Rear passenger proper door lock function?

[Uaglio]

2015 Sport. I've noticed that after car gets under way, the doors auto lock. That's all good. However, when I come to a stop, it seems that the driver must push the unlock button in order for the rear seat passengers to get out. In other words, they can't just pull the door handle and get out. I thought the child lock mechanism had been set "on," or there was a problem with it, but it's been to the dealer twice now for this issue. (Incidentally, when child lock is on, the only way to open the rear doors is to get out of the car and open them from the exterior handles. I believe that's the correct function.) After last visit, they declared it "normal" operation. Normal? I can't believe that's right. If the car were to be in an accident and driver incapacitated, the rear passengers couldn't get out. Note this only happens to rear doors, not front passengers. Does anyone know if this is normal operation? I will be furious that the service department sent my wife home with a declaration that this is "normal" if it is indeed malfunctioning.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Britta-S]

Mine works the same way, 2016 Sport. If I recall correctly, in an accident the doors get unlocked automatically.
I don't think that it is malfunctioning, though I understand the issue and also would love the rear to be able to just open the doors from the inside.

 

[Britta-S]

2015 Sport. I've noticed that after car gets under way, the doors auto lock. That's all good. However, when I come to a stop, it seems that the driver must push the unlock button in order for the rear seat passengers to get out. In other words, they can't just pull the door handle and get out. I thought the child lock mechanism had been set "on," or there was a problem with it, but it's been to the dealer twice now for this issue. (Incidentally, when child lock is on, the only way to open the rear doors is to get out of the car and open them from the exterior handles. I believe that's the correct function.) After last visit, they declared it "normal" operation. Normal? I can't believe that's right. If the car were to be in an accident and driver incapacitated, the rear passengers couldn't get out. Note this only happens to rear doors, not front passengers. Does anyone know if this is normal operation? I will be furious that the service department sent my wife home with a declaration that this is "normal" if it is indeed malfunctioning.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Just found this:
"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."
in the 2016 user manual, can't try it right now, but maybe it's the same for the 2015.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

^^ yep, it's done due to kids "typically" using the rear as extra protection.

 

[Halwg]

Why not just disable the auto lock function?

 

[Uaglio]

Just found this:
"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."
in the 2016 user manual, can't try it right now, but maybe it's the same for the 2015.

Finally got around to checking this. Doesn't work in my 2015. I will have to check the manual now. If it's a malfunction I'm going to be so pissed, not because it's broken, but because the dealer is jerking my chain, lying and wasting my time.

 

[GoogleAndroid]

That is normal. That is how every single Ford vehicle is. I've never been in a Ford that isn't like that. That's why the rear locks stick up more and can be pulled.

 

[CorryBasler]

Yep thats normal, my 2015 Explorer does this front doors unlock when you pull the handle, but rear doors require the little lock thing to be pulled up, or the unlock button pushed.

Same applies to my moms 2013 Edge.

 

[Uaglio]

Thanks for the confirmation it's normal. I certainly would not have designed it that way! I'll have to start telling passengers they need to unlock by the old school method by pulling up the pop-up lock indicator, unless I do it for them via master unlock button. (another good option - thanks Halwg - is to disable the master locking upon take off, but I like that feature for safety reasons.)

Sounds like Ford addressed the clunkiness of this in the 2016 model with the double pull design.

 

[jmr061]

You can also enable the auto unlock feature. That will unlock all the doors when you stop and open your door.

 

[Britta-S]

Thanks for the confirmation it's normal. I certainly would not have designed it that way! I'll have to start telling passengers they need to unlock by the old school method by pulling up the pop-up lock indicator, unless I do it for them via master unlock button. (another good option - thanks Halwg - is to disable the master locking upon take off, but I like that feature for safety reasons.)

Sounds like Ford addressed the clunkiness of this in the 2016 model with the double pull design.

I wish!

I, or better my mum, since she was sitting in the back, tried to do the, in the manual explained, double use of the handle to get out of the rear.
Doesn't work either.

I can live with it, if it's just the way it is, but I will definitely let my dealership know, since it is written in the manual and not working the way it should.

 

[Britta-S]

Thanks for the confirmation it's normal. I certainly would not have designed it that way! I'll have to start telling passengers they need to unlock by the old school method by pulling up the pop-up lock indicator, unless I do it for them via master unlock button. (another good option - thanks Halwg - is to disable the master locking upon take off, but I like that feature for safety reasons.)

Sounds like Ford addressed the clunkiness of this in the 2016 model with the double pull design.

Uaglio,

I brought my 2016 in for the first service and also to address some minor issues, one of them was the rear door lock function, on Wednesday.

The service writer wouldn't believe me that the owner's manual says that they're supposed to unlock pulling once and opened pulling the second time. I showed him the section in the manual and he was obviously surprised about this.
Today I got a call from him stating that, after his engineer posted a search within their system, some Engineer from Detroit called him, stating that the way it works at the moment is normal. He was also surprised about the section in the owner's manual and said that that section is not correct.

So yes, the rear doors, after auto locking through movement, are not supposed to unlock unless the driver presses the "all unlock button" or opens his/her door.