2014 Liftgate Corrosion

[Richard Pittenger]

Hello Group,

I have a nicely equipped, low-mileage (39 K) 2014 XLT version of the Expy that we've owned for about 2-1/2 years. It was a one-owner vehicle, housed in Beaufort, TX. We bought it on-line and had it shipped to our home in Troy, OH. We're very pleased with the vehicle and it is well maintained and garage kept. Today, while performing a thorough cleaning of the vehicle in preparation for a trip next week, I noticed some corrosion on the inside of the lower edge of the liftgate (not noticeable from outside). I was shocked to see this but have learned this evening while searching the archives that it's a common problem on this aluminum part. Fortunately, I have discovered the problem early (I believe). There is one dime-sized spot where the paint has bubbled off and one other similar but smaller spot and I can see a bit of other bubbling under the paint along the inside of the lower edge of the door.

My question: What can I do to arrest the corrosion and prevent it's spread too the outside of the liftgate? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Richard

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Hello Group,

I have a nicely equipped, low-mileage (39 K) 2014 XLT version of the Expy that we've owned for about 2-1/2 years. It was a one-owner vehicle, housed in Beaufort, TX. We bought it on-line and had it shipped to our home in Troy, OH. We're very pleased with the vehicle and it is well maintained and garage kept. Today, while performing a thorough cleaning of the vehicle in preparation for a trip next week, I noticed some corrosion on the inside of the lower edge of the liftgate (not noticeable from outside). I was shocked to see this but have learned this evening while searching the archives that it's a common problem on this aluminum part. Fortunately, I have discovered the problem early (I believe). There is one dime-sized spot where the paint has bubbled off and one other similar but smaller spot and I can see a bit of other bubbling under the paint along the inside of the lower edge of the door.

My question: What can I do to arrest the corrosion and prevent it's spread too the outside of the liftgate? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Richard

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10177863-0001.pdf

And

Paint Bubbling, We need EVERYONE to register a complaint! READ FORDS RESPONSE!!!

So, Ladies and Gentlemen. I have a 2007 Expedition EL, and I am having issues with the bubbling of the paint on the hatch and hood. I thought that I would register a complaint with Ford, and I guess there haven't been enough emails sent to Ford direct! I encourage EVERYONE to send an...

www.expeditionforum.com

Known problem for years with Ford vehicles with aluminum body panels - Ford refused to identify the root cause and correct the manufacturing defect.

Good luck.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

Hmm; noticed some white dime sized corrosion under the lip of my hood. I wonder if scraping and sealing with epoxy would stop the progress?

 

[bloodhound]

Hmm; noticed some white dime sized corrosion under the lip of my hood. I wonder if scraping and sealing with epoxy would stop the progress?

On my 2009 I had the hood and tailgate stripped and repainted by a very high end shop. Still came back in about 2 years.

 

[Jamo]

I had a couple spots on my hood and lift gate edges when I bought my '14 EL LTD, w/80K miles in 2018. I just left them alone, haven't done a thing to thing to them and they look the same as they did originally. I'm hoping they don't get worse...

 

[mjp2]

On my 2009 I had the hood and tailgate stripped and repainted by a very high end shop. Still came back in about 2 years.

The high end shop near me said they wouldn't touch the panel and would only replace and spray a fresh panel for the very reason you experienced.

I ended up sanding down and bedlining my rear hatch. No issues since.

 

[GlennSullivan]

My 2011 has it around the wiper mount on the rear liftgate. I've got pearl white paint on that truck, so not looking forward to having it redone.

 

[Goofy173]

Another reason Ford has lost me as a long-time customer. Another is the 5.4 3v phasers

 

[lbv150]

The only way to stop the corrosion and to fix the paint problem, is to strip the paint off, sandblast and use an aluminum etching primer found in a marine supply store. Then paint it. A good body shop should know this. My aluminum hull boat was done in 2004 and spends most of it's life in saltwater, to this day no issues.

 

[mr_dave]

Another reason Ford has lost me as a long-time customer. Another is the 5.4 3v phasers

I'm very inclined to agree with you at this point. I bought mine a few months ago with only 45k on it and I've already had more issues with it than I've had with my 3 previous (German and Japanese) vehicles combined. It also just started a loud ticking noise on the passengers side this week and is down on power, thinking it's a broken rocker arm. Going to the dealership on Tues.

I also have the aluminum corrosion issues on the underside of the hood and rear hatch. And I also had to recently repair the infamous coolant crossover leak because ford decided to use *plastic* gaskets on a highly heat cycled area.

I can look past a few issues, but this is getting ridiculous, and for things that could have been easily avoided if they didn't decide to save literally a few dollars on cheap parts and engineering.

 

[Y2KFirehawk]

My 2015 had hood and liftgate corrosion. My local Ford dealership put the claim through under the corrosion warranty and repainted the pieces entirely. Being the white platinum metallic (WPM) the keen eye can identify the paint rework... Not to mention all the anger I had with the dealership to get the work done correctly, but I digress.

Long story short, may still be covered under factory corrosion warranty.

 

[Trainmaster]

Be thankful you don't have a 2020 all-aluminum F-150. Some real paint problems with those over here!

 

[Hamfisted]

I've found wire brushing the oxidation off the area and repainting it with that Motorcraft PM-13a corrosion stop seems to actually work. The oxidation doesn't come back and the paint doesn't bubble up.

 

[Mikezr]

I could be wrong but aren't the hoods and liftgates fiberglass

 

[sjwelds]

Nope. Aluminum

 

[Mikezr]

Interesting I did not know this.

 

[Western Rider]

Hello Group,

I have a nicely equipped, low-mileage (39 K) 2014 XLT version of the Expy that we've owned for about 2-1/2 years. It was a one-owner vehicle, housed in Beaufort, TX. We bought it on-line and had it shipped to our home in Troy, OH. We're very pleased with the vehicle and it is well maintained and garage kept. Today, while performing a thorough cleaning of the vehicle in preparation for a trip next week, I noticed some corrosion on the inside of the lower edge of the liftgate (not noticeable from outside). I was shocked to see this but have learned this evening while searching the archives that it's a common problem on this aluminum part. Fortunately, I have discovered the problem early (I believe). There is one dime-sized spot where the paint has bubbled off and one other similar but smaller spot and I can see a bit of other bubbling under the paint along the inside of the lower edge of the door.

My question: What can I do to arrest the corrosion and prevent it's spread too the outside of the liftgate? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Richard

This is status quo unfortunately, had the same issue with our navigator. The fix was have it refinished every four years to keep it in check. Ford poorly executed this hatch design, it’s a factory for corrosion all by its self. This is not a Ford specific problem however, many auto makers are having the same aluminum panel issues. Just be glad your entire vehicle isn’t made of aluminum. New Ford vehicles will have some interesting corrosion issues after the initial 5 years I think, time will tell.