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 - ROOF AND PILLARS | |||||
| 17253 | 10/01/2003 | 10004907 | Water leak near the roof opening panel. 2004 explorer sport trac included. *tt | 01/14/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 09/30/2008 | 1 | ||
| Bubbling and peeling paint. *tr | |||
| 05/09/2003 | 550 | 2 | 05/03/2003 |
| I just bought a ford explorer sport 2 door to tow my boat. the specs for towing provided by ford are 5100 lbs. maximum trailer weight, 350 lbs. max tongue weight. my boat & trailer is 3200 lbs and tongue weight 280 lbs., well within specs. my first trip trailering 20 miles to the lake the vehicle then trailer swerved, since the weight pushes the rear down & front end up so that little weight remains on the front to control steering. the ford engineer consulted said if he bought the explorer to trailer why didn't he buy the 4 door (implying it has a longer wheel base & is more stable. the service director & shop foreman at the dealer agreed that the front end is too high to be safe but ford refuses to take any action to correct. nlm | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||
| 01/01/2013 | |||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer sport. the contact stated that he noticed that the rear lift gate hinges were loose and the contact was concerned that the rear glass window would fall from the vehicle. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was contacted and advised him that the vehicle was not included in a manufacturer's recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was unavailable. the current mileage was approximately 153,000. | |||
| 01/01/2013 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer sport. the contact stated that he noticed that the rear lift gate hinges were loose and the contact was concerned that the rear glass window would fall from the vehicle. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was contacted and advised him that the vehicle was not included in a manufacturer's recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was unavailable. the current mileage was approximately 153,000. kmj | |||
| 01/01/2013 | |||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer sport. the contact stated that he noticed that the rear lift gate hinges loosened and may cause the glass to fall. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was contacted and they advised him that he was not included in a manufacturer's recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was unavailable. the current mileage was approximately 153,000. tb | |||
| 02/14/2007 | 110000 | 1 | |
| 2/14/2007 i noticed there is a fracture/crack between the tailgate door opener and the window. the fracture/crack becomes more/less wider depending on how hot or cold it is outside. i went to the dealer and they stated it would cause me between $400-$800 to get it fix and the whole area will need to be replaced. they stated that it should not cause much problem unless someone hits the back of my car or i close the tailgate not soft enough, which could damage the window. since then, i have noticed that all explorers that i see have the same fracture/crack on the tailgate door on the same area location. i also have seen many many many complaints about this online. this has to be a defect that is causing the fracture on the tailgate door below the window. this could cause injury if the window breaks or there is issue with the door opener hinge. *tr | |||
| 02/14/2007 | 110000 | ||
| 2/14/2007 i noticed there is a fracture/crack between the tailgate door opener and the window. the fracture/crack becomes more/less wider depending on how hot or cold it is outside. i went to the dealer and they stated it would cause me between $400-$800 to get it fix and the whole area will need to be replaced. they stated that it should not cause much problem unless someone hits the back of my car or i close the tailgate not soft enough, which could damage the window. since then, i have noticed that all explorers that i see have the same fracture/crack on the tailgate door on the same area location. i also have seen many many many complaints about this online. this has to be a defect that is causing the fracture on the tailgate door below the window. this could cause injury if the window breaks or there is issue with the door opener hinge. | |||
| 03/06/2011 | 77000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer xls sports. while the vehicle was parked the hatchback liftgate hinge broke and the glass fell but did not brake. he stated someone caught the glass. he called the dealer and was advised there was no recall for the failure. he referenced recall nhtsa campaign id number: 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) and was advised that his vehicle was not part of the recall. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 77,000 and the current mileage was 77,100. | |||
| 03/06/2011 | 77000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer xls sports. while the vehicle was parked the hatchback liftgate hinge broke and the glass fell but did not brake. he stated someone caught the glass. he called the dealer and was advised there was no recall for the failure. he referenced recall nhtsa campaign id number: 04v442000, structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments and was advised that his vehicle was not part of the recall. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 77,000 and the current mileage was 77,100. vwb | |||
| 05/01/2010 | 78796 | ||
| Opened the rear window (hatch) and the right side flew up - the hinge had disengaged from the body of the vehicle. located on nhtsa.gov #04v442000 which covers the same problem - was told by dealer my vehicle did not fall under this recall (04s20) and i would have to pay for the repair. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE | |||
| 03/06/2011 | 77000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer xls sports. while the vehicle was parked the hatchback liftgate hinge broke and the glass fell but did not brake. he stated someone caught the glass. he called the dealer and was advised there was no recall for the failure. he referenced recall nhtsa campaign id number: 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) and was advised that his vehicle was not part of the recall. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 77,000 and the current mileage was 77,100. | |||
| 04/29/2007 | 38254 | 1 | 10/13/2006 |
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer xlt sport. while closing the liftgate the rear window shattered. there was no prior damage to the window. the failure resulted in a few cuts on the contact's hands. the current and failure mileages were 38,254.*ak update 05/21/07.*jb | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 03/06/2011 | 77000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer xls sports. while the vehicle was parked the hatchback liftgate hinge broke and the glass fell but did not brake. he stated someone caught the glass. he called the dealer and was advised there was no recall for the failure. he referenced recall nhtsa campaign id number: 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) and was advised that his vehicle was not part of the recall. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 77,000 and the current mileage was 77,100. | |||
| 03/31/2010 | 120000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer sport. while the vehicle was parked the contact noticed that the hinge on the rear liftgate was detached. there was a recall under the nhtsa campaign id number 04v442000 (structure: body: hatchback/liftgate: hinge and attachments). an authorized dealer was notified and informed her that the vin was excluded from the recall defect. the vehicle had not been repaired when the complaint was filed. the failure and current mileages were 120,000. | |||
| 04/23/2009 | 97200 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer sport. when attempting to open the rear liftgate, the contact noticed that the glass was loose and the hinge was failing. he was able to safely catch the glass before it struck the ground or himself. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that there was no current recall regarding the failure and the contact would be responsible for the repair cost. the manufacturer stated that no compensation would be provided because the vehicle was not included in a recall. upon further investigation, the contact found nhtsa campaign id number 04v442000 (structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments) for the same failure. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was 97,200 and current mileage was 97,250. | |||
| 04/14/2009 | 65000 | 1 | 11/05/2008 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford explorer sport. while driving approximately 45 mph on normal road conditions, an excessively loud rattle and wind noise was coming from the interior rear of the vehicle. the driver inspected the vehicle and observed that the liftgate hinge failed and the bolts loosened. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. the technician stated the failure was due to the liftgate hinge which was a common problem with this vehicle. nhtsa campaign id number; 04v442000 (structure:bodyhatchback/liftgate;hinge and attachments) is a identical to the failure; however, the vehicle was excluded from the recall since it only applied to four door vehicles. the vehicle was temporarily repaired and resumed operation with caution. the contact is aware of the safety risk involved. the failure and current mileages were 65,000. updated 05/18/09. *lj the rear defroster was inoperative. updated 05/20/09.*jb | |||