2004 Ford Explorer Door Lock & Latch Problems

Which parts fail

• Hatchback/liftgate › Lock
  6

Components named in complaints (door latches, locks, hood and tailgate latches).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  16%
• 25k–50k
  16%
• 50k–75k
  844%
• 75k–100k
  211%
• 100k–150k
  633%
• 150k+
  00%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Ford Explorer owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

On Friday the 7th of March 2008 I went to open the tailgate of my 2004 Ford Explorer when the hinges broke and the gate fell off. I called the Ford dealer where I purchased my car and was initially told that the hinges were on a recall. The collision center of the dealer picked up my vehicle and took it in for repair. When I got to my place of employment I had a call from the dealer stating that my car was not on the recall. I called Ford motor and was told that my car was indeed not on the recall and that the recall had been on the 2002 and 2003 models. I felt that maybe the problem had not been fixed on the 04 models as they stated because it was obviously still happening. I took my car to another body shop that was quite reputable and had it repaired at a considerable lower rate per labor hour. …

While going to open the rear hatch of my 2004 Ford Explorer, I noticed a crack in the hatch door from just below the window down to the next panel. When I opened the window on the hatch door, I noticed that the left hinge that holds the glass is coming loose. I am unable to utilize the rear cargo area of my vehicle now for fear that the left hinge will break off resulting in the entire door coming off the vehicle and falling or dropping onto me or one of my children, causing severe personal injuries. The mileage on my vehicle is approximately 70,000 miles. Nothing has been done yet to correct this failure because after reading other people's experience with having Ford refuse to acknowledge the problem and the government thus far refusing to issue a recall, my hands are tied. …

In July 2010, I noticed a crack in the panel portion of the back window hatch of my 2004 Ford Explorer. I reported this to my dealer, who more or less said welcome to the club, and told me to contact the body shop. The cost of $500-600 would have to be paid by me and there is no reason to think that it won't happen again. I am so disappointed in Ford motor co., I thought I could expect more from a local manufacturer. It seems to me that this is something that should have been discovered in product tests and/or trials. Why didn't Ford know that the material they used was not capable of standing up to the use in the area they placed it?

Concerning my 2004 Explorer xlt. The rear hatchback that opens the back windows has a broken latch. I am very upset that this part just seemed to implode and left me unable to close the rear back window. The garage I took it to said Ford informed them the part was on back order until 07-18-2011. I am wondering if this is going to be a recalled item for the garage informed me it happens quite regularly. Please let me know if I have any recourse or am entitled to reimbursement for the needed repair. .

I noticed my 2004 Ford Explorer has developed a vertical crack in the plastic tailgate attached to the rear window left of the Ford emblem. I took it to the dealership and they recognized it as a common problem with the 2004 Explorer and also warned me the hinges on the rear glass fail often as was the case on my vehicle. Service tech stated there was no recall as yet and I got to pay for the new hinges and holding off on the crack thinking Ford made do the right thing and repair the fault.

While opening the rear liftgate of our 2004 Explorer and reaching the max extension of the left strut, the strut became lock and wouldn't retrieve causing the left hinge to come off and the entire liftgate to hang from the right hinge. The dealer looked at the strut and tried to repair it. I requested a new one to be installed since I had serious concerns about the same problem happening again. The dealer agreed and my extended warranty covered the expense. However, my deductible applied.

2004 Explorer with 110K miles - developed crack in liftgate panel app dec 2008. Ford covered 80% of repair cost of $750 since vehicle was under 75K miles, even though an obvious design flaw. Sept 29, 2010 rear hatch window hinge breaks causing door to fall onto my hands and legs...sore but not permanent. Two co-workers had to help me raise it up enough to lock it in place. Dealer repaired for $65 parts in $170 labor. Dangerous and unsafe.

We have experienced multiple problems with the electrical systems of our 2004 Ford Explorer along with other miscellaneous problems. The electrical problems have not been corrected to date. In November 2006, the rear window of the liftgate broke off the hinge. We were told there were no recalls for this problem and had to pay for this repair out of our pocket. Today, January 16, 2007 the frame of the rear liftgate cracked in the middle.

The hatchback hinge on my 2004 Ford Explorer broke yesterday, luckily I caught it before it hit my 4 year old in the head. The same thing happened on a 2002 Ford Explorer I owned before, but that was recalled and Ford fixed it. This model is not included in the recall, but the part is obviously defective. It could have easily hit someone and hurt them, or fallen off while I was driving and caused an accident.

2004 Explorer had problems with brakes and windows. Three months after the vehicle was purchased thee was a recall on the transmission. The ABS malfunctioned and the power windows would not go down. The rear hatch door would not open. The transmission began to slam into gear. The rotors vibrated in the rear. Consumer heard a howling noise at 40-55 MPH. The dealer replaced the ring and pinion. Nm

Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Explorer years