Lock/Unlock from Hands-Free Liftgate

[tlfksu]

New to the forum and have a question that I'm hoping someone can answer. I've searched for this on both the forum and in the manual and have not had any luck. Apologies if I've overlooked it somewhere.

Is there a way to lock/unlock the vehicle from the rear liftgate area when using the hands-free liftgate? When I have my hands full and use the hands-free lifgate (which is great BTW), I have not found a way to unlock the vehicle so others can get in the car while I'm loading. My 9-month pregnant wife is stuck standing there until I can clear my hands and either take the keys out or walk to the front. I'm hoping that I'm just missing an obvious way to unlock it. Would be especially helpful once the baby's here.

I've done my best to find the answer but have come up empty. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[peterk9]

New to the forum and have a question that I'm hoping someone can answer. I've searched for this on both the forum and in the manual and have not had any luck. Apologies if I've overlooked it somewhere.

Is there a way to lock/unlock the vehicle from the rear liftgate area when using the hands-free liftgate? When I have my hands full and use the hands-free lifgate (which is great BTW), I have not found a way to unlock the vehicle so others can get in the car while I'm loading. My 9-month pregnant wife is stuck standing there until I can clear my hands and either take the keys out or walk to the front. I'm hoping that I'm just missing an obvious way to unlock it. Would be especially helpful once the baby's here.

I've done my best to find the answer but have come up empty. Any help is greatly appreciated.

You're not missing anything. There is no way to unlock all the doors by simply opening the liftgate. I find it a good feature in that when the vehicle is locked, you can open and close the 'gate' and it will lock itself and the rest of the doors remain locked. Best suggestion is to hit the 'Unlock' button on the fob, awkward as it may be.

Peter

 

[tlfksu]

You're not missing anything. There is no way to unlock all the doors by simply opening the liftgate. I find it a good feature in that when the vehicle is locked, you can open and close the 'gate' and it will lock itself and the rest of the doors remain locked. Best suggestion is to hit the 'Unlock' button on the fob, awkward as it may be.

Peter

That's what I was afraid of. I wasn't necessarily looking for a way to unlock it with the liftgate, just to unlock it from the rear without pulling my keys out of my pocket. Kind of defeats the purpose of a "hands-free" vehicle IMO. Even just a lock/unlock button in the rear compartment would be helpful like I've seen in past vehicles. In any case, thanks for the help. Guess I'll just have to internalize another first world problem.....

 

[Floatman]

I'm not trying to be a smart ass. But since the car came with two key fobs, give one to the wife to carry in her purse. She would never have to take it out and her proximity with a fob will allow her to unlock/lock just by touching the handle. (Doesn't matter if she drives it ever or not)

 

[tlfksu]

I'm not trying to be a smart ass. But since the car came with two key fobs, give one to the wife to carry in her purse. She would never have to take it out and her proximity with a fob will allow her to unlock/lock just by touching the handle. (Doesn't matter if she drives it ever or not)

I worries. That's a good suggestion, but she doesn't carry a purse when we're out and about. Like I said, another first world problem. A lock/unlock button by the auto fold button would be nice. Not a deal breaker by any means.

 

[machine4321]

My lift gate will only work if I have the key with me near the back of the Ex (doors locked). Im wondering if the doors will unlock if she uses the touch pad inside the door handle if the prox key is near the back?

 

[peterk9]

My lift gate will only work if I have the key with me near the back of the Ex (doors locked). Im wondering if the doors will unlock if she uses the touch pad inside the door handle if the prox key is near the back?

I believe the fob has to be with a range of about 3 feet for the door locks to be activated.

Peter

 

[Gldaugh]

My 2017 Sport keeps the doors locked with the hands free tailgate operation BUT i can also unlock and open the doors by just touching the door handles as long as the key fob is within 3 feet of the vehicle. If you have this feature it may be the solution you want...

 

[peterk9]

My 2017 Sport keeps the doors locked with the hands free tailgate operation BUT i can also unlock and open the doors by just touching the door handles as long as the key fob is within 3 feet of the vehicle. If you have this feature it may be the solution you want...

The problem is that OP would like to unlock all doors from the liftgate area which the vehicle doesn't support. Being at the back of the Explorer with the fob is too far away to allow the front doors to be opened by the 'touch' method.

Peter

 

[Gldaugh]

The problem is that OP would like to unlock all doors from the liftgate area which the vehicle doesn't support. Being at the back of the Explorer with the fob is too far away to allow the front doors to be opened by the 'touch' method.

Peter

Actually I tried this after I posted and it can be done...

 

[peterk9]

Actually I tried this after I posted and it can be done...

I put the fob on the rear bumper and was unable to open the front doors. On the 2011 Limited I had I could actually put the fob in the cargo area and lock the vehicle because it didn't detect it. I just tried the same thing with my 2017 by laying the fob down by the 3rd row seats power buttons and was able to lock the doors with my spare fob. I also was not able to open the door with the 'touch' feature. So in my case the fob is not detectable from the rear of the vehicle. Perhaps it differs from one vehicle to another.

Peter