Rear doors have a mind of there own / won’t unlock

[Robm16]

I know it’s rare, but I had a similar issue on my 2011. Sometimes the doors would unlock and sometimes they would not. Ended up being some broken/severed wires in the loom that runs to the door.

what did you do to fix this? Were you able to get the doors open to get at things easier

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

what did you do to fix this? Were you able to get the doors open to get at things easier

does the lock rod move? or is it frozen stuck? guess i should have asked this earlier. i was under the assumption it was stuck. check the door rubber door boot and see if there are broken wires if the lock rod moves up and down. that just means its not getting power.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

I know it’s rare, but I had a similar issue on my 2011. Sometimes the doors would unlock and sometimes they would not. Ended up being some broken/severed wires in the loom that runs to the door.

i was on a one track train of thought. thanks for the reminder.

 

[Robm16]

i was on a one track train of thought. thanks for the reminder.

The lock rod does not move

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

The lock rod does not move

so the rod is frozen in place. and pulling on the door handle from the inside isnt working? it should open the door and move the lock rod up. need to put some force into it.

 

[BenBB]

Had similar issue on my '13 when I bought it (used with a lot of hard dusty west Texas miles on it). Mine were f'n filthy nasty. Found a ton of early threads on here from around '11, '12 or so with same problem, apparently due to dirt/dust intrusion. Anyway mine only wouldn't unlock once in a while, more frequently they wouldn't lock. Not that that's conclusive or anything, hopefully as @The Car Stereo Company said you can get them to open by pulling the door handle (not the lock at the top of the door panel, it's not going to budge) just like you normally would to get out with the door unlocked.

Definitely could be a wiring issue, the wires are prone to breakage inside the bellows between cab and door, and at the connector inside the door panel.

If not you'll need to replace the door actuators, they aren't cheap. I opened mine up but they aren't really made to haha, the plastic halves are fused together in a couple spots and you have to drill or break them to get them open. I also modded the resistor, found an old F150 forum thread with the same issue where in hot weather (which I was) the resistor on the little motor in there won't let the motor operate. Anyway run a search for "lock actuator" and you'll find lotsa threads here and some elsewhere. Good luck!

 

[Robm16]

Had similar issue on my '13 when I bought it (used with a lot of hard dusty west Texas miles on it). Mine were f'n filthy nasty. Found a ton of early threads on here from around '11, '12 or so with same problem, apparently due to dirt/dust intrusion. Anyway mine only wouldn't unlock once in a while, more frequently they wouldn't lock. Not that that's conclusive or anything, hopefully as @The Car Stereo Company said you can get them to open by pulling the door handle (not the lock at the top of the door panel, it's not going to budge) just like you normally would to get out with the door unlocked.

Definitely could be a wiring issue, the wires are prone to breakage inside the bellows between cab and door, and at the connector inside the door panel.

If not you'll need to replace the door actuators, they aren't cheap. I opened mine up but they aren't really made to haha, the plastic halves are fused together in a couple spots and you have to drill or break them to get them open. I also modded the resistor, found an old F150 forum thread with the same issue where in hot weather (which I was) the resistor on the little motor in there won't let the motor operate. Anyway run a search for "lock actuator" and you'll find lotsa threads here and some elsewhere. Good luck!

Thanks for the info. However when I pull the handle as I would if it was unlocked , from the inside , as it works in the front, it’s like it’s locked still. No release or anything

 

[BenBB]

Thanks for the info. However when I pull the handle as I would if it was unlocked , from the inside , as it works in the front, it’s like it’s locked still. No release or anything

That sucks. If that doesn't work and no amount of button-mashing lock, unlock, lock, unlock, locklocklockfuckingunlock works you're going to have to open up that inner door panel. With the door closed it's a bitch. There's screws along the bottom, not sure how many and think they are just phillips head, hopefully @The Car Stereo Company can chime in it's been a while since I had them off, best I remember you pop off the upper trim piece and there's a screw either in the pull cubby or behind a little plastic panel behind the lever (maybe both). Then the whole panel lifts upwards, there's none of those annoying plastic retainers. Then reach in there and move the rod manually, you can try both the lever rod and knob rod...

 

[Robm16]

That sucks. If that doesn't work and no amount of button-mashing lock, unlock, lock, unlock, locklocklockfuckingunlock works you're going to have to open up that inner door panel. With the door closed it's a bitch. There's screws along the bottom, not sure how many and think they are just phillips head, hopefully @The Car Stereo Company can chime in it's been a while since I had them off, best I remember you pop off the upper trim piece and there's a screw either in the pull cubby or behind a little plastic panel behind the lever (maybe both). Then the whole panel lifts upwards, there's none of those annoying plastic retainers. Then reach in there and move the rod manually, you can try both the lever rod and knob rod...

This just seems like a f*ck around that the dealership can look after for half the hassle and double the price !!

 

[BenBB]

This just seems like a f*ck around that the dealership can look after for half the hassle and double the price !!

Haha probably!!!