While removing grocery bags from the rear of my 2004 Ford Explorer XLT, the left liftgate hinge snapped and the window half of the rear liftgate door came apart leaving the left side of the door still attached to the hydraulic liftgate bar but otherwise dangling and unsupported. Then I could not shut the door so we propped it with pillows to ease the stress on the left side. I had problems with the liftgate hydraulic bar collapsing on my prior Ford Explorer but those repairs were covered under a recall. This morning Ford denied there was a recall for my present vehicle and refused to provide any information on prior recalls involving the same liftgate apparatus failure that occurred to my 2004 model. I called the Ford dealer who said they would have to charge me for towing to bring my SUV for repair there. My local repair shop that is less than one mile away is coming to pick up the vehicle and repair it. I think Ford has still not resolve these liftgate apparatus problems after all these years of being on notice of the structural problem and even having prior recalls for 2002-03 Explorer!! I could have been seriously injured had the door collapsed on me. It also could have caused the window to shatter and my liftgate glass door fully breaks away from the car, it will result in body damage to the rear bumper.

- New Canaan, CT, USA

I have a 2004 Ford Explorer which while driving last year I was told that my hub assembly on my driver's side was bad and that I needed to replace it. I replaced it with a hub assembly from advance auto parts in Jan 2010. I just had to replace this part again in Dec 2010. I lost breaks. I also have a horrible jerking when I am backing up from a tight spot and the wheels are turned sharply. My door ajar light and all interior lights do not go off when the door is opened or the vehicle is cranked unless I turn the interior light switch to the off position and back to the on when the doors open position. I have had the electrical issue reviewed twice in the past. I have had the jerking looked at with no reason given more than once. I had my vehicle inspected on Nov 30th and nothing was mentioned about the terrible condition the hub assembly was in nor the bearings that a mobile mechanic showed me were terribly worn. I am replacing them soon. It seems to me that Ford must know about all of these problems and it should be something that they are willing to help the consumer in fixing since most Ford buyers are diehard Ford owners like myself.

- Henrico, VA, USA

I take very good care of my 2004 Ford Explorer. When I was hand washing it I noticed a crack in my back hatch.

- Dardanelle, AR, USA

My concern is in regard to an ongoing problem that my vehicle and thousands of others like it have; the lack of safety one may be faced with if the rear on these vehicles fail due to substandard parts used in the rear differential on the Ford SUV's and F-150's. my understanding is that the costly repair that is required the manufacture will not honor after the basic warranty is over even though this is an ongoing problem. On these vehicles. I was told today that if I continue to drive the vehicle to the point of complete failure I risk the vehicles back wheels locking up. My question to the NHTSA is why has there not been a recall on these vehicles knowing that this is a major problem in the drivetrain of these vehicles. I have 79K on my vehicle and a friend had their rear differential replaced at 22K and the problem is prevalent again on that vehicle again as well. In my estimation this could result in serious injury. What does it take to get a recall on this problem" does hundreds of people have to die or suffer serious injury for something to be done? I have had my vehicle back to Ford for one bang or clang or another since the vehicle had 18K on it. Will the NHTSA ever see fit to make a re-call on these vehicles or again does several people need to suffer injury or loss before something is done"

- Wanaque, NJ, USA

Of the numerous issues with this vehicle, the worst is the transmission (40,000 miles ). same old story. Started with clunking and hesitation and surging when shifting into reverse and now is 'clunking' into gears 2 and 3 during normal driving. The rear drivers side window motor has been replaced twice. The rear window panel has a vertical crack to the left of the Ford symbol that just mysteriously occurred even though we don't even use the window. The truck stalls when the cruise control is applied below 45 miles an hour. My wife and I really loved this truck but like many others we have become embarrassed by our purchase. If this kind of fraud were to occur with any other product we would have some sort of recourse but not surprisingly the motor company's seem to enjoy a certain level of protection. The 'better business bureau' won't even listen to car complaints. Given the severe and ubiquitous nature of the complaints about this vehicle it comes as no surprise that no remediations is forth coming from this organization, the manufacturer or any other. The cost of these vehicles is a burden to say the least and is financially devastating to those of us who purchased them in good faith only to have a 30,000 dollar vehicle become useless and dangerous before reaching 50000 miles. Like all the other 'victims' of fraud, I am wasting yet more of my time by complaining about it.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

I own a 2004 Ford Explorer on 7/14/2008 I took it to the Ford dealer ship due to my O/D light flashing. I was told I would need a new transmission $3,200 dollars so they replaced the transmission, I picked up my Explorer on 7/28/2004 and only drove it 30 miles and the O/D light began flashing again and the transmission was not passing gears. Now this is a new transmission the dealer ship was contacted and they now have my vehicle again so now I will have to wait and see what the out come is again.

- Gastonia, NC, USA

My 2004 Ford Explorer had to have the complete rear end fixed. It has only 40,000 miles and should never have had to repair this part of a automobile. Especially a 2004. The repair shop said they have never had to repair a rear end and they have been in business for 30 years. There has to be something wrong that Ford did to my vehicle to have this break this soon. It cost me over $1200 of which we are on a fixed income. We had to sell things, borrow money with interest and with my husband so very ill that his medicine for 7 pills every three months is over $700 a 3 month. Someone had to make a mistake. I have driven Ford since I started drive over several years ago. Matter of fact the first car I drove was the Ford push button. Please find out if there is someone that can help us with this extremely high repair bill. This car is our only transportation and is very wrong for us to have to pay this much for repair for such a new car. Thank you, norma grotberg

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

I have taken my Ford Explorer (2004 XLT V8 4WD) to the dealership four times to have the differential fluid that is leaking fixed. I have spent about $800 getting it fixed, not to mention the gas that it takes to get there and back and each time I pull in my driveway and look out to see it still leaking. After the second time that I took my vehicle to the dealership, the service department lady told me that they didn't know why it was leaking and that they were going to have to contact Ford to see if it was a recurring problem--and of course it is---and they had to order a different part (that is still not working) to fix it. Couldn't they have known that in the beginning? now they are telling me that if this doesn't work they are just going to have to replace the axles. I have read on several websites that this is a problem that Ford is not willing to do anything about. I will no longer be a Ford customer due to this. Thank you Ford for wasting my time and my money!

- Phenix City, AL, USA

www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/2004/transmission/transmission_slipping_shifts_hard.shtml. view this website. I too have had the same problem at 10000 miles. I had the vehicle serviced, and am now experiencing a slight hesitation when backing again. This needs to be looked at. I did not realize the widespread problem until I saw the recent complaints on this web-site for this vehicle's year/make/model. This wa S a huge safety issue.

- Haverhill, MA, USA

When the Explorer is put in reverse it takes up to 5 seconds to engage and then jerks backwards after making a large clunking noise. U joints and wheel bearings have been replaced, but problem still occurs.

- Indianapolis, IL, USA

Car was parked in a driveway with rear window towards garage door. The back window of the car along with a piece of the actual door exploded off. The piece of the door flew up into the air and came crashing back down onto the car. Their was glass everywhere. Had anyone been facing the car it could have caused some serious bodily injury. Or had the car been in motion anyone inside the car could have been hurt or anyone driving behind could have been hurt.

- Spotswood, NJ, USA