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Cracked Panel Below The Rear Window
2002 Ford Explorer (Page 29 of 32)
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Ford dealer.
CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2002 Ford Explorer is hands-down our worst vehicle on record. "Avoid like the plague" is putting it lightly.
The 2002-2005 Explorer has a very well-established record of expensive transmission failure at under 100k miles. The Explorer has an enclosed transmission which is typically replaced with a rebuilt transmission at a cost of almost $3,000.
Another common problem for the 2002-2003 Explorer is wheel bearing failure at around 90k miles, with a typical repair bill of $500 to $1000 depending on how many wheel bearings failed.
Adding insult to injury, the 2002-2005 Explorer also has a massive problem with the rear panel cracking. While it's a minor annoyance compared to transmission failure, ironically the crack usually goes right through the Ford logo.
6.5
fairly significant- Typical Repair Cost:
- $450
- Average Mileage:
- 79,300 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 622 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- Ford should pay for it (396 reports)
- not sure (86 reports)
- paid to have rear panel replaced (48 reports)
- file complaint with NHTSA to get a recall issued (26 reports)
- start a class action suit and get damages reimbursed (17 reports)
- dealership replaced the entire panel (10 reports)
body / paint problem
Helpful websites
- Cracked Ford Explores - Visit and join this Facebook Group for an additional site where you can tell Ford about this annoying problem.
- Class Action Lawsuit For This Issue - Looks like there is a class action lawsuit for this problem. I would sign up to show how many of us are having this issue.
- Replacement Trim Panel At Lower Cost - Save money on a replacement part at Rock Auto. Use their parts search and drill down to Ford => Your Year => Explorer => Body => Rear. You will see several options listed there.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Yep, same problem as everyone else. We went on a cruise, came home and in our driveway sat the explorer with a cracked panel. No-one had driven it, it just appeared. We just bought out our lease 6 months ago. Naturally the warranty expired 4 months before this happened. I called ford and got the same old well, we know about the problem but guess what, to damn bad. I called the ford customer service line and got nothing more than a sorry about your luck line. The sad part is I've only ever bought fords. My wifey and I have bought 5 new fords. I at least had a chance to tell them if they did not fix this problem my business would go elsewhere.
I see this problem on all kinds of explorers. This is happening to a lot of explorers, not just a few. I agree with some type of a lawsuit... tell me where to sign up.
While we're at it, lots of people with 2002 explorers are having problems with the auto 4 X 4 switching into 4 wheel drive for no reason. Sometimes it's just that or sometimes their 4 wheel drive won't work at all. All kinds of problems relating to this. Lots of people having problems with this issue also. Yes, there is a 4X4 modulator or something behind the glovebox that is the culprit.
Another thing to look forward to is the door ajar gremlin. Yep, no doors are open but it says there is. The interior light stays on while this is happening and lots of little sounds letting you know about the problem. I understand a lot of the time just a little wd 40 squirted in the door latches will fix it, I just tried that today, maybe I'll get lucky and this problem won't cost me.
- Les S., Lima, OH, US