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2016 back doors wont unlock from inside

jktsavage

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December 30, 2015
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City, State
Arizona
Year, Model & Trim Level
2016 Magnetic Sport
The manual says to pull door handle twice just like my edge work's. When inside the vehicle the first pull on the locked door should push the lock button up then the second pull should open the door. My 2016 sport as well as a few other 2016 explorers at the dealers lot pulling the handle did nothing as if the child lock was on but it wasn't. Why put a child lock on the doors if you cant open them without unlocking the door first anyway? Anyone else try this? Did Ford do this for a reason? Thanks
 



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I swear on our 2016 it's a option in the vehicle settings. doors unlock upon driver door opening.

affects all doors even front pax door.

hits my wife occasionally because she's impatient as hell. we will get somewhere and by the time I turn off the car and undo my seatbelt - if I take too long - she's already tried the door twice and pressed the unlock button with an exasperated sigh.

but yes - driver door unlock or something like that in the veichle settings - trumps the child lock IIRC.
 






The manual says to pull door handle twice just like my edge work's. When inside the vehicle the first pull on the locked door should push the lock button up then the second pull should open the door. My 2016 sport as well as a few other 2016 explorers at the dealers lot pulling the handle did nothing as if the child lock was on but it wasn't. Why put a child lock on the doors if you cant open them without unlocking the door first anyway? Anyone else try this? Did Ford do this for a reason? Thanks
Is the engine OFF when you try to open the rear doors?

Peter
 






engine off

Engine was off but that didn't make a difference on our edge. You could open the door by pulling the handle twice even with the car running.
 






Engine was off but that didn't make a difference on our edge. You could open the door by pulling the handle twice even with the car running.
This appears to be a feature on the 2016 Explorer model that I am not familiar with. Would the way the Lock/Unlock system is set up have any affect on it? I know you mentioned the childproof lock is not activated but have you tried turning the childproof lock to the ON and then OFF position? Can you unlock the rear doors from the driver's door buttons? This should confirm the linkage is in place. On my MKT, which seems to work the same as previous Explorer models, the rear seat passengers can not unlock their doors. It has to be done from the unlock button on the driver's door or they will also unlock when the engine is shut OFF and the driver's door is opened.
Perhaps some other 2016 owners can chime in here and advise if they have the same issue.
Happy New Year!

Peter
 






I swear on our 2016 it's a option in the vehicle settings. doors unlock upon driver door opening.

affects all doors even front pax door.

hits my wife occasionally because she's impatient as hell. we will get somewhere and by the time I turn off the car and undo my seatbelt - if I take too long - she's already tried the door twice and pressed the unlock button with an exasperated sigh.

but yes - driver door unlock or something like that in the veichle settings - trumps the child lock IIRC.

Which one of my sisters-in-law are you married to?
 






Which one of my sisters-in-law are you married to?

Now that right there was funny ... LOL:D

My wife's '16 Sport did/does the same thing. She has a very impatient friend who I thought was going to have a panic attack and/or rip the door handle off trying to get out of the back one night when we went out to dinner. I had forgotten about it until I saw this thread.

Time to see what's what before Bobmbx's other sister-in-law pops a blood vessel trying to get out of the car....
 






I doubt this is part of the design in the Explorer. The reason I say that is because the Explorers of past did not have it like that. My Fusion which the new Edge shares components with, has the rear doors open if you pull the handle twice. So I doubt the rear doors and their locks have changed since the 2011 Explorer redesign.

By the way, shouldn't you have your wife sit up front instead since she might be impatient? The front doors always open on the first pull despite being locked (I actually have to double check that actually but I think that's how it works).
 






I swear on our 2016 it's a option in the vehicle settings. doors unlock upon driver door opening.

affects all doors even front pax door.

hits my wife occasionally because she's impatient as hell. we will get somewhere and by the time I turn off the car and undo my seatbelt - if I take too long - she's already tried the door twice and pressed the unlock button with an exasperated sigh.

but yes - driver door unlock or something like that in the veichle settings - trumps the child lock IIRC.
The manual doesn't mention any need for any kind of settings to be in place. It just says to pull the interior handle twice to unlock and open the rear doors.
Happy New Year! :party:

Peter
 






I doubt this is part of the design in the Explorer. The reason I say that is because the Explorers of past did not have it like that. My Fusion which the new Edge shares components with, has the rear doors open if you pull the handle twice. So I doubt the rear doors and their locks have changed since the 2011 Explorer redesign.
Yes they have. See my post above.

From the 2016 Manual;

Opening a Rear Door from Inside
Pull the interior door handle twice to
unlock and open a rear door. The first pull
unlocks the door and the second pull
opens the door.


