2000 Ford Expedition: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Feb 19, 2015 · Electrical · 160,000 miles · TX

I began noticing electrical problems with the lights going on and off, dash gauges going on and off, radio going on and off, heater going on and off, door alarm staying on when driver's door is open, but no key in ignition or lights on, door locks not working properly, 4wd engaging automatically, cd player going off and on, windshield wipers going on and off, and water on driver's side floor after rains. It has become more of a problem. I did not know what was causing the problems until I began replacing parts and found on the internet that this has been a known problem with the expedition and ford being aware of the problem for many years. I just wrote the ford company and they told me they knew nothing about such problems!!! Reference number is [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Nov 23, 2014 · Electrical, Visibility · NC

5 people in my vehicle driving 55mph on i40 around midnight when air suspension went out and everything in the dash went crazy. Things cutting off and on moving backwards and forwards, when I cut it off so to not drive with air suspension down it would not restart unless you started it in neutral but the battery kept dying and exploded driving to shop,.got another battery, it exploded to. Nothing electrical worked. Door locks, windows,speedometer, stereo wouldn't come on then would come on by itself, lights to. Air suspension would not work, been in the shop twice. First time they didn't know what was wrong. This time they know but I can afford to fix it. The gem module and fuse box is over 600.00 plus labor! Im disabled with a fixed income and I haven't driven anywhere since feb I cant get to my doctor, grocery store, to get medicine for heart attack and other disabling illnesses. I cant afford another car or to fix my expo. This could have been dangerous I sure need some help with this.electrical system failure the federal safety agency preliminary evaluation #pe05033 status:closed date opened:june 15, 2005 date closed: october 13, 2005 recall: no recall issued component(s): electrical system equipment:electrical visibility:windshield summary: odi has received 39 reports alleging that water leaks around the windshield causing electrical failures, including but not limited to the windshield wipers and the headlamps.ford reports that water entering the vehicle can wet the power distribution box (pdb) and the generic electronic module (gem).these components control various electrical systems in the vehicle.this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis, ea05015, to allow further investigation of the issue and to assess the nature of the potential safety consequence.the federal safety agency: for detailed information & supporting documents, see the official the federal safety agency investigation#pe05033.

Filed Apr 30, 2011 · Electrical · 166,928 miles · VT · fire · 1 injury

I went approx. 3 miles when smoke started to come out of the heating vents in my 2000 ford expedition. A few sec. After the truck began to smoke flames were starting to come out of the area by the drivers side feet. Under the dash. My husband put out the fire and sustained severe 2nd degree burns on his fore arm hand wrist and chin. He was able to see the fire started by corroded wires under the kick plate. All the wires have melted and now 4x4 isn't working windows are not working lights inside of truck stay on headlights stay on no tail lights no dash lights power windows and door locks no longer work, speaker on driver side does not work. Hazard lights do not blink they just stay on. Temp in the truck reads 140 deg. F. We have not yet had this looked at. I have an appt with a ford garage on monday to see if this was a recall issue.

Filed Mar 22, 2011 · Electrical · 145,000 miles · CA

Windshield wipers, dash lights, 4x4, door locks, interior lights, sound system, all operate intermitanly after rain or snow. Heater fan comes on after taking key out. Mechanic estimates $1000 to remove fuse panel and replace. Said windshield has leaked and caused water damage in fuse box.

Filed Nov 15, 2010 · Electrical · 80,000 miles · WV

I have a 2000 ford expedition. There are many electrical issues with this car. I understand that it is due to water and moisture getting into the gem. The biggest issue from this is the child safety door locks do not engage sometimes. I have two small children that ride in the back and this is a huge safety issue that I feel should be recalled before a serious (or even fatal) accident occurs. The gem can be replaced but this continues to happen as long as the moisture can drain into it. We have been battling this problem for years with no results.

Filed Jan 11, 2008 · Electrical, Visibility · 100,000 miles · IN

Windshield leaks water on to gem module and fuse box. After rain or snow vehicle will try to start while already running wipers, radio, door locks, power windows, lights flashers will not work. Dummy lights on dash will come on that water level low, no oil pressure and low battery. Now it will not shift out of park. Filed a formal complaint three months ago with ford motor compny and they have yet to acknowledge that I ever filed report.

