I bought my 2008 Explorer Eddie Bauer, used in May 2011. 25000+ miles at the time. It was a big purchase for me. I had previously had 2 Trailblazer and 1 H3 leases. I was proud to finally own an Eddie Bauer. Even spent an additional $1,500 for an extended warranty. Needed to protect my new baby, you know.
Day 4 . A night out. Nancy (she's my lovely wife) was freshening up her lipstick. 'Hey Pat?', she turns to me holding the visor mirror cover from the passenger side, snapped off the passenger side. DAMN! I calmly accused her of doing something wrong. Arrgh....spilled milk.... I swallowed my words and my temper. The quick fix? Wedging a box of Altoids in the closed visor so the mirror light would stay off. Within another week, before I was able to return to the dealership, 'SNAP!' .... I had just taken care of the driver's side mirror cover. Seriously? All I did was lower the visor and lift the mirror cover. Yes, gently. Yes, using the manufacturer's guidelines for appropriate use. i.e. lifting at the finger hole with my thumb. Well, you guessed it, had to buy more Altoids.
Dealer estimated over $200 to repair. Whaaaat? It's not covered? I said 'no thanks'. I thought I'd find them on-line at a fraction of that. Nope. No luck. Yes. These covers were poorly made. Not that a recall should have been issued, but at the very least, I feel Ford should have made a note to cover this under warranty.
hard to believe a vehicle with very low miles could have BOTH visor covers fell off...i was originally thinking it my daughter shutting the visor to hard because i try to really take care of my vehicles. after looking at how cheap the part is made,and the same problem happening on the driver side visor mirror cover, I WAS TO SAY THE LEAST SOMEWHAT "SPEAKING IN MY RICHARD PRYOR VOICE"....if the part was used by us more than a couple times....and the car had lots of miles on it, then i could possibly understand it is a wear/tear part. THE DOOR HINGE ON THE DRIVER SIDE SUCKS TOO...BOUGHT THE SUV WITH 1,200 MILES ON IT, HINGE ON THE DRIVER DOOR HAS BEEN FAULTY SINCE THEN. AND YES ALL MY READER(S) YOU GUESSED IT FORD DEALERSHIIP(SAME ONE I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM) IN TOLEDO, OHIO SAYS THATS A PART THAT ISN'T COVERED BY YOUR EXTENDED WARRANTY. I WORK HARD AT MY JOB AND NEVER HALF A... THINGS, IF I WORKED AT FORD, I WOULD FIX PROBLEMS THAT ARE TRUE LEGIT ISSUES, NOT TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT AND SAY NO "THERES NOTHING WE CAN DO FOR YOU..." WHAT A JOKE... AND YES I'M IN A GREAT MOOD RIGHT NOW....
I had the vehicle a short time when I opened the visor and the cover fell off. The light remains on and it gets extremely hot. My husband disconnected the wires. The other day I opened the passenger side visor and the cover fell off the other side. The plastic is so cheap. This is an expensive vehicle and supposedly top of the line and I expect excellence instead of cheap. My 2000 explorer's visor is very nice and I have had no problems with it. Very disappointed.
Also told this is no longer under warranty. First pieces of plastic fell off and then the visor cover fell off on the driver side visor. Then the plastic and cover fell off the passenger side visor and then the mirror fell down hanging by wires. The wires came loose. When my daughter tried to reconnect they sparked and now the mirror is completely disconnected. I moved up to the Eddie Bauer thinking this would be better than the LX - I was wrong. Never had these problems with my first Explorer. I am also tired of reading about many others having these same problems.
This is the second mirror cover to fall off. Minimal use and poorly made product. I've driven Ford explorers for 11 years and this cheaply made mirror cover is ridiculous. I took it to the Ford dealer in my area and he said Ford recommended that both be replaced $200+ and they put the very same product on. I don't even dare open the mirror for reality that they thing will just pop off. Surly Ford knows of this problem and on a $30k+ vehicle we customers should expect more. I love Ford Explorers but am not happy about this cheap mirror cover. My rental was a much cheaper Escape and it had a far more substantial cover on its mirror. Fix the problem Ford.
- joelga,
Atlanta, GA, US
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Same as the others - Ford will not replace the cover. Instead I have to pat close to $200 for a new visor broken piece of plastic that probably cost the 50 cents.
This is unacceptable. I am on my second explorer. Not sure what if anything I can do.
LAST YEAR WHILE OUT OF STATE THE PASSENGER SIDE BROKE. AFTER LOOKING AT THE DESIGN I REALIZED HOW CHEAPLY BUILT IT WAS.
