same problem, your agency did not identify my vehicle as being affected and they will not repair it at their cost. again, they said it was because your agency did not identify my vehicle as being affected by this defect. at the present time, the window is hanging by the struts and the left hinge. further, i have gone online and seen that many other people have had this very same problem and it was not covered by ford's recall. this is a major safety issue as that window could have fallen out and landed on my son! thankfully, i was not seriously injured. i can't believe that this has not been recalled more extensively. i think it is reasonable to expect that a window or a door is not going to fall off a hinge and potentially cause a serious injury. safety is a reasonable expectation! *tr | |||
| 01/07/2009 | 98773 | 1 | |
| I have a 2003 eddie bauer ford explorer. last night, when my son was attempting to close the rear lift gate glass door, the hinge on the passenger side broke off. the glass liftgate is presently being held up by the other hinge and it won't be long before that one breaks also. i spoke with an andrea at ford 1-800-392-3673 and she basically told me that i was out of luck, that i would have to pay for the repairs because my vehicle was not included in the recall. i don't understand why, i told her the description of my vehicle. i have a friend who owns a ford explorer and he had the same problem, and since his was included in the recall, he didn't encounter any problems in having it repaired. you wonder why so many people buy japanese cars and trucks. here is one of many reasons. ford motor company is obviously attempting to save money at the expense of our safety. *tr | |||
| 12/27/2008 | 125000 | 1 | |
| I took my 2003 ford explorer to ford dealership and was refuse recall repairs. was told it would be at my own expense because he could not find recall notice in ford system. below is the details of recap. at this time the liftgate hinge is broken and window is about to fall off. please help. vehicle make / model: model year(s): ford / explorer 2002-2003 ford / mountaineer 2002-2003 manufacturer: ford motor company mfr's report date: sep 09, 2004 nhtsa campaign id number: 04v442000 pe04045 nhtsa action number: pe04045. *tr | |||
| 06/19/2008 | 98000 | 1 | |
| July of 2007 the rear window on our 2003 ford explorer xlt had broken at one of the hinges and the window sagged. after researching on the internet we found out there was a recall, (04v44200). we then contacted ford and they agreed to fix the problem at no charge. now 10 months later while the auto was parked in our driveway the window shattered with no one around. there was a neighbor working in the yard who witnessed this happen. glass was both inside the vehicle and outside the vehicle. after a week of phone calls with no luck, i was finally in touch with a one of the parts guys at ford who said this is an ongoing problem that he was aware of. he even stated that they only replaced the hinges and not the glass which is known to shatter. after several phone calls, we were notified that the recall was only on the hinges (even though they know the glass is defective as well) and they would not help us out. well im not paying $1,600 out of my pocket for another product that ford knows has a problem and doesn't back up there warranties. *tr | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - LOCK | |||
| 01/20/2008 | 1 | 07/20/2004 | |
| Hatchback on 2003 ford explorer cracked, and needed replacement, the total cost was $290.00. *tr | |||
| 12/29/2007 | 60000 | 2 | |
| The hinges on my 2003 ford explorer broke while opening the lift gate. i want to the dealer to have fixed. they charged me $323.55 to replace the hinges & struts. later i found ot that there was a recall for this exact issue. i contacted ford and they told me that even though my vehicle was built during the dates listed in the recall it was not built at a specific plant. of the 955,000 vehicles covered under this recall my car (which actually had the problem) was not covered. below is a copy of the recall from your office. i am certain that i am not the only owner facing this issue. ford motors needs to accept responsibility for defective products. i would like to go on record with this complaint stating that the recall below be amended to include all 2003 ford explorers regardless of plant that built it. the hinges are bad. ford / explorer 2002-2003 ford / mountaineer 2002-2003 manufacturer : ford motor company mfr's report date : sep 09, 2004 nhtsa campaign id number : 04v442000 pe04045 nhtsa action number: pe04045 component: structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments potential number of units affected : 955732 summary: on certain sport utility vehicles, the liftgate glass strut may become disengaged or the hinge may fracture allowing the glass to fall and possibly break. consequence: if the hinge should fracture, there is a potential for the glass to fall and ultimately break and personal injuries could occur. *tr | |||
| 11/14/2007 | 98000 | 1 | 05/07/2003 |
| My 2003 explorer suddenly developed a crack on the back panel beneath the rear window. i am concerned that if it progresses the glass will have no support and break. i spoke with ford after learning that this is a common problem with these suv's and was told if i had no warranty they would not cover the cost. *tr | |||
| 01/23/2006 | 55000 | 1 | 09/14/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer. the contact stated that the vehicle's bottom rear liftgate has cracked. he stated that there is a safety recall on the hinges for the liftgate. the contact believes that the liftgate falls repeatedly and caused the liftgate window to crack. the engine size was unknown. the current mileage is 64,370 and failure mileage was 55,000. | |||
| 03/02/2007 | 114000 | 10 | 01/28/2003 |
| Tl* - the contact called about the 2003 ford explorer xlt. the contact stated that the air bag light stayed on, and when it was on, the airbag deactivated which was a safety problem. it happened all the time. the fuses have been changed under warranty, and now that it was not under warranty, it was no longer repaired free of charge. the contact stated that she was told by one service station that it was standard for the fuses to blow because of the fuse box location. another service station told the contact that this was not true that the fuse box was to high in the car for pebbles to be able to get into the fuse box. also, the windshield wipers won't turn off by them selves, even when the keys were out of the ignition. the contact stated that the airbag light and the door ajar light were consistently on. moreover, the electronic seat would not move forward or backward. she had the seat repaired twice and it failed again. finally, contact stated that the vehicle was making a knocking noise in the front and rear of the vehicle's undercarriage. the vehicle clanked stopping, turning to go forward, or just sitting still. the first time the contact took the vehicle for repair she was told by the repair shop that it was the driver's seat that was causing the clanking noise, and the second time she was told that the noise was not something they could identify because during diagnostic testing it did not show a specific failure code. the current and failure mileage were both 114000.*ak | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HOOD - LATCH | |||
| 03/05/2007 | 3 | ||
| While driving the vehicle, the hood released. fortunately, the safety latch prevented the hood from completely releasing. this has occurred several times since. 2003 ford explorer. *jb | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - TAILGATE - LATCH | |||
| 09/28/2003 | 5000 | 3 | 06/27/2003 |
| On three separate occasions the gate lift of my explorer opened on it's own. this happened when the vehicle was quite new. i reported it to ford and they could not find the problem. they said that unless it malfunctioned while they were in possession of it, they could not remedy the problem. i now tie down the gate when carrying precious cargo, my dogs. *jb | |||
| 07/13/2005 | 24000 | 1 | 11/11/2004 |
| Structure,body, hatchback/liftgate,hinge and attachments. i was closing my hatch on my 2003 ford explorer vin#1fmzu73k732b54248 when the left hinge broke free from the body of the vehicle | |||
| 03/09/2004 | 10348 | 6 | 05/21/2003 |
| On several occasions, the liftback on the vehicle unlatched itself. in all but one occurance, this was not noticed until after the vehicle was in a parked position. the most recent occurence was march 9, 2004.*ak | |||
| 05/20/2003 | 4000 | 4 | 03/03/2003 |
| Ford explorer, 4-door, 200 window on rear tailgate door pops open on rough roads. happened 4 times with new vehicle with under 5,000 miles.*ak | |||