2003 Ford Explorer Sport Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2003 Ford Explorer Sport most often describe problems around the rear liftgate and its glass: hinges loosening or breaking, the hatch panel cracking, and the rear window shattering, often while parked or while the glass is being opened or closed. Many complaints note that the vehicle was not covered by an earlier recall for the liftgate hinge. A second group of reports covers front wheel bearing noise and failure, and a few describe intermittent stalling or rough running.

1. 1
   Body and structure

   Rear liftgate glass shattering or detaching

   • 27 complaints (42%)
   • median 99,000 mi at 8.5 yrs old (25 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2005–2020

   Owners describe the rear hatch glass breaking into many pieces, sometimes while the vehicle was parked and untouched, and sometimes while the glass was being opened or closed. In other reports the hinges loosen, crack, or pull away from the body so the glass sags or hangs by one side. Several owners say a dealer told them the vehicle was not included in a hinge-related recall and that the repair would be at their expense, while a technician in another case called the hinge failure a common problem on the vehicle. Reported from roughly 16,000 to 170,000 miles, with many reports above 90,000 miles and several on parked vehicles.

   What to check: Open and close the rear glass slowly and watch both hinges for looseness, cracking, or a gap at the body; ask whether the hinge hardware has ever been replaced. Check the hatch panel near the window for cracks.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I had just put a bag of groceries in the back, was closing the rear glass hatch when it exploded about 1/3 of the way down. Very loud noise, and tiny glass pieces shattered across 3 parking spots, into and all around our vehicle, including the groceries which I discarded. This car is not included in the recall.”

   NHTSA complaint #10870103, filed 2016-05, 98,200 miles

   “Nhtsa safety recall 04v-442 of 2003 Ford explorer Ford is refusing to fix my vehicle. Ford is stating my vehicle has no recalls and this recall does not effect my vehicle. I was driving down a road with no other cars when my rear windshield exploded. This caused me to think someone was shooting or attacking which almost caused me to crash my vehicle thinking I was under attack. The police came and wrote a report, investigated and found no evidence of malicious acts. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10112153, filed 2005-02, 16,500 miles
2. 2
   Engine cooling

   Intermittent stalling or check-engine light

   • 5 complaints (8%)
   • median 36,300 mi at 4.5 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2003–2018

   Several owners report the engine stalling at idle, at a stop light, or at speed, sometimes more often in wet weather, and restarting after a short wait. Others describe the check engine light coming on, early spark plug replacement, and spark plug wires found arcing or burned. A service bulletin covers diagnostic trouble codes for a fuel system running too rich or too lean. Reported from very low mileage (about 1,200 to 5,000 miles) up to over 160,000 miles.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask for any stored diagnostic trouble codes and whether the fuel system bulletin was applied; check the spark plugs and wires for wear or heat damage.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Car has an intermittent problem and will stall and both high and low speeds, or when idling. When this happens and power assist fails, it's almost impossible to steer or to brake posing a serious risk to safety. This first starting happening about once a week last november, and now it's pretty often. Stopped driving the car, except to test drive as we're trying to find the source of the problem. We think it's either the fuel or vacuum system and are continuing to narrow down the problem. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11063921, filed 2018-01, 167,000 miles

   “In february of 2006, I took my 2003 Ford explorer in to have it fixed. At the time, my vehicle only had app. 36,300 miles on it. I had to have all the spark plugs replaced because they had gone bad. I was told the spark plugs should have lasted for 90,000 to 100,000 miles. In april of 2007, with app. 43,000 miles on the vehicle, the check engine light came on. I took it in for repair and was told the spark plug wires were arcing and were burned. I was told that the wires were routed badly and that they lay against hot areas of the car. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10189777, filed 2007-05, 36,300 miles
3. 3
   Suspension

   Front wheel bearing noise or failure

   Mentioned in 4 of 57 sampled complaints

   Complaints describe humming, rumbling, or grinding from the front end that turned out to be a worn or seized wheel bearing. In one report a front hub bearing froze at low speed and pulled the vehicle into a U-turn; another describes a right front bearing assembly failing at highway speed and the vehicle pulling hard to the right. Owners say they paid for the bearing work themselves after contacting the manufacturer. Mostly reported between about 35,000 and 120,000 miles.

   What to check: During a test drive, listen for a steady hum or growl that changes with speed or when turning, and have a shop check the front hub bearings for play before purchase.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While my son was driving west on route 64 in the left hand lane near rocky mount, nc at a speed of 70 MPH, the brake light came on followed by a loud noise and then the vehicle pulled hard to the right causing my son to run a motorcyclist off the road to avoid being hit. I had the vehicle towed to a shop and the determined that the right front bearing assembly had failed. This could have been a fatal accident due to the sudden loss of control.”

   NHTSA complaint #10206174, filed 2007-10, 119,000 miles

   “2003 Ford explorer xls 4x4, front and rear hub bearings going out on a vehicle especially the front hub bearings. The left front hub bearing went bad and luckily we was not going down the highway at 55 MPH or higher, we was only going about 25-30 MPH. The left front hub bearing froze up and we did a u turn and no one was hurt. I had it towed to a service shop and they told me what the problem was,and they told me that this is a major problem with this truck. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10370978, filed 2010-12, 104,000 miles
4. 4
   Body and structure

   Hatch panel cracks and body mount noise

   • 12 complaints (18%)
   • median 110,000 mi at 10.8 yrs old (11 state mileage)
   • filed 2009–2018

   Owners describe a crack in the rear liftgate panel, often between the door handle and the window, that widens or narrows with outside temperature. Others report clunking or banging from the rear that was traced to body mount insulators that had crumbled or gone missing, and one owner was quoted a large repair estimate for the liftgate area by a dealer. Reported from about 100,000 to 150,000 miles, with the liftgate crack noted as changing with hot or cold weather.

   What to check: Inspect the liftgate panel around the handle and window for cracks, and drive over bumps to listen for clunking from the rear that could point to body mounts.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “2/14/2007 I noticed there is a fracture/crack between the tailgate door opener and the window. The fracture/crack becomes more/less wider depending on how hot or cold it is outside. I went to the dealer and they stated it would cause me between $400-$800 to get it fix and the whole area will need to be replaced. They stated that it should not cause much problem unless someone hits the back of my car or I close the tailgate not soft enough, which could damage the window. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10496185, filed 2013-02, 110,000 miles

   “Rear lift gate panel cracked while vehicle was parked. Concerns with unstable rear glass, ability of hatch to remain closed and operation of rear wiper. Glass instability a concern while driving and when using liftgate. Prior injuries have been reported.”

   NHTSA complaint #10504778, filed 2013-03, 120,000 miles

Buying note. Check the rear glass and hinges closely, since that is the most frequently reported area and many vehicles fall outside the earlier hinge campaign. Also factor in front wheel bearing and engine stalling checks on a test drive before deciding.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 57 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.