NHTSA Complaint #11526845 — 2017 FORD EXPLORER

My Wife, child, and I, were driving down the interstate and the exterior driver side panel by the windshield flew just flew off. When we stopped at a gas station it looked like serious deterioration to the seal and clips that held it together was present. The clips were all broken. On this same trip, we began to hear what sounded like bees buzzing in the dash. We stopped again to worry that something had to be going wrong. We did some research on the spot, and it seems to be the windshield cowl. After getting home it we did more research and it looks like these are very common issues, but when we talk to Ford, they just dismiss our concerns and tell us it's not covered under warranty. even though it's an apparent quality control issue on their part. We bought this vehicle used about 5 months ago and have put less than 5 thousand miles on it. We do not have the panel that flew off as we were unsure what had happened until we stopped down the road many miles at the next exit. The car itself is available to be inspected. Our safety was affected because this panel could have hit a motorist or become a road hazard.