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I may use access holes or drill some and using a wand, spray T9 everywhere within the doors. I’m thinking one access hole (then sealed) at each end, on the upper ends, letting the T9 mist rain down on everything permeating it all.
I am ordering a 2019 and hope it rolls off the line ‘fixed’ but if that were the case they’d have identified the problem for the service bulletin.
I don’t recall exactly what a poster said above but pre-heating the truck is not the answer, and from what you said it seems to be within the panels, probably insulated from the cabin heat.
Glad to hear from you, good luck, hopefully it is resolved soon.
Sorry for the delay in responding. The T-9 worked for me immediately the "first" time....... fast forward about 2 weeks.... drivers door froze again and the T-9 did not work. Exercised it quite a bit and still nothing. Sorry no miracle cure. Received the "Customer satisfaction" letter and made an appointment at my local dealer. They said nothing available until the week of the 17th..... unfortunately without garage storage as an option I guess Im stuck holding a frozen door shut while driving. Super safe situation.
I was actually thinking about using a heat gun or hair dryer on the mech next time it happens. I'm just not sure WHAT specific part is freezing. The latch seems to move freely after the T9 application so I'm gonna guess its something else inside the door panel. If I have time I might pull the door panel and see what I can see.
The more I read about this I am thinking it is not a latch issue directly- I think it's the actuator which controls the latch. It must be freezing due to moisture and preventing the return of the latch to the "closed " position. There is another thread I read on here discussing the door locking failures of the previous generation and it ended up being the actuators that were failing and this generation of trucks uses the same actuators. Not all actuators are going to be faulty but that would explain why some have the issue and others don't and the cold climates and wet conditions must affect the faulty actuators. It seems if it were the latch itself then the new water shield fix (18N03) would have taken care of the problem. If FORD has to recall actuators that would be a major expense- so why not focus on a water shield replacement instead. The percentages work in FORDS favor in that not all trucks are affected and half the trucks that are are in warm climates and it only foes back to 2015/17 depending on truck model whereas a recall of actuators would go back to 1999..... Yep, going conspiracy theory now. LOL Who knows, I want this stupid issue to go away.
When you say possibly the actuators, are you referring to a possible electrical failure or to a possible mechanical failure involving the actuator ?
The thread I read on this with the previous gen. trucks was a failure within the motor inside the actuator. The actuators were actually disassembled and a small part was wrapped in foil and then the actuator was put back together and worked as it should. So, it's a mechanical failure due to an electrical failure of the actuator motor. (Either way it's the actuator not the electrical components of the door (door switches)
Are we talking about the same issue or confusing the doors not latching closed with not being able to open the door to begin with? It would make since to me that if you can't enter the vehicle, that it might be that the door lock actuator is not unlocking the door. (Does using the key to unlock help? This should bypass the actuator issue altogether.) As far as not latching closed, this doesn't sound like a door lock actuator issue to me, it seems as though it would be in the mechanics of the latch and associated assemblies. Basically, I do not believe that the the doors depend on an electrical impulse / door latch actuator to stay closed. Correct me if I'm mistaken.
In my 2001 F-150 that never had similar issues to these, finally about 4 years ago the driver side door lock actuator went **** up requiring me to use the key in the door. When I replaced it, (both actually) I noticed that there was a design and part number change. IIRC, there was less metal and more plastic on the newer actuators.
Are we talking about the same issue or confusing the doors not latching closed with not being able to open the door to begin with? It would make since to me that if you can't enter the vehicle, that it might be that the door lock actuator is not unlocking the door. (Does using the key to unlock help? This should bypass the actuator issue altogether.) As far as not latching closed, this doesn't sound like a door lock actuator issue to me, it seems as though it would be in the mechanics of the latch and associated assemblies. Basically, I do not believe that the the doors depend on an electrical impulse / door latch actuator to stay closed. Correct me if I'm mistaken.
In my 2001 F-150 that never had similar issues to these, finally about 4 years ago the driver side door lock actuator went **** up requiring me to use the key in the door. When I replaced it, (both actually) I noticed that there was a design and part number change. IIRC, there was less metal and more plastic on the newer actuators.
So, first scenario- the door unlocks but does not release causing the door not to latch. If the door won't latch then something is preventing the catch from resetting. This could be the actuator sticking in the unlock position due to freezing/moisture or it could be the latch sticking. if it is the latch then one would have to assume the actuator would have enough force to reset if it had the force to unlock- unless it stopped working. Trying to manually reset the lock with a key may work but in my case it would not since the door lock button/nipple cannot be depressed which means something is keeping it in the unlock/up position. It is directly attached to the actuator mechanism. That's why I thick it's a "short" in the actuator that keeps it open, preventing the latch from resetting. Just my theory.... Leaning away from mechanical flaw since that would mean the door would malfunction under all conditions not just cold temps.
Second scenario where the door will not unlock I have not experienced so I don't know if the key would unlock the latch in that case (if it were say the actuator stuck in the closed position due to freezing) but one would assume it could if it were able to do this in a regular/normal scenario. If not, then the question I have is "what could hold that latch open? Is there really that much ice in the door where it prevents latch from moving? Why then does the door unlock in the first place? (first scenario)
For sure it's a P.I.A.
So my truck is back at the dealership today for a follow up visit after having 18N03 procedure completed last week and still having the door latch "freeze" issue. They are going to replace the door latch and the actuator on the drivers side (where all my problems have been). Apparently the door latch and actuator are a new design and are all one piece (that's what the service writer told me). I was under the impression the actuator was the same part as previous generation trucks (that's what I was finding when I searched for replacement parts earlier when I was trying to see I could trouble shoot the issue) but such is not the case.
I'll let you all know what happens when the new part is installed Monday. Next week is supposed to be below freezing each day so I'll find out if it is a fix- man it would be great if this resolves the problem! I have to give credit to my dealership for being pro-active on this and not just telling me "sorry, we could not duplicate your problem, sucks to be you" in so many words as happens with some other places. Sure makes these kinds of issues bearable when dealerships stand up and face a problem head-on.
Thanks for the info sir! I rescheduled for Jan 14th. to have the FSA performed on all 4 doors as well as all 4 latch/actuator assemblies, currently on national backorder for 2-3 weeks.
I need to get my truck booked in to have the recall performed. I've been fighting my door locks every morning, even when pre-heating the truck for 30+ mins with the heat blasting. This is the first vehicle I've ever owned with this issue, definitely frustrating.
I hadn't had a problem with the locks freezing until last Wednesday morning. I was leaving on a very important business trip and taking the truck because I had to haul a bunch of equipment with me. My schedule was pretty tight. So I toss my bags in the back seat at 7am that morning and the left rear door won't latch. Crap. After several tries I get my heat gun and an extension cord and after about 10 minutes the door finally latches. It froze again the 2nd day of the trip and then wouldn't open Saturday morning. I avoided using the door after that.
When I get home I find this letter from Ford in my mail:
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
