Come on, Ford! That’s really stupid!

Battery died in my truck today. No big deal. 
 

Hmm... key fob won't work. I guess that's no surprise. 
 

Combination code on the door won't work... yeah, I guess that's electric too. 
 

Key in the door cylinder... wait!  Are you serious?  The damned lock mechanism is electric- the key works the electric lock, not a manual. 
 

Battery is under the hood. Hood release is in the cab...

Who thinks of this E36 M3?

Have you tried the old Ranger trick to unlock the doors? 

I don't know if I should actually post the video or method, but check YouTube, 10 seconds or less to unlock a ranger with the keys in it. I know they didn't have keypad locks, but that slight security oversight by Ford lasted a long time and may be applicable to other models.

They basically copied that nonsense from MINI. I can show you the two patches in my fender liners where the dealer had to use two pairs of long pliers to get to the two hood releases. It may be that the mechanical door lock had failed ,too, or the damned thing is electric like your Ford. I forget which, but a PITA either way. Put some sort of cable down below your bumper for emergency use, like the one under the rear seat of the MINI, a real useful piece of kit that is. 

At least the battery isn't mounted under one of the seats.  Which have to be moved to a certain location in order to access the battery door.  But can only be moved with the electric motors which are connected to...  oh yeah, that dead battery.

I used to think my dad was batE36 M3 crazy when he railed against all the power features on a car like windows and locks and stuff.  Blah blah blah, just something else to break, blah blah blah...  But I'm starting to think he was right.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Why would anyone copy ANYTHING from MINI??

Are you sure there aren't any externally accessible jump points? And I have a hard time believing there isn't a mechanical unlock with the key.

On the V8 NDs, we moved the battery to the trunk. But the trunk is on an electric release. There's a way to get it open but you have to disassemble half the car to do it. So we put a jump point underhood, you can get into the car and pop the hood without anything more than the key that's hidden inside the fob. Hook up a jumper battery and pop goes the trunk.

What year is it? Are you sure the door lock mechanism is electrical? Is it possible it's just frozen because you've literally never used the key in the door? (Meaning, the cylinder may not be frozen, just the thing it pushes against.)

I don't need a solution- I managed just enough juice to pop one lock. 
 

Yes, the key works fine now that there is a new battery in it. 
 

So dumb. 

Ahh, I see. What year is it, though?

I think what they do is electrically assist the unlock so the key turns really easily. With the power dead you can still unlock it with the key but it's very stiff.

The door lock is 100% mechanical. I rebuild the lock cylinders all of the time. You may need to overcome the resistance from the door lock actuator though. 

What about hooking a set of jumper cables to the starter power lug and chassis ground? Might be enough to get the power doors to open.

Paul

Might be different on the Platinum trim level. 
 

I find lots of stupid stuff on this trim level which does not occur on other trim levels. 

RevRico said:

Have you tried the old Ranger trick to unlock the doors? 

I don't know if I should actually post the video or method, but check YouTube, 10 seconds or less to unlock a ranger with the keys in it. I know they didn't have keypad locks, but that slight security oversight by Ford lasted a long time and may be applicable to other models.

I know that trick well. Works on some f series trucks and exploders that I know of. Used to drive a ranger delivering auto parts. You learn all sorts of things. 

I dont know about the new ones, but the 90's and 2000's fords i worked around(i worked at a ford dealership) with the vertical lock knob were scary easy to get into. Even the cop cars. I kept a slim jim handy as people regularly locked the keys in and it was an easy slide the slim jim in with a slight curve, down, move to the lock and up. I was surprised to find the cop cars were just as easy.  Just seconds and i was far from great at doing it. 

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

My rant  against Ford is why does the truck have to be so stupidly high?  I'm 5'9" the height of an average male. 
Putting  things into the bed of the pickup I have to lift them almost to my shoulders. Hey Ford I don't secretly want a stupid monster truck.  Nor do most of the Ford owners I know.  
Yeh, Chevy, Dodge, GMC, and Toyota  all follow the leader. But how about making it optional?  Right now everybody with 4WD  puts their springs on top of the axles.  I'd pay extra to have the springs under the axle like a 2WD.  
 

Then myself and everybody who isn't 7 feet tall could step into the bed. And wouldn't need a crane or step ladder to get stuff out. 
 

I would bet a taco I know how it happened.

Service Engineers- "Hey, we need to have a good way to get into this if the battery is dead"

Electrical Engineers- "The body control module supplier 'Pinkie Swears'  the logic for the battery management system will adequately prevent  total power loss"

Accounting -"It would cost .0005 cents per unit?  Aint happing sucka!  The EEs say its good as is.  Whats next?  You want some sort of plastic shield to keep oil off the exhaust during filter changes?  You think we are made of money?"

Sales Reps to dealers- "Our vehicles are equipped with batteries that NEVER fail.  How many trucks can I put you down for?"

In reply to logdog (Forum Supporter) :

The truth is living up here in the arctic tundra we replace batteries  on a regular basis.  Considering it can be a matter of life or death up here, or at least the loss of a job.  
Sorry I'm late boss,  my battery died 

Yeh, I bet you just overslept again, You're fired! 

I'm not sure what year your truck is, but I'm assuming 15- because it's a Platinum. 
The door handles and locks are the same on all models (handles are painted/chrome/whatever but they function the same.) There is nothing electrical about the system. 

after a quick google this seems to be a really common problem, but its never confirmed what the source of the issue is. Definitely not powered-only locks, there is a mechanical connection there, but a ton of people can't open theirs with a dead battery.

Odd.

Makes me want to disconnect the battery on mine and try the key...

The only thing that makes sense is the door lock actuator is in the locked position, and you have to physically move it by turning the key. 

In reply to TJL :

That's how my 2006 f250 was so easily stolen? 

Not saying that is the case here, but half the time I think that the designer did a E36 M3ty job, I find that I'm just too stupid or ignorant to figure it out. 

In reply to yupididit :

Fine, I'll say it, but mods feel free to edit this later if need be.

Take off the radio antenna, lift up the door handle, stick the antenna in the hole under the handle at a slight angle and push the end in your hand towards the front of the truck. Maybe wiggle up n down a little. 

I'm guessing that the issue is that the mechanical lock never gets used except when the battery is dead and by then it's stuck.

Porsche did something similar with the frunk on the late 986.2 and 996.2 cars. The forum complaints about it are fairly frequent on Porsche boards. They went to an electric frunk release, and guess where the battery is located..... they did install an emergency release cable, but it wasn't always easy to get to.  I'm glad my 996 and 986 are older with cable actuators to get the frunk open.