Doors lock me out if I leave the keys in the ignition

[RRR]

I have a '23 Ford Maverick XL and had same issue with engine running get out to lift garage door and go to get back in truck and all doors are locked. Happened four times and each time I was at home to get spare key. Ford Motor Co. is aware of this issue but don't have a solution. There solution is lower window to regain access, leave door ajar, take cell phone with Ford App to regain entry, or hide spare key on outside of truck. My choice is leave window down until a Ford fix is found.

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[Jon LEvin]

Thanks for confirming. This would be easy to do getting out to scrape ice off the window while the car is running for defrost. You would typically not have a door or window open in that scenario. There should be an option to totally disable all autolock functionality. I’ve never had this problem on any other vehicle, though this is my first Ford. My spare key is on the way, and securing it underneath will be my solution until I determine whether auto lock can be disabled via ForScan. I was going to call Ford but won’t bother if they’re aware of the issue and don’t have a solution.

 

[paneubert]

Thanks for confirming. This would be easy to do getting out to scrape ice off the window while the car is running for defrost. You would typically not have a door or window open in that scenario. There should be an option to totally disable all autolock functionality. I’ve never had this problem on any other vehicle, though this is my first Ford. My spare key is on the way, and securing it underneath will be my solution until I determine whether auto lock can be disabled via ForScan. I was going to call Ford but won’t bother if they’re aware of the issue and don’t have a solution.

I still maintain that this is 100% user hand bumping the physical door lock, but if you want to test ForScan to see if it might be code based somehow, here is the most relevant edit to make.

Auto Lock / Auto unlock enable in locking Cluster menu

IPC

(EZ) Enable "Auto Lock" and "Auto unlock"

Although I suspect this only controls the action of it locking once your speed is above 10-12 MPH. But then again, if it is auto-locking on you, perhaps this would disable both the speed based as well as the "if you leave it running and leave the vehicle" setting (although I still maintain that isn't a thing).

 

[Jon LEvin]

Thanks. Auto Unlock is already available in the cluster menu. Perhaps this additionally enables the an auto lock menu setting. I changed one other lock setting on the menu the other day. It didn’t seem to be associated with auto locking but I thought I’d unenable it anyway. Yesterday for the first time ever, the truck didn’t auto lock when I did some shopping with my wife listening to music in the passenger seat. BTW- I can verify 1000% that, in my case, that this behavior is not caused br accidentally pressing the manual locking lever. I’ve observed it carefully when opening the door and also checked that I could open the door from the outside immediately after exiting the car. This is something that is triggered electronically and automatically after a time delay. In any event, I may have stumbled on the fix. Time will tell.

 

[JennyJoannSuebeeMcNash]

So don't do that.

 

[Jon LEvin]

BTW/ the lock setting I unenabled is ‘Switches Enabled’, which according to what I’ve read controls whether someone can reach inside to unlock a door. Don’t see how that would relate to auto lock behavior, but this could be a Ford programming issue. Maybe someone who’s locked themselves out could test this on their truck?

 

[Ranger 87]

So here's my new procedure(s) for avoiding the "getting locked out with the engine running" issue. First, if I stop and get out with the engine running, I make sure that the driver's side window is down. So far, they haven't found a way to make them roll up automatically, maybe someday they'll do that also. Second, I make sure to press the unlock button on the door while leaving the door open, just in case the door closes. I think that should take care of the problem.

 

[Jon LEvin]

Thanks. If all of your steps fail, you could always remove the driver side door.

On a more serious note, I posted this on another thread:

Latest update. I received FasterKeys Emergency Lockout Key and tried it. It does unlock the driver side door, but when I use it, the horn starts honking. I can stop the honking by pressing the unlock button on the key fob. Curious why this is happening, but I don't have a major problem with this behavior as I would only be using this if the doors autolocked with the key fob inside and so, once inside, I could quickly grab the fob and stop the honking. As I'll be using this to hide the key, it may not be a bad idea to have the horn honk to scare away a potential thief who finds the hidden key.

I haven't tested it yet, but I'm wondering if it's the 'Switches Enabled' setting which is making the horn honk when I use a replacement key which doesn't have a key fob to open the door.

I have a new ODBLink EX sitting beside me and have purchased a license for ForScan. That's my next step. This is quite a rabbit hole. Does Ford monitor these forums? I've heard that they're aware of this issue but wondering if a representative could provide an update on a fix...

 

[Ozarkbeard]

I haven't tested it yet, but I'm wondering if it's the 'Switches Enabled' setting which is making the horn honk when I use a replacement key which doesn't have a key fob to open the door.

FWIW, I have a spare metal key that I keep in a magnetic key hider on the truck. No fob on the key and the horn does not honk when I unlock the door with the metal key.

I do not have an alarm system. If you do, perhaps that's what's causing the horn to honk.

 

[Lone Star Proud]

This is where the keypad is a blessing.

 

[Ranger 87]

Here's an update. My neighbor, who has a 2015 Tahoe, had the exact same thing happen to her. She had her vehicle running in park with the keys in it and the doors locked. She had to call the AAA to open it. So, I wouldn't waste my time consulting Ford because it apparently happens to lots of vehicles. Another friend has a 2018 Kia Sportage, and it has happened to him also. I'm getting a spare key made with no fob and I'll keep it handy.

 

[Jon LEvin]

Thanks for that update. The behavior seems somewhat inconsistent. Sometimes when I get back to the car, all doors are locked and sometimes not. My wife is always in the passenger seat listening to the music and can unlock it so no biggy (and yes, she's 100% sure she's not locking it accidentally and I'm also 100% the driver door is unlocked when I leave). In any event I have a fob-less key mounted underneath for emergencies so I'm probably going to let it go at this point. I haven't tried out my OBDLinkX and ForScan yet, but will see if there are any related settings (I mostly got it to turn on TRS so I can see what the speed limit is while I'm driving).

 

[Kenv24]

You need to read my later posts, it explains it all. Your other three doors were still unlocked. It's a design issue: the lock button is too close to the door handle. When opening and pushing the door open with the same hand (usually when in a rush), you wind up inadvertantly locking the driver's door.

And remember folks....Some people on here are a bit confused about WHICH "Lock" button we are referring to. There are two buttons with symbols...LOCKED and UNLOCKED. This is not the button people are hitting down lower. If they did accidently hit the small lock one with the symbol...then YES...all four doors would lock. The "Lock" in question is the unmarked secondary longer slender handle that is closer to your door handle to get out of the truck. This is the one that is being hit/pushed in. And it is really easy to do. And since it is only for that door...the drivers door....that explains why only the driver's door is locking. People are not accidently hitting the small lock button with the symbol. I did it myself a couple of times. I can't say 100% that this is what is happening to everyone...but the percentage is up there.

 

[Mikk]

Ford actually recently released a dealer bulletin regarding this. They acknowledge that this exact thing is occurring: people inadvertanly locking the driver's door when pushing the door open from inside. Their stance is that there is no actual defect with the vehicle and that no warranty action is called for.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

I have an annoying issue with my Maverick and I'm not sure whether I have a glitch or this is a design feature:

If I leave my keys in the ignition (which I often do for brief periods around jobsites), the doors seem to lock automatically after a short while. Fortunately I had programmed a code I can remember into the keypad.
Has anyone else experienced this?
It is very annoying and any help with disabling this would be much appreciated!

When I get out of my hybrid I put in park and SET THE EBRAKE so I can leave truck in ready State so ice can continue cycling and AC to stay on. I am not sure if this also prevents the time locking anti theft feature. Check the door lock settings = several paragraphs in manual.

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