Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||||
| 17647 | 03/01/2004 | 10007416 | Paint peeling and/or bubbling on the center finish panel of the instrument panel. *tt | 06/22/2004 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR | |||||
| 15765 | 04/01/2002 | 637452 | Some vehicles may exhibit wind noise around the front doors, near the top rear-ward portion of the door / glass at highway speeds, or in a cross wind. *tt | 11/26/2002 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - ROOF AND PILLARS | |||||
| 17253 | 10/01/2003 | 10004907 | Water leak near the roof opening panel. 2004 explorer sport trac included. *tt | 01/14/2004 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | ||||||
| PE04045 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 06/02/2004 | 09/28/2004 | REAR LIFTGATE GLASS ASSEMBLY | 04V442000 | |
| Complaints report failure of the rear liftgate glass support while the operator is opening or closing the glass.the falling glass can strike the operator or bystander.the injuries reported are bruises to the head, neck or back, cuts to the face, arm or hand.on september 9, 2004, ford notified the agency that it will recall approximately 955,732 my 2002 and 2003 ford explorer and mercury mountaineer vehicles to replace the liftgate glass strut brackets and/or hinges.see nhtsa recall 04v442 for details. this investigation is closed. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 04/12/2004 | 1 | ||
| I don't know if this is the right place to file this complaint but its worth a shot. my mother owned a 2002 ford explorer sport. my brother was driving it home to kansas city from st. louis missouri. the weather was perfect, the roadways were perfect, there was nothing wrong with the car, the air bags deployed, he wasn't speeding. however, he drove off the side of the highway, over corrected it to gain control and fish-tailed. witnesses say that it looked like he had control again and then it rolled, killing him. him and the passenger were both wearing seat belts; however, the top crushing him in is what killed him. these vehicles like other suv's have a high roll-over rate yet people keep buying them. something needs to be done to prevent any other families from experiencing this tragedy. now obviously whatever happens won't bring me back my brother but i'd hate to see this happen to someone else. why can't the tops be made out of a different material? something that makes them not top heavy and something that won't buckle if it does roll? or why not take them off the market? i know that is a little drastic since we know the danger but we keep buying them, its kind of like smoking a cigarette. i just wanted to speak my voice in hopes we can prevent this from happening to someone else. *la | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||
| 08/04/2008 | 60000 | 1 | |
| Part# 2l2z-98420a68-aa hinge and attachments for liftgate broke 08/04-2008. recall campaign#pe04045-purchased another hinge from ford parts dept. invoice# 216039 on 08/04/2008-they did not tell me there was a recall on this part item- bought part and replaced it myself. 08/26-2012 the other hinge broke and called 1-888-327-4226 and was told recall was over- the ford store never told me this part was recalled and charged me $43.95. now the other side of the hatchback hinge has broken and have been told i have to pay to get it repaired myself again. never received any postcard for recall notice. this part is defective-both hinges have broken- i have paid for one hinge and replaced it myself and do not think i should have to replace the other one also and should be paid the $43.95 i paid not even counting my time and labor and ford should pay for the other side since this hinge is clearly defective. *tr | |||
| 08/04/2008 | 60000 | ||
| Part# 2l2z-98420a68-aa hinge and attachments for liftgate broke 08/04-2008. recall campaign#pe04045-purchased another hinge from ford parts dept. invoice# 216039 on 08/04/2008-they did not tell me there was a recall on this part item- bought part and replaced it myself. 08/26-2012 the other hinge broke and called 1-888-327-4226 and was told recall was over- the ford store never told me this part was recalled and charged me $43.95. now the other side of the hatchback hinge has broken and have been told i have to pay to get it repaired myself again. never received any postcard for recall notice. this part is defective-both hinges have broken- i have paid for one hinge and replaced it myself and do not think i should have to replace the other one also and should be paid the $43.95 i paid not even counting my time and labor and ford should pay for the other side since this hinge is clearly defective. | |||
| 09/04/2011 | 90500 | ||
| I just purchased a used 2002 ford explorer sport on 08/06/2011 so that i had a vehicle that i could take the kids on camping trips. on 09/04/2011 on our way to daytona beach i noticed the car was pushing and swerving in both directions, i had just put brand new tires on it and replaced both the upper control arms and all 4 ball joints and had an alignment done, i thought that it's a bigger vehicle than what i'm used to and had been a slightly windy. on the way home on monday 09/05/2011 it was even worse, i could feel the body rolling the car pushing ect.. i pulled over and checked the front suspension. there appeared to be nothing wrong. i crawled home a nervous wreck. when we unlaode the car at home i noticed the car was sagging in the left rear.i crawled under the vechile. i noticed 2 big issuses, 1st the coil spring is broken were lucky it didn't pop out and shred a tire, and 2nd all of the body mount bushings are completely crumbling or just plain gone. talk about dangerous. i went online and there seems to be thousands of complaints for the 2002 explorers on blogs and ford forums and tons of sites for complaints for automobiles for all models of this vehicle for the exact same things. i have also seen numerous other complaints on this vehicle for other equipment failures one of them being a whining noise coming from the rearend of the car which i thought was the tires, but apparently it is an improperly engineered differential that ford will not fix or admit that there is a problem with although there are a couple of technical bulletins out on it. they are just lucky that my children were not injured. how dare they not accept any responsibility to take care of these vehicles that they engineered and sold, used or not. if you manufacture an unsafe vechile and a defective vechile you shold be responsible. is it gonna take a father and his children being killed. | |||
