Hey everyone, new to the forum here.. I have been trying to do some searches on my problems but can't find the answers.. Maybe someone can help..

Problem 1. Door locks freezing in cold temps. Whenever the temps drop the some of the door locks stop working and it's a crap shoot as to which ones. Seems like the linkages are freezing up.. Any quick fix other than pulling the door panel? and if I do pull the door panel what should I lube it with to prevent it from happening again and again?

Problem 2. Airbag light coming on intermittently. Sometimes it comes on sometimes it doesn't.. It seems to be flashing in intervals of 3 like it's trying to say 33 or 333 does anyone know what that code means? I have read the seat belt pretensioner is the culprit usually.. What is the cost of this repair as my bumper to bumper has expired?

Problem 3. Transmission whines and whistles in cold weather. This is very annoying when driving on the highway in cold temps and it starts to whine in synch with the transmission. I have extended power train warranty but I am wondering what is the best way to go about explaining it to the dealer. It is hard to get it to do it on demand. I know there is a TSB for this problem will the dealer be able to fix it without hearing it.. or do they insist on you proving it first? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for any input!

-R.

 

I am also having the first 2 problems. any fix?

 

I have not heard anything from anyone.. I talked to a ford mechanic about the door locks freezing.. He said that all of the moving parts are a sealed unit so there must be moisture in there and it freezes up in the extreme cold.. I was thinking of pulling the panels and trying to grease some of the linkages but I don't think I will bother now that I know it is sealed in there.. I will probably just have to live with it until I get rid of the car.. Just your typical american quality.

I took a mechanic for a ride on a cold day to try and show him the howling whine I get in cold weather but ofcourse it did not do anything.. and the airbag light still comes on I have just been too lazy to take it in to fix it.. This truck has been nothing but a pain in the rear for me.. It's hard to swallow spending so much money and having these problems that no one wants to fix.. You can buy a 3 series BMW for the same price and I can guarantee the service and quality is much better!

-R.

 

airbag light coming on is probably the seat belt pretensioner. That is what happenened to mine and I have heard of it happenning to others. A faulty pre tensioner will trigger the airbag light. I believe that a code reader will pull a code telling you exactly that.

 

Safety restraint system (im not sure if ABs are included) are covered for 5y/50K.

Maybe try wd40 on the lock mechanism?

PT warranty shouuld take care of the trans if thats it. Are you sure it isnt something else like alternator? Mine has a whine in VERY cold temps at 60+mph that has been suggested to be coming from the alternator.

 

Coincidentally, I got the airbig light fixed just the other day.. I was surprised to find that it was covered under warranty! I was not aware that there was a longer safety system warranty.. Anyways, the howl is still there at times.. It's more like a whistle.. But once the warm weather comes I won't have to worry about that anymore.. It's really strange you be excelerating and just as it revs up it will start to will and then stop when the gears change.. If you are on the highway at a consistent speed it will sometimes just whistle until you rev it up a few hundred rpm or let off the gas..

I don't think wd40 will do anything for the door locks as it seems to be all of inner linkages that cease up.. It doesn't happen often enough to make it worth my while to investigate it any further..

-R.

 

re: "Maybe try wd40 on the lock mechanism?"

Don't use WD40 on ANYTHING that you would like to maintain lubricated long term. Once the WD40 dries it leaves a sticky film behind coating the parts. If you need to oil something and would like a good spray oil use gun oil.

The reason WD40 does what it does is that it was not designed as a lubricant but as a rust proofing coating. That it happens to act as an excellent short term penetrating lubricant is not by design.

Just some advice from someone that managed to have to go through and clean off all his hand tools (specially the pliers) because he thought that WD40 was a good idea!