Cargo area, 3rd row seat back cracks. | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Cargo area, 3rd row seat back cracks.

strike

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Year, Model & Trim Level
2012 Ford Explorer
Took my all season wheels into the dealer so that I can get them on and the winter tires stores and found that the weight of the wheels broke the cheap cardboard panel that lies flat when you put the seats in a lie flat position. Didn't Ford think that anybody would put anything in the back of this 'SUV' for transportation. I've never, ever had or seen anything like this before.

The problem doesn't show when the seats are up but the panel is almost cracked in half when down :( I wonder if this is replaceable and how much it will cost. Next time I'll get a real truck to carry anything heavy.
 



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Took my all season wheels into the dealer so that I can get them on and the winter tires stores and found that the weight of the wheels broke the cheap cardboard panel that lies flat when you put the seats in a lie flat position..

Well that is not good! Maybe under warranty? Hope this is not a sign of things to come down the road. :thumbdwn:
 






Could you post a picture, I'm not sure of exactly what you are describing.
Thanks. :)
 






Took my all season wheels into the dealer so that I can get them on and the winter tires stores and found that the weight of the wheels broke the cheap cardboard panel that lies flat when you put the seats in a lie flat position. Didn't Ford think that anybody would put anything in the back of this 'SUV' for transportation. I've never, ever had or seen anything like this before.

The problem doesn't show when the seats are up but the panel is almost cracked in half when down :( I wonder if this is replaceable and how much it will cost. Next time I'll get a real truck to carry anything heavy.
That is not acceptable at all. I don't recall reading anything about a weight restriction on loads in the back although common sense should be used. I loaded 19" wheels c/w tires into the back of my previous Highlander serveral times without problems.
Struggling with the weight of those made it an easy decision to have the 20" OEM's stored at the dealer for $35. I'll be swapping mine by the end of the month. The weather has been crazy here. Normal temp for this time is 37 degrees F. The next week they are forecasting 52 - 78 degrees!

Peter
 






Could you post a picture, I'm not sure of exactly what you are describing.
Thanks. :)

Here's the picture
damaged.jpg
 






That stinks! I was curious how sturdy those boards were. When I had the seats laying flat, I noticed there was some serious give when I put any amount of stress on the corners.

One thing to think about, if you have to get the back of the seat redone, maybe look into a metal backing instead of the fiber board Ford uses to increase strength.
 






Man that sucks. I would think the dealer would cover that but who knows in this day and age.
 






That's weird. I carried home a 350lb 5'x24"x24" gun fire/safe home. Tipped it in. Full weight on the first 25% of fold flat, then slid it all the way in. Pulled it out in the same manner without any damage. Guess I got lucky.
 






That's weird. I carried home a 350lb 5'x24"x24" gun fire/safe home. Tipped it in. Full weight on the first 25% of fold flat, then slid it all the way in. Pulled it out in the same manner without any damage. Guess I got lucky.
Yep. I've put some pretty heavy stuff in mine.

Either the panel was defective, or someone really did something strange when putting your tires in.

I'd have a nice conversation with your dealer and see what they can do for you.
 






I think they threw the tires in the back !!
 






I've carried quite a bit of heavy stuff in the back of mine without problems. Just ran a full load of 2x4's and 2x6's home from the mill earlier this week. I'd wonder if it wasn't cracked from the beginning.
 












Making me nervous about my 90lb dog that is about to call the back of the truck home
I wouldn't be. That's where mine hangs out. Though I did end up buying some 5/8 plywood and low pile carpet and made two panels that would extend over the holes in the floor, and the cutout for the headrests, etc. Works great, and the panels are trimmed to that they can be removed and fit sideways in the back for storage.
 






Making me nervous about my 90lb dog that is about to call the back of the truck home

Don't think it'll be a problem. I've had hundreds of pounds sitting on those panels without a problem (myself at 245lbs included).
 






I wouldn't be. That's where mine hangs out. Though I did end up buying some 5/8 plywood and low pile carpet and made two panels that would extend over the holes in the floor, and the cutout for the headrests, etc. Works great, and the panels are trimmed to that they can be removed and fit sideways in the back for storage.

Can you post a picture of your setup? ;)
 






That's alot of dead weight, specially if the tires had to be stacked. I can see the damage occuring if the tire was dropped. When you put a rigid piece of material on top of something that's soft such as the back panel on a cusion, there's going to be just enough flex for breakage. Sucks that it happened, but it doesn't surprise me.
 






I would agree with a loading issue.

I just folded down all our seats and moved a large amount of our stuff from Kansas to Indianapolis. I had a heavy tv, large heavy boxes, stacked to the ceiling. Well over the weight of those tires. Not even the smallest amount of damage.

These are people mover vehicles, not F-150's. With all the moves manufacturers are making to drop weight everywhere they can, you shouldn't expect steel reinforcement everywhere.

Having said all that, I have been in several other brands SUVs and the backs of the seats seem largely the same material wise.

I love the hell out of my Explorer, it has far exceeded my expectations.
 






That's weird. I carried home a 350lb 5'x24"x24" gun fire/safe home. Tipped it in. Full weight on the first 25% of fold flat, then slid it all the way in. Pulled it out in the same manner without any damage. Guess I got lucky.


I've stuffed my with over 800 lbs of heavy gear, in that location as well on a number of occasions......nothing like that
 






I wouldn't be. That's where mine hangs out. Though I did end up buying some 5/8 plywood and low pile carpet and made two panels that would extend over the holes in the floor, and the cutout for the headrests, etc. Works great, and the panels are trimmed to that they can be removed and fit sideways in the back for storage.

picture would be great if you have one! I was wondering if it would be possible to have him come with us with 1 or 2 of the 3rd row seats were up
 



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Took my all season wheels into the dealer so that I can get them on and the winter tires stores and found that the weight of the wheels broke the cheap cardboard panel that lies flat when you put the seats in a lie flat position. Didn't Ford think that anybody would put anything in the back of this 'SUV' for transportation. I've never, ever had or seen anything like this before.

The problem doesn't show when the seats are up but the panel is almost cracked in half when down :( I wonder if this is replaceable and how much it will cost. Next time I'll get a real truck to carry anything heavy.

Strike, did you ever get this fixed?
 






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