Filed Oct 17, 2005 · Acceleration, Electrical · FL

Rolling up driver window-clicking noise/ticking in front end during slow turns-slowing down/engine vibration and roaring on acceleration/accelerator sticking while using cruise control/electrical problems(I.e-windows rolling up and down w/out prompting, door locks inoperable, running board lights flashing on and off or non-functioning, illuminated temp. And compass flashing or non-functioning, fan in A/C running for no reason w/vehicle off and keys out of ignition, indicator lights in dash flashing on and off, wipers operating w/out prompting, rear window wiper non-functioning, stereo only working in park and reverse or not at all, electrical clicking noise under the dash, left blinker faster than the right)/black foam substance coming from A/C vents/thumping noise right wiper when in use. The problems have been reported to ford dealer and they stated it was a bad gem module and told us that it was getting wet. They stated to disconnect the battery when the vehicle is parked. These problems are worse when it rains. They also stated that this will happen if it is humid. We live in florida, I don't think that we should have to disconnect the battery everytime we park the vehicle. But if we don't, we have all of this going on when the vehicle is off and then the battery goes dead. I was driving on the highway and all of these things started happening at one time, it was raining. I almost lost control of the vehicle trying to get the wipers to function and get the vehicle off the road until all of this stopped. I bought the truck used from a local dealer back in november of last year. The problems began almost immediately. As the problems have gotten worse, I looked this up on the internet and found that ford knew about the problem with the gem module, just as they knew about the cruise control problem and they are doing nothing to fix it. As I stated above, their answer to the problem which they knew existed, is to disconnect my battery everytime I park the vehicle.

Filed Aug 7, 2005 · Body · 32,000 miles · CA

Water has leaked through the windshield wiper area causing the gem module to fail. This causes many electrical components to fail as well, (I.e. Power door locks, power windows, etc..).

Filed Feb 22, 2005 · Locks · CA

Re: 2000 ford expedition, child safety locks/rear door latches child safety lock on rear doors activate by themselves, making it impossible to open rear doors from inside. Ford was contacted already but they mentioned that this is not a recall and if repairs are necessary it will be at my expense. I explained to them that this is a safety hazard for passengers in the back seat and it could lead to a tragedy which will affect my family and other ford expedition owners as well.

Filed Feb 7, 2005 · Locks · CA

1) child safety locks constantly engage (e.g. Lock is turned off and then switches to lock) during normal driving on both rear passenger doors of vehicle. I believe the locks safety child door locks are defective since both locks are affected and should not move when set to either lock or unlock. 2) passenger sitting in the rear have to have someone open the door from the outside to let them out and this could be dangerous since it greatly affects the ability of passengers to normal degress the vehicle in the event of an emergency. Conversely, if a small child is in the back seat, the locks shoud not unlatch to and enable the children to open the door while the vehical is moving. 3) took car to dealer, dealer states locks are not in warranty and will cost $400 plus to replace each lock whioch is unacceptable. Vehicle is was less than 4 years old when problem started to occur.

Filed Oct 30, 2001 · Body, Tires · CA

While pulling out of a parking space at low speed consumer heard a popping noise coming from front end of vehicle. * ak consumer states transmission makes a clunking noise when downshifting, dealer replaced the main control valve body, transmission pan gasket, and accumulator pistons. Dealer installed bearing strips in the adjusters for the suspension noise, however later found the noise was coming from the left front floor body mount. Outside door handle was loose, dealer installed a nut and panel. Tires made vibration noises at 65 MPH and up, dealer replaced two tires due to excessive run out. Head liner was sagging down. Left rear trim was loose at back edge, dealer replaced. A connection was loose at mirror, dealer secured.

Filed Nov 4, 1999 · Electrical · NY · crash

If the ignition switch is turned to ignition position #3 as defined in the owners manual, (p61), the gearshift lever may be moved out of park, without depressing the brake. Position #3 is supposed to shut off engine and all accessories without locking the steering wheel. The problem is that it also unlocks the brake shift interlock safty mechanism that is supposed to prevent the gearshift lever from being moved from p (park). Our 2 year old son was able to knock the gearshift lever down 1 position out of park(reverse) and the car rolled forward, down a hill and into a pond, wth him in it! The vehicle door locks automatically locked as the vehicle started to move. Luckily the passanger window opened when the vehicle went into the water (must have shorted out) we were able to rescue him before the vehicle sank (approx 1 min). When the vehicle was removed from the water, the gearshift lever was in reverse position and the ignition switch was in position #3. We are concerned that the brake shift interlock is not activated when the ignition switch is in position #3. Is there a valid reason for this, or is it an oversight in the design. I have since tested this on a 1997 expedition and it does the same thing. Has there been any other reported problems with this? We called ford and they said that they do not do their own safety testing and that we should contact the federal safety agency. What should our next course of action be?