rear body panel crack? who has it!!

[os1kne]

My wife just discovered a crack in the hatch of her 2004 Explorer similar to the pics in this thread. Now I'm in the "crack club" too!

Hers is the 4th Explorer that I've owned, but I've had more problems (not maintenance) with it than all of the others combined. (Aluminum oxidation on the hood, crack in the rear hatch, transmission, catalytic converter, unusually frequent brake and ball joint replacements, etc.) Very frustrating!

 

[fled]

The problem with this panel is that its mounted to the rear glass. Glued on all around and theres space inside between glass and panel. So what happens is when its cold out air compresses and causes panel to crack. I had mine changed with modification. I bought new panel from dealer for $60 i think. Made brackets inside. Painted and glued back on. Friend of mine worked in factory that makes glue for nasa so i used that good stuff. Did not have problem ever since. Keeping my recipts for about 4 years already waiting till this becomes recall and i can get my $ back.

 

[Teejay4490]

Yeah I have it to, and unfortanately there never will be a re-call according to multiple people at FORD..

 

[fled]

This thing is hollow inside and thats the problem. When i was changing mine i was suprised that it was mounted on the window. And made me think what if rear window broke. It would cost arm and leg to repair.

 

[Teejay4490]

Yeah Ford did alot of stupid things when designing these..anybody used a 4th gen hatch?

 

[fled]

Yeah Ford did alot of stupid things when designing these..anybody used a 4th gen hatch?

You talking about changing out the whole back door?

 

[Teejay4490]

Yeah the entire gate

 

[fled]

Yeah the entire gate

Unless i got one of them for free with matching exterior color i wouldnt even bother with it.

 

[MGG]

Mine cracked last night! At least its out of the way now. I have no plans to fix it until that whole panel cracks off. Fugg it.

 

[pburchins]

I have a 2004 Eddie Bauer with 60k miles on it. Well, I just joined the crack club. Two weeks ago after a cold snap in Georgia (low 25 degrees) I had on my tailgate of large looking deep scratch. Yesterday, it was cracked completely through.

This sucks.......

I spoke to my local Ford Dealer and he said while this generation was sold they replaced 6 a week. So, almost 400 per year. He stated no good long term fix and Ford is just going to ignore. I did call Ford and they just did not give a damn. I have 2 explorers and an escape in the driveway. Why would I purchase anymore.

I am convinced it has to with expansion/contraction due to heat and cold. While in the mountains with 35 degrees the crack was 1/4" wide. Yesterday, the tailgate was in the sun and it was 60 degrees and you could barely see the crack because it was so tight, if you have seen vinyl siding installed it is very similar. It has to have room to move.

 

[jchristian79]

2005 XLT with 65k miles. Bought it in October and haven't seen any signs of a crack....

until today

I thought I lucked out, but sure enough I can see the crack forming just to the left of the Ford emblem. This is going to drive me nuts...

 

[printner]

There is a law suit

http://www.murrayfrank.com/lawyer-attorney-1780007.html

Don't know what it means for us all.

 

[piercesean]

i joined the club with 3 cracks and is now starting to fall off the drivers side!

 

[1993XLimitedX]

Mine has it too ...thinking about gluing it back together and then doing a wrap over it

 

[Teejay4490]

Youd think with this many people having the issue theyd fix and HOPE for a return customer. Although I may buy another Ford in the future it would have to be used and from a Non-Ford dealership. ****tiest people ive ever dealt with.

 

[girly4x4]

mine cracked also,anybody have luck getting ford to pay for this? pretty bad all the post i read about this. gotta 02 ex for sale!!!!!!!!!!

 

[piercesean]

wheres that ford customer service guy to see all these post and report to his bosses.

 

[foster79]

dang it

I had mine for 7 years. No issues but the door locks. Last night I went out and it had cracked right next the ford emblem

 

[roush9799]

What do the replacement one's look like? Mine is cracked. Are they just a flat piece of plastic? I was wondering if you could JB weld another piece of plastic to the back of it to reinforce it possibly preventing the crack.

 

[Black Dynomite]

The replacement (1L2Z-78402A30-CAPTM) is just a grey primed panel, it is contoured the same as the panel on your vehicle and has a top lip. Gluing a reinforcement panel probably wont work as many believe (incl me) that the issue is caused by the glue that Ford used to attach the panel to the underlying plastic which is attached to the glass. It bonds the panel too rigidly to the glass (which expands quicker than the plastic).

I have just redone mine. I followed the Ford TSB 05-24-2 for this procedure (IMPORTANT - dont cut along the top edge when removing the old panel). However, I have used black roofing silicone to attach the panel. It has a good bond to both surfaces yet is very flexible and will hopefully prevent the issue reoccurring. The silicone should allow a bit of give to occur between two differing materials.