Clutchless

Well the warranty is long over so I would get estimates from a couple of body shops it you want to replace the molding.
It may have dry rotted in the garage which then was made worse by the exposure outside.
I had a 1995 Explorer until 2012 and all of its gaskets and moldings were fine when I got rid of it.
A few other things broke and the rocker panels rusted out which was common, but there are prefab rocker panels you can glue over the old ones!