NOW THE DRIVER SIDE DID THE SAME THING. THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED BY FORD OR AT LEAST NOT MAKE IT AN "ASSEMBLY" BY ATTACHING IT TO THE VISOR. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY OF PURCHASEING THE MIRROR . I WOULD CALL FORD BUT THE REPRESENATIVE IN THIS AREA IS NOTORIOUS FOR STUPIDITY AND WITHOUT LOOKING AT CARS, EVEN THE ONES UNDER WARRANTY DENYING THE REPAIR.
Like several of the other entries noted, this is a pain in the rear, we bought the car used a couple of years ago, but the mirrors were intact when we got it. The drivers side broke after a couple of months of our owning it & the passenger side followed w/i a few weeks. After examining the visor trying to figure out how to get the light to go off, I couldn't believe how cheap & crappy the plastic is that was used on this vehicle. I ended up "popping out" the mirror part & clipping the wire to take out the mirror assembly w/ light. When I say "popping out", the plastic on the mirror assembly literally fell to pieces in my hand. The little plastic notches that held the assembly in to the visor all came apart. It's almost like all the plastic was rotten. I don't know if they are all this way or we've just got a bad batch. Any ideas to fix problem will be appreciated. I will try calling the Ford dealership & then some junkyards to see about new visors.
Both Visor covers broke off after only onr or two uses, I would leave them off but the light would stay on and probably burn liner. These visors are crap and obviously poorly made since I am not the first to complain. Cost is for visor s which had to be ordered from factory and have not been installed. Ford should have a TSB or Recall
I've had several Ford Explorers and have always loved them. Just bought a used 2008 Explorer and yesterday I was at the driveup window at the bank. While waiting for the teller I pulled down the visor and the mirror cover fell off in my lap! So I pulled down the drivers visor and that mirror cover had one hinge broken - so I'm sure it will be falling in my lap soon too! The weird thing is that the lady in the car next to me saw what happened (and my reaction) and started talking to me thru the windows. She said that they had a 2008 Explorer and the same thing happened to them. She said they paid $75 for a new visor and installed it themselves, then 3 months later it happened to the other visor. She said they went back to the Ford dealer and he "just happened to have one in stock" and replaced it for free. She figured they must have had a lot of complaints so they were stocking them.
Does anyone know if there is a recall on these? I've never had a problem on any of my other Explorers. Not happy about this as the light stays on if the visor cover isn't on and I don't want a dead battery- what a pain in the butt.
This is ridiculous. It's obviously a manufacturing defect or just poor design, but the dealership says they can't do anything about it. $120+ each visor to fix. This is the first and only vehicle I have ever had this occur with. I am a girl, I use the dang mirror, and often, now when I go to use the visor the cover falls in my lap almost every time. Ford is ridiculous for not doing something about this. It was hot and the things just fell off with normal use. Both fell off in the summer time when it was 100+ degrees here. Why couldn't they use metal? Any idiot should have been able to figure that out!
The drivers seat visor popped off by just touching it after a week owning my car. The other visor popped off after a few months. I took it to a Ford dealership and they told me too bad. They said that Ford cannot do anything about it and it would be too much of a problem and a lot of money to fix it!!
This is the second time the sunvisor mirror cover has broken off - and fallen on my lap - complete with the little inadequate plastic pieces. The first time was the 2nd day after I had bought the new car. Ford Dealer replaced the visor - now it has happened again - and I hardly ever use the mirror. Should be a recall item and replaced with a more substantial clip method. GRRRR
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I bought my 2008 Explorer Eddie Bauer, used in May 2011. 25000+ miles at the time. It was a big purchase for me. I had previously had 2 Trailblazer and 1 H3 leases. I was proud to finally own an Eddie Bauer. Even spent an additional $1,500 for an extended warranty. Needed to protect my new baby, you know.
Day 4 . A night out. Nancy (she's my lovely wife) was freshening up her lipstick. 'Hey Pat?', she turns to me holding the visor mirror cover from the passenger side, snapped off the passenger side. DAMN! I calmly accused her of doing something wrong. Arrgh....spilled milk.... I swallowed my words and my temper. The quick fix? Wedging a box of Altoids in the closed visor so the mirror light would stay off. Within another week, before I was able to return to the dealership, 'SNAP!' .... I had just taken care of the driver's side mirror cover. Seriously? All I did was lower the visor and lift the mirror cover. Yes, gently. Yes, using the manufacturer's guidelines for appropriate use. i.e. lifting at the finger hole with my thumb. Well, you guessed it, had to buy more Altoids.
Dealer estimated over $200 to repair. Whaaaat? It's not covered? I said 'no thanks'. I thought I'd find them on-line at a fraction of that. Nope. No luck. Yes. These covers were poorly made. Not that a recall should have been issued, but at the very least, I feel Ford should have made a note to cover this under warranty.
Altoid, anyone?
- Patrick I., Livonia, MI, US