| 03/16/2011 | 103000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer sport. while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the bolt which secured the rear hatchback window hinge fractured causing the window glass to slightly detach. there was a recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 04v44200(structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments). the vin was not included in the recall. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 103,000. js | |||
| 01/02/2011 | 71000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer. the contact stated that the hinges on the liftgate strut broke causing the glass to shift similar to nhtsa campiagn id number: 04v442000 ( structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments. the manufacturer was notified who informed the contact that his vehicle was not included in the recall and offered no additional assistance. the dealer was not informed nor was the vehicle repaired. the current and failure mileages was approximately 71,000. bw | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE | |||
| 08/04/2008 | 60000 | 1 | |
| Part# 2l2z-98420a68-aa hinge and attachments for liftgate broke 08/04-2008. recall campaign#pe04045-purchased another hinge from ford parts dept. invoice# 216039 on 08/04/2008-they did not tell me there was a recall on this part item- bought part and replaced it myself. 08/26-2012 the other hinge broke and called 1-888-327-4226 and was told recall was over- the ford store never told me this part was recalled and charged me $43.95. now the other side of the hatchback hinge has broken and have been told i have to pay to get it repaired myself again. never received any postcard for recall notice. this part is defective-both hinges have broken- i have paid for one hinge and replaced it myself and do not think i should have to replace the other one also and should be paid the $43.95 i paid not even counting my time and labor and ford should pay for the other side since this hinge is clearly defective. *tr | |||
| 11/09/2004 | 40000 | 1 | |
| Nhtsa recall 04v442000 on the rear liftgate glass. no parts available since november of 2004. while shifting gears the shifter broke without warning. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the driver that the shifter needed to be replaced. please provide further details. *nm | |||
| 11/20/2004 | 1 | ||
| Nhtsa recall 04v442000 concerning rear liftgate glass. no parts were available.*ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 03/16/2011 | 103000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer sport. while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the bolt which secured the rear hatchback window hinge fractured causing the window to slightly detach. nhtsa recall campaign number 04v44200(structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) was related to the failure yet the contacts vin was not included in the recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 103,000. | |||
| 03/16/2011 | 103000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer sport. while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the bolt which secured the rear hatchback window hinge fractured causing the window glass to slightly detach. there was a recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 04v44200(structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments). the vin was not included in the recall. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 103,000. js | |||
| 05/17/2008 | 74000 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer sport. the contact noticed that the hinges in the liftgate were unscrewing. he locked the window to prevent it from falling. while driving approximately 65 mph, the window fell down and shattered. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer, but they offered no assistance. the manufacturer stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments). he also experienced issues with the armrest. it would not open unless he forced it, which eventually caused it to fail. the current mileage was 79,015 and failure mileage was approximately 74,000. updated 11/17/08 *bf updated 11/18/08. *jb | |||
| 07/12/2008 | 93000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford explorer sport. the contact lifted the rear hatch and opened the glass door. the hinge on the glass door loosened and caused it to fall and injure the contact's thumb. the hinge should be secured in place. the contact received a recall for this issue after he was injured. the recall applied to the ford explorer and ford explorer sports. the recall number was unknown. the failure and current mileages were 93,000. | |||
| 10/05/2006 | 35000 | 1 | 08/05/2002 |
| The rear liftgate glass fell off the hinges. the falling glass damaged the rear defroster wires (can no longer be used) the hinge holding the glass broke off from the vehicle causing the glass to fall to the ground. it cost $130 at the ford dealer. nhtse recall 04v442 investigated this exact complaint and a recall was issued but ford informed me that my 2002 ford explorer sport was not covered under the recall because it was built in a factory not affected by the recall. the nhtse should consider re-opening this case as it is the same exact problem as the recall on the same exact make and model. all incidents of this failure of the rear liftgate glass hinges should be covered by ford. thank you *tr | |||
| 09/15/2004 | 20000 | 1 | 08/16/2002 |
| The hinge failed on the liftgate glass *ak | |||