Peter
 












I doubt this is part of the design in the Explorer. The reason I say that is because the Explorers of past did not have it like that. My Fusion which the new Edge shares components with, has the rear doors open if you pull the handle twice. So I doubt the rear doors and their locks have changed since the 2011 Explorer redesign.

By the way, shouldn't you have your wife sit up front instead since she might be impatient? The front doors always open on the first pull despite being locked (I actually have to double check that actually but I think that's how it works).

she is sitting upfront.

that's my point - the electric door locks won't disengage until the driver opens the door. or you force it my hitting the other unlock button in the car.

double pulling the rear doors won't work.

I believe it's tied to the autounlock feature. I need to test this again at home.
 






I haven't experienced any issues with the rear doors or shall I say my passengers haven't mentioned anything on our 16
 






OK so tested in the driveway last night.


trip over, car off, wifey and offspring in the car. told wifey to sit still for a bit.

reached back - pulled rear door handle - multiple times. door does not unlock, door does not open. Pax front door will open.

I open the driver door - snickety click - rear doors unlock. Child lock not on - AUTOUNLOCK feature in settings turned on. Reading between the lines of the description in the manual it will hold the doors in lock until the driver exits.

seems to work that way for me. Now that I type this - I need to see if there is a mechanical child lock feature in the rear door - like cars used to have.
 






OK so tested in the driveway last night.


trip over, car off, wifey and offspring in the car. told wifey to sit still for a bit.

reached back - pulled rear door handle - multiple times. door does not unlock, door does not open. Pax front door will open.

I open the driver door - snickety click - rear doors unlock. Child lock not on - AUTOUNLOCK feature in settings turned on. Reading between the lines of the description in the manual it will hold the doors in lock until the driver exits.

seems to work that way for me. Now that I type this - I need to see if there is a mechanical child lock feature in the rear door - like cars used to have.
That is the way my previous 2011 Ex and my current MKT work. Doors stay locked until driver's door is opened. But in reading the 2016 Manual, it doesn't state anything else is required to open the rear door other than 2 pulls. Not sure what you mean by "mechanical child lock" feature. To my knowledge that is all there is in the door. You set it ON or OFF by turning the little plastic thingy if I recall.

Peter
 






I haven't experienced any issues with the rear doors or shall I say my passengers haven't mentioned anything on our 16
So you're saying that with all the doors locked, your rear seat passenger can unlock and open the door by using 2 pulls on the handle?

Peter
 






That is the way my previous 2011 Ex and my current MKT work. Doors stay locked until driver's door is opened. But in reading the 2016 Manual, it doesn't state anything else is required to open the rear door other than 2 pulls. Not sure what you mean by "mechanical child lock" feature. To my knowledge that is all there is in the door. You set it ON or OFF by turning the little plastic thingy if I recall.

Peter

The autounlock feature description needs more words, IMO.

I didn't see that plastic piece you push the key into. I didn't look all that hard either.
 






The autounlock feature description needs more words, IMO.

I didn't see that plastic piece you push the key into. I didn't look all that hard either.
Perhaps the 2016 model is different in that respect. I was going from what I had on the 2011 Ex. I don't think I have a photo of it in my library either. I'll see what my MKT has.
EDIT: Just opened my PDF 2016 Manual and there is a picture on page 30 that shows the location.

Peter
 






The manual says to pull door handle twice just like my edge work's. When inside the vehicle the first pull on the locked door should push the lock button up then the second pull should open the door. My 2016 sport as well as a few other 2016 explorers at the dealers lot pulling the handle did nothing as if the child lock was on but it wasn't. Why put a child lock on the doors if you cant open them without unlocking the door first anyway? Anyone else try this? Did Ford do this for a reason? Thanks

Hi there,

I know exactly what you're talking about.

When I took my 2016 Sport for the first Oil change (October 2015) I had a list of things I wanted them to check out. On this list was also the, in the user manual mentioned, unlocking of the rear doors when pulling the handle twice.

First off: The service writer wouldn't believe me (his mum drives a 2014 Escape and that doesn't have that either! ;) ) that it is mentioned in the user manual. I showed him the page and he was stunned as to where this is coming from.

Anyways, long story short: According to my service department this is a misprint. The feature is NOT available on the 2016 Explorer. Source of this, according to my service department, is Detroit, they supposedly talked to a Ford engineer.

By the way, this section in the user manual is not related to any "child safety" features.
 



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So you're saying that with all the doors locked, your rear seat passenger can unlock and open the door by using 2 pulls on the handle?

Peter

don't know, will have to test. but there have been different passengers in the back and gotten out with running or after shutoff and no reported issues on the lock/unlock.
 






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