Consumer Complaint Detail

FORD / EXPLORER / 2003

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 007113178 Incident Date: Feb, 28 2007
Consumer's City: KNOXVILLE Consumer's State: TN
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Ford Motor Company
Model Name: EXPLORER Model Year: 2003
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Structure:body:hatchback/liftgate
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Jul, 24 2007 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: -
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 6 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: The plastic trim panel on the rear hatch of my ford explorer xls cracked from top to bottom, with no provocation. i understand this is a common problem. my local dealer service rep said they had repaired "dozens of them", after he told me ford would not stand behind this obvious defect. the crack expands and contracts noticeably with temperature changes, and i believe the composite is not properly formulated resulting in instability of the material during temperature changes. clearly, this is a manufacturing defect for which ford should provide a remedy. my explorer still looks great, and this is the only blemish. at the quoted cost of over $700 to replace the entire hatch assembly (the only option offered), i will live with the annoying crack and tell everyone i see about ford's unwillingness to help. *jb