Have heard a lot about cracks appearing on the doors of this body style. How serious is this problem? What model years are affected and should these models be avoided? Thanks.

 

It's a defective design. I know that the '97-'99 models, inclusive suffer it. While under warranty, Ford would fix it. They at one time (under warranty) would brace the panel so that the crack would not develop. If you get an older vehicle where the crack has not developed, a good preventative measure is to not roll the window up tight. With power windows, roll the window up and then lightly tap the down button to reliive the tension. I did this with my '97 an it took 8 years for the crack to develop.

The crack cannot be fixed from the outside; it will just develop again. It must be repaired and braced from the inside. Ford has a tech bullitin on it.

My daughter's '99 XL has manual crank windows and her crack developed within the warranty period.

Ford spent a lot of money and engineering time on this issue. Unfortunately, no help for those out of warranty.

Avoid them? I didn't. I just got such a good deal on a '98 Lariat that the driver's side crack didn't bother me. And after some lazy toad lets a strong wind slam a 20 lb shopping cart in the side of your new ride because it was just too difficult for them to put the cart in a rack, you won't notice the crack either.