2011 XLT Rusted liftgate hinges

[Sean C.]

I am having a heck of a time down here in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands getting resolution to a nasty issue I'm having with my 2011 Explorer XLT. The liftgate hinges are rusting out with holes forming in the metal. Because of the location of this issue I didn't identify the problem until May of 2016 at which time I brought it to the dealer (Metro Motors St. Croix). Note that I also take my car to the dealer for service and they never noticed it either during any of my visits. The rust warranty (5 years) was still in place in May which they acknowledged. However it is now December and they've continually told me that they are "waiting on the Ford rep to make a determination." They supposedly took pictures and sent it off to Ford but I am getting this same responses every few weeks when I call to check on the status of things.

As this is the only dealer on the island I don't have many options. The problem is getting worse and I'm afraid that the liftgate is going to fall off one day when it opens (I have an auto opener).

Any thoughts or ideas on how to proceed with getting service? Is this a common problem with this model?
Here's some pictures:

Thanks,

Sean

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Sean.
There is another thread on liftgate rust but since yours is so bad and in a spot likely not regularly looked at I'll leave it on its own so that perhaps other members may check theirs out as well. In my opinion that definitely should be covered under the warranty as parts have rusted through. You can try sending the FordService rep here a PM but because of your location I don't know if there is much they can do beyond what has already been done. Good luck.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?conversations/add&to=FordService

Peter

 

[Sean C.]

Thanks Peter, I apologize for creating a separate thread, I used the wrong search box earlier and could not find a way to find a filter to limit it to just newer Explorer models. I now see the top right search box with that option and will use that in the future. My bad!

Yeah it's really bad. They did an estimate and it came in at like $1200 to fix it which I'm hoping the rust warranty will help mitigate. It really should not have happened, my wife's Honda has similar liftgates and no issues or rust despite being a 4 year older car. Hoping Ford can do the right thing here for me, I'll try to reach out to a rep on here, thanks for the advice!

Sean

 

[FordService]

Welcome to the Forum Sean.
There is another thread on liftgate rust but since yours is so bad and in a spot likely not regularly looked at I'll leave it on its own so that perhaps other members may check theirs out as well. In my opinion that definitely should be covered under the warranty as parts have rusted through. You can try sending the FordService rep here a PM but because of your location I don't know if there is much they can do beyond what has already been done. Good luck.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?conversations/add&to=FordService

Peter

Thank you for the mention, peterk9!!

Thanks Peter, I apologize for creating a separate thread, I used the wrong search box earlier and could not find a way to find a filter to limit it to just newer Explorer models. I now see the top right search box with that option and will use that in the future. My bad!

Yeah it's really bad. They did an estimate and it came in at like $1200 to fix it which I'm hoping the rust warranty will help mitigate. It really should not have happened, my wife's Honda has similar liftgates and no issues or rust despite being a 4 year older car. Hoping Ford can do the right thing here for me, I'll try to reach out to a rep on here, thanks for the advice!

Sean

Hello Sean C.,

Thank you for the PM. I sent you a response.

Deysha

 

[reserved50]

I'm curious, if you look under the spare tire cover, does it contain any water? Do you have any water leaks?

 

[Sean C.]

I'm curious, if you look under the spare tire cover, does it contain any water? Do you have any water leaks?

Yes, actually it did. About 3 weeks ago I noticed that, it was full and I unplugged the drain plugs to drain it. While the rust started back in May I just noticed this for the first time 3 weeks ago although we've had torrential rain every night for the last month or so. Interesting what your thoughts are on this!

 

[peterk9]

are a few threads on water leaks but this is the main one: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/water-leak.327803/

Peter

 

[reserved50]

Ford has a HUGE problem on their hands, the seam sealer is failing which lets water in thru the cracks, that's what happened with yours. I had my airbag electrical in water, not good. If anyone asks I tell them to remove the roof racks to get at all the sealer around the bolt holes but especially at the rear of the hatch where every single seam needs to be removed and re-applied.

You can scrape up all the loose sealer and patch it but it doesn't look as nice if not done properly, its a concern at any joint overlap where theres flex. I'm no professional but it looks like the materials weren't up to par.