A large crack spontaneously formed running vertically down the panel of the rear liftgate of our 2002 Mercury Mountaineer near the emblem. I have not been able to ascertain if the crack has led to a failure of the tailgate integrity as far as waterproofing is concerned..

- Brandon, MS, USA

Tailgate has developed crack in the plastic of the gate. The plastic is bonded to the rear window glass. Apparently dissimilar expansion coefficients result in cracking of the gate. Local repair shop has replaced 3 in the last month, not including mine.

- Fishersville, VA, USA

: the contact stated the tailgate was cracked below the window. When the vehicle was purchased, the tailgate was already cracked. The service dealer repaired the crack. A year later, the tailgate began cracking again and has progressively become worse; its cracked all the way down through the plastic panel below the window. The contact stated that the window comes down so hard that it may be the reason for the cracking tailgate.

- Franklin, TN, USA

The rear panel of, my 2002 Mercury Mountaineer was replaced when the rear window blew out. This indicint occurred when the vehicle was parked in my driveway, and we found later that there was a massive recall due to this defect. Now, the rear panel is literally peeling away from the truck, we took it to the dealer where we usually go for repairs and was told that the vehicle is no longer under warranty and that we would have to just live with it. I find this completely unacceptable. The vehicle is barely three years old and I have had several problems with it; although most of them have been adressed, I am completely shocked that I have to drive around wondering whether the rear panel is going to fly off and possibly cause damage to another vehichle or even worse cause injury to an individual. I am contacting Ford Motor Company today to formally let them know of my complaint, becuase I'd like to know how long is the warranty period on a manufacturers defect that was repaired. Thanks, denise

- Shrewsbury, MA, USA