Anti-Lockout Solution for 2023-2024 Mach-E

[garyd9]

You can fuck it if you prefer but the current software issue seems to only be 2023, and should get figured out. My 2022 is fine, and no reports (yet) from 2024...

There have been at least 2 reports from MY 24 owners.

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[rhfritz]

The postman always pulls twice.

 

[SimS]

"As supercool as this hack is, there were a string of OTAs...."

I see what you did there.

 

[AHoss75]

It’s a bug that can show up at any time once you’ve received the relevant OTA. Some folks have speculated it’s the
easy entry OTA (oh the sweet irony) but nothing definitive yet. For example I haven’t received updates in 2ish weeks but just had this issue in my car yesterday morning.

Oh crap, I just received the easy entry update yesterday...

 

[Jerrytball]

Since I’m just sitting here watching the car in the driveway and I just got a Frunk update scheduled I’ve taken precautions
I just wanted to add one more picture and I know it’s a big security issue for someone to open the car but while I was doing this in the driveway, I put the string right here and if that was black, I’m gonna tell you is not gonna have time to like oh what is that, It’s pretty well hidden under that Rubber flap and you can pull it right out really easy just by leaving a tip of it there. This little piece of white string is frayed, but some stuff I’ve got coming is better than this so we’ll see may have to go down the door under the door this was just an example. You can actually stick it in there further where you can barely see one string sticking out I mean a strand.

 

[garyd9]

I showed this thread to my wife. She immediately made a connection to feminine hygiene products.

It doesn't help that my car is "Rapid Red."

 

[CYBER-O]

There have been at least 2 reports from MY 24 owners.

I stand corrected, thanks.

 

[SpeedRacer72]

Nice !
@Ford Motor Company engineers could not have designed a better solution than this.

Some 2023 owners have been getting completely locked out of their Mach-E's due to a software glitch. The doors will not unlock by any means, and jumping the leads in the bumper to open the frunk will not work. It's a total lockout situation that so far has required a tow to a dealer to fix. It's some type of communication glitch where the doors won't receive the unlock signal (not the 12V battery dying). I've previously given a technical synopsis here.

I've been trying to come up with a temporary solution to help 2023 owners avoid or mitigate the total lockout situation since it will take Ford a month or two to deploy a fix. I'd recommend doing a preventative 12V reset if you can (disconnect negative battery terminal for 10 minutes), this should reboot all modules to minimize the chance of a glitch, but I have no definitive proof it will prevent the issue. Besides the 12V reset, I've come up with an alternative access method in case the frunk will not open.

Note: This is not necessary on 2021 and 2022 vehicles. We don't have the complete lockout bug.

If you are worried about security, you may call a locksmith to gain access to your vehicle instead. This method allows you to gain access yourself.

Materials:

• Thin rope
• Masking tape
• 10 mm socket wrench (keep in glove compartment)

Procedure:

1. Tie the rope to the passenger front door handle as shown:

2. Route the rope horizontally and down to the bottom of the door, using tape as shown.

3. Cut the rope a couple inches longer than the bottom of the door, and tape the end of the rope to the bottom of the door:

The rope cannot be seen outside of the car unless you are on hands and knees looking up at it. The only visible part would be on the armrest, I used orange rope for visibility, but you may want to choose black rope instead.

4. In the event of a lockout situation, detach the end of the rope under the door, and pull the string out from the slot between the front and rear doors (you will need to pull to rip the tape).

5. Once you have enough slack, hold the string slightly above the level of the door latch, and pull firmly. In my testing I had to pull the string twice to release the door.

6. Once you're in the vehicle, pull the driver door handle twice to open it, and pull the hood release latch twice to open it.

7. Pull up on the edges of the top frunk panel sharply to remove it and expose the negative battery terminal.

8. Loosen (but do not remove) 10 mm nut on negative battery terminal, remove terminal, and set aside so it can't touch for 5-10 minutes.

9. Put negative battery terminal back on and tighten nut. Be prepared for a spark when it touches.

10. Car should now wake up and you should be able to resume normal operation. If the battery is completely dead, you may need a jump start first.

NOTE: I was skeptical of this working because of the double lock mechanism of the front door handles, but it appears pulling the handle twice bypasses that so it will open. This will not work on the rear handles since they have no mechanical operation.

Disclaimer: Do this at your own risk since it provides a potential route for a thief to enter your car. Do not keep key fobs or valuables inside. They can steal your stuff but will not be able to start the car without a fob. With black string, I think it will be sufficiently hidden as to not arouse suspicion.

 

[garyd9]

Nice !
@Ford Motor Company engineers could not have designed a better solution than this.

The irony is that you are probably right. If Ford had designed it, it would have required a module that must be updated OTA, only use string from a single factory in some obscure corner of the world, and only worked on Tuesday.

 

[voerman]

I saw this Focus today with a slightly less stealthy solution to the lock out problem.

Lou

Nice !
@Ford Motor Company engineers could not have designed a better solution than this.

 

[leehinde]

I saw this Focus today with a slightly less stealthy solution to the lock out problem.

Ford is borking other models? Or did you just have an opportunity to make a joke?

 

[voerman]

Ford is borking other models? Or did you just have an opportunity to make a joke?

Joke it was. I suspect the Focus owner's problem was more mechanical than electrical.

Lou

 

[ipca204]

2023.5 here. 6 updates, in last week. no issues..

 

[Jerrytball]

So this morning, I had closed out FordPass all the way and reopened it, when I went out to the car The phone I have it set up as a key, pushing the button to open the trunk physically would not work, so I used FordPass and it opened after that I could open it by using the button. Then I went to go to open the front and it would not open FordPass, so I grabbed the key fob that I have and it opens the front just fine then after that, FordPass worked just weird today.

 

[User100723]

People who have had this lockout issue have tried the windows to no effect. ??

Brother, there’s always the rear hatch to climb into. Unless that doesn’t work either, in which case ???

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