2004 Ford Explorer Visibility Problems
- 59
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 59 stored complaint records:
- 0 indicate a crash
- 3 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- rear window · 20 records
- passenger side · 6 records
- side visor · 6 records
- same problem · 6 records
- window hinge · 5 records
- hinge broke · 5 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 20 |
| 30–60k mi | 15 |
| 100–150k mi | 12 |
| 150–400k mi | 2 |
| 1–30k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Body · Visibility
The tail gate on the 2004 explorer should be recalled,it will only get worse and lots of people will die when the back windows just start falling out. Every explorer i see it like this! Built ford tough..lol.....i guess it's ok for a few hundred to die until ford maybe recall it, it's there responsibility!!!!!!! I will never buy another ford till this gets fixed. Think of all the lawsuits in the making ford..bad…
ODI 10373722
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Visibility
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The vehicle was experiencing an intermittent failure in which the headlights, radio and windows stopped functioning while driving at any speed. The failures persisted for a duration of approximately 1-5 minutes. During the failures, the power door locks and instrument panel lighting also did not function. The vehicle was not taken to have the failures diagnosed. The vehicle…
ODI 10382599
Hatchback/Liftgate · Visibility
Back glass hatch fell off in my hands could have really hurt someone. *tr
ODI 10363817
Visibility
Defroster heat control failed, couldn't see through windshield. *tr
ODI 10356132
Hatchback/Liftgate · Visibility
I have a 2004 explorer and i lifted the glass hatch today and it broke and began to fall on my head, luckily i reacted and grabbed it before it knocked me out. I had to get help because it was to heavy for me because i have a bad back, had surgery and was afraid that i was going to re damage. I had to have my husband come up there while we held it because struts would not fold it in. Took it to ford and am being…
1 injury
ODI 10347583
Visibility
Defective clip/hinge in sunvisor assembly of 2004 ford explorers, breaks and cracks with normal use due to faulty design. Safety hazard due to the fact that once it breaks to a certain point the sunvisor will hang in drivers view and impede vision. A large amount of people are having the same problem i am having. Some of their comments can be viewed at…
ODI 10341331
Visibility
While attempting to close the window on hatchback, the window hinges broke. *tr
ODI 10334787
Automatic Transmission · Rear · Visibility
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact placed the gear shifter into reverse to drive and noticed that the transmission would hesitate before engaging. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technicians replaced the solenoid in the transmission. After the repairs were performed, the contact continued to experience the failure. There was also an abnormal grinding from the rear of the vehicle.…
ODI 10407125
Visibility
REAR WINDOW HINGES ON 2004 FORD EXPLORER BROKE. *TR
ODI 10331140
Visibility
Sun visor anchor based of 2004 ford explorer cracked and fell out, causing plastic pieces to fall on face, and making visor fall in front of line of sight while driving on highway . Using sun visor is now not possible. *tr
ODI 10351186
Structure · Visibility
Have a 2004 ford explorer i bought new. It now has approximately 95250 miles. After washing car 2-5-10, a mild day here in ct though wintertime, i noticed trim panel under rear window showed vertical crack most all the way through. Several days later crack had migrated all the way through to bottom of panel. Contacted ford customer service online 2-17-10 asking if this was a safety concern as had read others had it…
ODI 10346422
Visibility
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The rear window panel had developed cracks. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership . The current and failure mileages were 53000.
ODI 10296098
Body · Visibility
Cracks appeared below the rear window of my ford explorer. There was no accident. *tr
ODI 10295240
Visibility
Plastic pin securing blend door actuator breaks, freezing blend door in position.(cool) unable to get heat from vehicle hvac system. Can not defrost/defog windows in cold/wet weather. Visibility is limited during cold/wet weather. The reduced visibility caused me to veer off of pavement in a rural area near my home because i could not see the lane markers. Research on the internet shows this is a recurring, common…
ODI 10297750
Visibility
I knew the back rear panel had a crack going down it, but thought nothing of it because most explores have the same problem. It wasn't until i was driving down a very dark road at 6 am and boom! The back glass just popped. I thought it had been shot out. The sheriff's department showed up and he thought the same thing. But the only thing we found was between the hydraulics on the window itself, the crack in the…
ODI 10368300
Visibility
Blend door actuator pin is defective. I have researched this problem online and it is a widespread issue. Heat / defrost will not work. In the wintertime this makes driving extremely hazardous. *tr
ODI 10286989
Visibility
When opening the rear hatch of my 2004 explorer the hinges failed. The glass door fell away from the hinges and was being held only by the hydraulic arms. When i tried to move the glass which i was holding in my hands it shattered. I was told there was a recall on the 2002 and 2003 models but not on the 2004s. Obviously the problem has not been corrected. *tr
ODI 10286255
Structure · Visibility
Ford designed a plastic piece of molding that is glued to the back glass of every explorer. This has cracked on every explorer i have seen. It has been fixed once by ford, but it has broke again. I assume that if it has broke every two years so far, it will continue to break. Ford has refused to fix this defect. *tr
ODI 10286798
Body · Visibility
The panel below my rear window has cracked on my 2004 ford explorer. I did not drive it that day, so i know i was not hit, or the door was not slammed. *tr
ODI 10278525
Visibility
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact stated the driver and passenger sun visors were fractured. The dealer advised replacing the visors at her expense. The driver side sun visor was replaced. The contact stated the failure recurred on the driver side sun visor. The passenger side sun visor was never replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were 96,607.
ODI 10345802
Visibility
Driver side sun visor fell off while driving, almost ran into another car. Cheap plastic part only dealer has for $116.43 without installation. *tr
ODI 10278743
Visibility
Driving on interstate,while i grabbed sun visor to turn to side it fell off and i went off road but got safely back on. No injuries to me or wife. *tr
ODI 10279133
Body · Visibility
Tl*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…
ODI 10259708
Structure · Visibility
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. The contact noticed that the frame supporting the side/rear glass was fractured. The dealer stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 07e104000 (visibility:glass, side/rear); therefore, the contact would be responsible for the repair costs. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 66,783.
ODI 10250329
Visibility
The brackets holding both the driver and passenger sun visors broke in 2008, just four months after we bought the vehicle (may 2008). We had them replaced on 09/19/2008. The new sun visors on both the driver and passenger side are again cracking as of 09/02/2011, with the driver's side again almost falling off. This will be the third set of visors on this vehicle since we purchased it in may 2008. This is…
ODI 10423183