First off let me say that I just called the no. provided (800-392-3673) and talked to a customer service rep and they said there was nothing they can do for me. Then I asked to talked to a manager and he told me the same thing. I gave him this website address to look at all the complaints but he did not give a sh*t whatt so ever. He said he would not look and that he didn't have to look. I mean this is why they're in this crisis right now and look who's bailing them out...we are w/ all our tax dollars. I will never buy ford again! I'm totally done w/ them. They don't care about the customer at all. At the end of the phone call he told me to have a great day...lol...the nerve. Anyways what can you do? I guess rant and not support Ford. They don't want to support their customers so why should we support them. HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

Misery loves company. Our 2003 developed the same crack in the rear panel that every one is speaking of. Our local Ford dealer politely told us that it was our problem because our vehicle was out of warranty, but they were aware of the issue and had replaced numerous appliques other vehicles under warranty. Body parts should not spontaneously disintegrate. This is reprehensible behavior from Ford. I am tempted to put a huge yellow arrow on the back of the vehicle pointing towards the crack with a sign that says "Are you sure you want to buy a Ford?" and then parking it in front of the dealership.

I was reluctant to buy this vehicle in the first place. I think it will be my first and last Ford.

Other issues you ask? Two rear window motors, speed sensors, door ajar sensor, rear differential seal. All before 45,000 miles.

I happened to need something out of the back of the car, and about freaked. At first I thought someone decided to take a saw to the back of my car, then on closer look, I noticed it just cracked and was offset on the left a little less than 1/8". Today, I noticed another Explorer with the same crack just on the other side of the Ford logo; so I thought it would be a recall issue and could get taken care of rather quickly. Apparently, it should be a recall. I plan to go to the dealership and see what they say about it.

I just discovered a 1/8th inch split from top to bottom in the center of the panel below my back window. It wasn't there yesterday and I haven't used the window hatch lately so it can't be from closing it too hard. It's about -20 degrees C (-4 F) with the wind chill so I was wondering if it could be due to the sudden temperature change from a garage to outside.

I see from other comments re this problem that Ford refuses to acknowledge that this is an issue. I really like this vehicle, but this is the third issue that has really pissed me off. The reverse sensors stopped working and I'm told it will cost big $ to follow the wires looking for the problem. I've also just had the third set of brakes (top of the line ceramics) installed which seems a bit much for 110,000 km's.

We have to replace my wife's car very soon, but I'm not too interested in another Ford.

I bought my Ford Explorer from a car lot in Eden, NC in February 2008. I've already had to put a wheel barren on it and also about a month ago I went to the back of my car just to find a cracked panel and that really pissed me off. I bought a lemon before from another dealer in Reidsville, NC and I didn't expect to buy a lemon from a well known car dealership. You would think you can trust the car dealerships when purchasing a car but I guess not since now a days people are only out to get what they can get out of you. They just want the money and truly the way that the auto market is they can loose business.

I JUST BOUGHT this Explorer used.. I have not even had it for a month yet. I had read about the crack "buttcrack" and it just happened to me today. I called Ford customer service who told me that it was not under warranty, it was not a safety recall -- so there was nothing that they would do about it.

I knew that this was a potential issue on these vehicles when I bought it, but I am still upset that ford will not stand behind these repairs considering that it is an obvious manufacturer defect.

If Ford doesn't do anything to help me out with this, this vehicle will be my last Ford... and I am a young buyer. Ford, do you really want to piss off your young future buyers?

I came out one morning and found a huge crack in the rear panel just below the windshield right next to the ford emblem. There is nothing near or around the car that could have caused this and I could not figure out how this happened. A couple of days later I was in traffic behind another Ford Explorer and they had the same exact crack that is when I decided to further investigate this online. Figures they are doing anything about it. This is my 3rd explorer and my husband owns one as well. Guess we won't be buying anymore!

I came out from the house to go to work, and there it was a crack from above the Ford emblem down below it. No one had hit my hard, ect. It just appeared. I have kept the car in clean condition and even covered at times, so I am frustrated that it would just appear, the dealers are stating that there is a complaint but not a recall. That it is not covered under warranty. I purchased the car 3 years ago. I need any help I can to get this replaced, and I should not have to pay for something I did not do to the car.

Same isue as many with the rear hatch cracking after a few years, this is a factory defect with almost all folks having to pay for this.

I just took my Explorer to the dealer and showed the issue and the service manager here in Livermore California knew of the issue. Happy to say that I just received the vehicle back with the plastic piece replaced free of charge.

However, I was prepared for a mini war with Ford and armed with a TSB from Ford mentioning that they will replace this issue free of charge. Many people here in this forum are working with dealers who just don't want to help as they all have a slush fund from Ford that can take care of this free.

Feel free in emailing me as I would be happy to send you the PDF file with TSB.

My email is eng289@comcast.net

Hope this helps.

Danny