Panel cracked on a cold winter day and I heard it crack when it did it. Nothing impacted the vehicle such as a collision nor did it come from slamming the panel shut. It came as I was driving down a smooth, paved roadway. The dealer said that it would take $500 dollars to get a new panel and that did not include the cost of painting it to match. Also not covered under my extended "bumper to bumper" warranty that I paid an extra $2500 dollars for when I purchased the vehicle new.

I had considered replacing the panel but from reading around in a number of forums found out that the replacement panels are the same thing as the old panels and they will crack as well - thus not worth the cost.

A lot of photos are shown online of cracked plastic panels on the Explorer tailgates. The whole assembly is lightweight and frail. Eight hours on a corrugated dirt road would probably destroy both upper tailgate hinges and the glass. They are not strong enough for an SUV. Ford should have recalled all of them and replaced with a more substantial window.

My Explorer had a full-width crack in the rear tailgate plastic panel.I fixed the crack with RapidFix glue, made by Boss products in Michigan. It was done without disassembly, in about 5 minutes. It was less of a problem than gluing my Nike sandals; which I did straight after. It is waterproof, and looks very durable. I am sending this to your information bank because I do not seem to be able to access the Explorer Forum. It may be better to remove the panel and fix both sides but the job can be done without that. I did abrade the crack slightly and rubbed the sides of the crack with 1200 wet-or-dry paper, but that's all. It is worth a try for owners of Explorers with multiple cracked tailgate panels. I have forgotten the name of the plastic used to make the panel but that RapidFix glue will stick it. Just do not leave your fingers on the area you are gluing or the emergency boys will be cutting the panel to take you away to get unglued. Quite a few retail outlets stock that glue, and I would recommend it. Here in Australia I bought a pack online for $43.00, and that is a lot cheaper than a panel job. According to the RapidFix instruction video you can stab your radiator hose and then glue it, and it will hold under pressure. Or glue your radiator hole, coolant bottle hole, or water pump housing. Ford are not going to fix their tailgates, so people should be able to access a cheap means of repair. I hope you can give this message out to Explorer owners. I have no connection with the people of Boss Products except that I have some of that glue on my fingernails for a while.

When the Explorer was bought used in 2015 the cracks that are common in this panel did not exist. We purposely did not open the glass part of the lift gate to avoid cracking it. Eventually it cracked on its own just from opening the full tailgate. Then recently the lift gate latch keeper bolts/studs rusted behind the cracked panel and the glass lift gate released on its own. The interior lights came on as a result. This drained my battery in this summers heat. I had to purchase a new battery.

To avoid this battery issue from happening again, I rigged the lift gate latch with zip ties through the holes to temporarily hold the lift gate shut. It won't hold long like this so I need to fix the attachment parts that rusted behind the glass and then the colored cover panel that is now badly cracked, The cracking of this very poorly designed and poor material choice part let water in behind it after cracking. This caused rust of the latch attachment studs.

Ford's issuance of VSB's about this issue are proof they were aware and should still be on the hook for such poor design of this widespread tailgate issue that is a safety concern.