CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2004 Ford Explorer one of our worst vehicles on record. "Avoid like the plague" is putting it lightly.
The 2002-2005 Explorer has a very well-established record of expensive transmission failure at under 100k miles. The Explorer has an enclosed transmission which is typically replaced with a rebuilt transmission at a cost of almost $3,000.
Another common problem for the 2002-2005 Explorer is wheel bearing failure at around 90k miles, with a typical repair bill of $500 to $1000 depending on how many wheel bearings failed.
Adding insult to injury, the 2002-2005 Explorer also has a massive problem with the rear panel cracking. While it's a minor annoyance compared to transmission failure, ironically the crack usually goes right through the Ford logo.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
9 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,906 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
A crack appeared on the lift gate top panel just below the wiper. The crack runs vertical from the top of the panel around the Ford emblem to the bottom of the panel. I noticed that others are having this same problem at around 70,000 on the 2004 Ford Explorer eddie bauer edition.
The panel below the rear window cracked for no apparent reason. I loaded my gym bag into the back and closed the hatch. When I came back 5 min later to wipe the dew off the window I noticed 2 vertical cracks on the panel. The cracks seem to be getting longer and I fear the window may fall out.
Wife came back from school and told me the problem. We have a 2004 Ford Explorer with a crack on the rear trunk lid below the rear glass where the Ford emblem is, looking through the internet and found out that there are a handful of complaints regarding this panel becoming crack what so ever and still no recall.
Back hatch panel on my 2004 Ford Explorer cracked into two pieces for no reason. Looked online and many other owners are having the same problem and no recall on this part has been issued. I have not replaced the part yet as it is a $400 repair that is obviously due to poor quality of parts used by Ford.
- Summerville, SC, USA
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2004 Ford Explorer with the back plastic door been split in half, it looks like this is happening to a lot of Ford Explorer, we have taken the truck to the dealer. The problem is not on a recall and it will be on our own expenses.
I walked around to the back of my Explorer to put groceries in the back trunk area to find the plastic cracked by the Ford emblem. It runs the length of the flip open glass panel that has now broken the integrity of the car leaving it much easier for someone to break in. The car was not involved in any sort of collision, no other marks were seen.
We have a 2004 Ford Explorer that had a spontaneous crack occur on the back lift gate below the glass and through the Ford emblem. We have seen many Explorer on the road with this defect and were told that this is not going to be recalled and would be responsible for fixing. Although we considered; most people that have had this fixed; the crack happens again. This would cost 4-8 hundred dollars to fix and will probably occur again.
The rear tailgate cracked from the bottom of the rear glass and propagated downward around the Ford emblem and finally to the bottom of the liftgate panel. This has happened on a 2004 Ford Explorer limited, V8 with.
Paint on the hood of my 2004 Ford Explorer began to bubble and subsequently peel off. Needed other, unrelated body work, and had the dealer shipfix the paint problem along with other body work. Fortunately, the body shop guy only charged me $100, since he already had the paint (and I think felt a little sorry for me). Have had no further problems with the paint.
Crack appeared on panel below rear window. Crack extends from the rear window to the bottom of the top rear hatch. No mistreatment of vehicle has occurred; crack appeared spontaneously while unoccupied in my garage. Will bring to Ford dealership tomorrow to inquire about replacement.
My 2004 Ford Explorer has a cracked rear lift gate just below the window, adjacent to the center Ford emblem. It was described to me by my local Ford dealer as a manufactured defect as a result of the horizontal plastic deck lid being glued to the metal lift gate. During contraction and expansion of these two materials during fluctuations in weather, the lid will crack. I have noticed approximately 30-40% of 2002-2005 Explorer with the same problem. Ford could elevate this problem by replacing the plastic panels with a better material or glue. My warranty expired at 36K and I noticed this problem won't occur until the vehicle is about 50K-75K of 3-4 years. Ford wants $500 to repair plus paint for a total of $700 dollars.
I bought this 2004 Ford Explorer in 2006. The panel below the back window was loose. They sent a glass dealer out to fix it. They just put hot glue or something to mend it for the time. Needless to say it's 1/2 falling off now.
I noticed a crack on the rear panel of the tailgate of my 2004 Ford Explorer. It is in the middle, right next to the Ford emblem. I took the vehicle to the Ford dealership. The service manager explained that this was a common problem that people are bringing in to them. They said that there was no recall for it. They said my only option was to pay to get it repaired, which would cost about $450. My vehicle only had about 48,000 miles, but was no longer covered under the 3 year warranty. The manager also said that if I do choose to get it fixed, to keep the receipt because if there ever is a recall on it, I could be re-imbursed.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. Since November of 2008, the contact has been experiencing issues with the rear hatch door. There is a crack directly in the center of the hatch where the lock is located. As a result, the rear window opens without warning. While driving over speed bumps or potholes, the window opens. The vehicle was taken in for inspection, but the contact was informed that the warranty was expired. She feels that this is a safety issue, which could cause a serious crash. The current and failure mileages were 42,106.
Cracking tailgate panel below rear tailgate window extending to the bottom of the tailgate. The crack extends along the left side of the Ford emblem. This is the second crack since I have had in 2 years in exactly the same location. The previous crack appeared in January 2007 and was repaired by dealer at no cost. This time the dealer wants to charge me $450 to repair an obvious defect in workmanship and or material.
Back rear hatch cracked. Just like the 100's of others I found on my internet search of the problem. Our transmission also failed and had to be replaced, at our own cost.
Car sat in driveway. Noticed rear hatch was cracked. Nothing had hit the car and hatch was not opened therefore it was not slammed. Went to internet to look up a recall but there isn't one. This is a factory defect. I found many sites of the same cracks in the same place. Talked to my service manager, he told me that he has heard of many Explorer that did the exact same thing!
There is a long crack in the back area below the back hatch window, it looks like water running down by the Ford emblem but it is a crack. I have seen this same crack on other Ford Explorer. That why I belief it is a defect in the vehicle itself.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Rockwall, TX, USA