F-150 Door Latches Still Freezing Despite Repairs
F-150 Owners Report Having to Use Bungee Cords to Close Truck’s Doors, or Simply Not Drive at All
If you own a 2015 or 2016 Ford F-150, you most likely paid a pretty penny for it. A single-cab bare-bones F-150 starts at around $27 grand, and they can rocket all the way up to $70,000 for a top-of-the-line Limited model. In other words, you don’t expect something as silly as a door latch to give you trouble. Sadly, that’s exactly what’s happening to many owners across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
It’s been a known issue that door latches installed in F-150s from 2015 and 2016 tend to freeze in winter and become inoperable. The majority of reports state that when temperatures reach approximately 15 degrees Fahrenheit, the door latch and power lock assembly fail to respond. As a result, people get locked out of their trucks, and the few lucky enough to get in had no way of shutting their doors because the latch mechanism wouldn’t retract to hold the door in place.
Ford eventually released a Technical Service Bulletin (No. 16-0155) to address the problem.
According to recent complaints by folks at F150Forum.com, door latches are still becoming frozen. Even worse is the fact that some owners claim the problem resurfaced the same day of the repairs. So whether the repair is junk, or dealerships aren’t performing proper testing, people are still getting locked out of their trucks.
It’s not only frustrating, but one forum member even claims the following:
“There have been days I can’t get into my truck at all until it ran for 30-40 min with remote start. Then after I do get in I have to hold the door to drive it, or bungee it to the seat belt until the latch decides to free up and work. There has been two times I’ve been out and about with my 2 yr old in the back and I’ve had to bungee the front door somewhat shut just so we could get home. When does this become a liability for Ford???”
It’d be easy to tell someone to not drive their truck if can’t safely close the door, but it’s important to keep in mind that most families don’t have a spare car, or can afford the added expense of a taxi or Uber just because their faulty door latch is acting up.
Have you experienced this issue? If so, it’s about time Ford makes it right!
Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>
