2004 Ford Explorer Sport Body and structure Problems
- Complaints
- 11about this part
- Share
- 61%of 18 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 50,500miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 11 complaints about the body and structure of the 2004 Ford Explorer Sport, 61% of the 18 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 50,500 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“The rear lift glass hinges on our 2004 Ford explorer broke during use of the lift glass. The pin broke right through the hinge. We were not driving it at the time thankfully, and also caught the glass before it had a chance to hit the ground.”
NHTSA complaint #10323633, filed 2010-04, 127,000 miles“I own a 2004 Ford Explorer Sport. The glass hatch has become increasingly hard to close in the last couple of months, because of this at times the hatch is not completely latched and will pop open unexpectedly. This past saturday, 05/02/09, the glass hatch hinge completely broke off when I went to close it. My frustration is that I am willing to pay for problems through normal wear and tear and of course through my own error, but this is manufacturing defect.”
NHTSA complaint #10267623, filed 2009-05, 46,000 miles“The rear lift gate on my explorer cracked on the left side of the Ford emblem. The gate cracked during normal operation of the vehicle. I have a habit of looking over my vehicle. The crack was discovered when I inspected my vehicle before going into my home. On my next service visit I asked my Ford dealer if there had been a recall for this defect. I was told that Ford had not generated a recall for this defect. There may be thousands of explorers with this defect, I see them every day. I am very disappointed with the Ford company for not taking care of this defect. …”
NHTSA complaint #10660711, filed 2014-11, 51,000 miles“Noticed that the back panel of tailgate is cracked on friday, february 22, 2008. The crack runs from underneath the rear windshield to the Ford emblem and the continues to the handle of the tailgate. The crack is open, and I have cut my finger on it when closing the tailgate. I'm trying to close it another way, but there's no other place to put your hand to close the tailgate because the crack comes down to the middle of the handle. I am afraid that the panel will fall completely off or the rear glass will dislodge and fall out. …”
NHTSA complaint #10219102, filed 2008-02, 43,200 miles“Liftgate glass hinges both broke causing glass to fall off of rear door and now glass cannot be opened. This is the same problem as the 2002-2003 Ford recall #04s20. Ref NHTSA campaign id number 04v442000. Ford does not include the 2004 explorer in their recall but the problem is the same.”
NHTSA complaint #10609472, filed 2014-07, 58,795 milesBody and structure: other model years
Other parts of the 2004 Ford Explorer Sport
4 complaintsAir bags
2 complaintsOther or unknown
2 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
2 complaintsExterior lighting
1 complaintsSeat belts
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2004 Ford Explorer Sport
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology