On May 26, 2026, my 2019 Ford Expedition suffered a total systemic safety failure that resulted in my toddler being locked inside the vehicle in direct sunlight, requiring an emergency extraction. I used the FordPass app to unlock the vehicle and opened the driver’s door and passenger door on the diver's side. I placed my bag containing the proximity key fob onto the driver’s seat floorboard while the vehicle was completely off. I closed the driver's door and walked to the rear door behind the driver's seat, which was still open, to buckle my child into his car seat. Upon closing his door, the vehicle immediately initialized a "ghost lock" command, sealing all doors with the key fob inside, directly violating the vehicle's "Smart Unlock" and Passive Entry Passive Start (PEPS) safety protocols. The FordPass remote application then completely failed, refusing to process any commands to unlock the vehicle or remote-start the engine to turn on the air conditioning for the child. Even after uninstalling and reinstalling the application via a good samaritan’s cellular hotspot, the app remained completely unresponsive due to a total communication crash with the vehicle. I called 911. Local police arrived on-site first and attempted an emergency manual override using a mechanical lockout tool down the window frame, which failed. Due to the rapidly increasing interior heat in the direct Florida sun, arriving firefighters determined the child was in critical danger and shattered the rear passenger door main window to perform an immediate extraction. This failure represents an unmitigated malfunction of the door latch systems documented under Ford TSB 20-2421, which overrode all safety failsafes without warning. An upcoming diagnostic testing appointment is being scheduled at an authorized Ford dealer to pull the module codes and initiate a manufacturer safety review.
Ford Expedition door locks problems
98 of the 9,411 owner complaints about the Ford Expedition describe doors won't lock, open or latch, most of them for the 2000 model year.
- owner complaints
- 98
- worst model year
- 2000
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,000
- typical mileage
- 77,000
By model year
Often reported together
Wipers 17Water leak 6Loss of power 4Headlights 4Knocking 4Harsh shifting 3Fire or smoke 3Won't start 2
What owners say
In cold weather the doors will become unlatched and open. This has happened to all 4 doors, driver side, passenger side, rear driver and rear passenger. We will be driving and the doors will randomly become unlatched and fly open. We have small children and they could have been killed due to this incident. It is extremely unsafe and problematic. We are unbelievably fortunate that our children have not been killed due to these incidents. It can happen at any moment and the doors will not close for several hours or days once they become unlatched. Typically when the weather warms up they will close again, which can take days. We have had friends/family allow us to use their garage to park the car so the car will warm up and we can re-close the doors, only to have them fly open again at some random time. This is a very dangerous defect that poses a significant health and safety, especially to children and babies. Additionally it is a liability as it can take several hours/days before the latches will close again. This requires the use of ratchet straps to hold the doors closed as the latches will not close (even if you attempt to reset the latches manually). However, having ratchet straps running from door handle to door handle to keep the doors closed poses other safety concerns. When I reached out to the ford mechanic I was told to replace the door latches as they may be defective. I had the driver side door latch replaced, but unfortunately the problem persists (about twice in the two months since it was replaced).
When shifted into park the "Park" function wouldn't engage, therefore the vehicle never registered as in park. Making the remote start not function and the warning chimes continuously ding marking a malfunction and the door locks would not engage correctly. So I never knew if the vehicle was actually in park or would roll. I engaged my parking brake every time I parked just in case the vehicle wasn't in actual Park mode. I took the vehicle to my dealership for repair on 8/15/25 and the gear shift was completely replaced to remedy the issue. Costing me approximately $1,200. There were no warning lights to alert me, only the door chiming faster and differently, marking the error occurring. The problem was first noticed in May 2025, but not diagnosed until August 2025, when we had the finances to get the repair completed. Repair order invoice reference #[XXX] @ Mike Finnin Motors Hwy 20 Dubuque, Iowa 52003 phone 563‑556‑1010 INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Door latch mechanism freezes, unable to close/latch door. Ford has a known TSB for this issue, which was recently repaired. Door latch still freezing, so door will not close. Have to drive with bungee cord to hold shut. Totally unsafe for backseat passenger!!!!!’
The rear door latch failed. It was 8 degrees, and the door latch would not latch shut after opening the rear door.
When it is below freezing and there is snow/condensation on the door windows the door lock can get stuck/frozen closed. Many times the door will unlock and open to get in but once I get to my destination I can't get the door open to get out of my car. This has happened on all the doors at different times. We get stuck and I have to crawl out another door that will unlock. There isn't a way to manually pull the door unlocked because the knob goes into a hole so you can't pull it up. Also, sometimes when I run remote start the door will not unlock and open to get into the car. I also have children in car seats, this would be a major safety issue in an emergency if we couldn't get out.
Passenger front door will not latch closed. Suspected freezing of lock mechanism from cold winter conditions. No physical damage is on vehicle that could cause this, nor does the vehicle have an accident in its history
Approximately One week ago, I was on the freeway when at 70 miles an hour warning light came in with brake system. Failure came up, and I lost all power to the vehicle and shut down and I tried restarting it on neutral. I was in traffic, which made it more difficult to go onto the side of the road went to I was in the center divider. There was no power of any kind to left side of vehicle windows, door locks, etc. the vehicle was towed to the dealership in San Diego where they told me they couldn’t look at the vehicle For over a month, but their service tech and the repair person from the dealership was unable to attach a computer to the vehicle scanner was not showing anything wrong. I then had the vehicle towed again to my home where the dealer had told me it was a battery however I purchased a new battery from the dealer , and it made no difference approximately three days later I started the vehicle to roll up the window that was down and everything seem to work however, I put it in and proceeded forward. The same situation occurred once again with the statement system system failure, but this time parking assist downhill Was also showing on the dashboard warning indicator. I have replaced the motor transmission and turbo on this back in January 2024. Vehicle is still under warranty however this seems to be a problem if the vehicle is cutting out with very minimal warning and shutting down on the freeway, this can cause an accident with myself and anybody near me , because the vehicle and the braking system shut down. I don’t know if this is a recall, but it’s something that should be looked at in a timely matter. Please contact me with further details. God bless.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the electrical system became inoperable. The contact stated that the center console had no power. The contact stated that the radio and the charging station had no electrical power. The engine on due to low power warning light illuminated and went off. In addition, the rear driver's side door and the passenger's front and rear door latches were inoperable. The latches failed to unlock from the inside. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 3,500.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the rear driver's side door failed to latch when closed, causing the door to fly open. The contact stated that he used a rope to tie the door to another door to keep the door securely closed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was inspected. The dealer determined that the door handle assembly needed to be replaced and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was also taken to an independent mechanic, where the same assessment was made. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.
Related recalls
Latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch
- What is wrong
- Ford is recalling 123,632 my 2007-2008 expedition and lincoln navigator vehicles. The door handle housing embossment retaining the bottom of the interior door handle spring on all side doors may fracture during normal customer usage. This can result in insufficient spring force to return the handle to the fully closed position. The handle may be loose causing a rattle or noise and the handle may not return to the fully closed position. This condition may also provide a delayed resistance when actuating the handle prior to opening the door.
- Risk
- In the event of a side impact crash, the interior door handle may cause the door latch to open increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the interior handle spring on all side doors. The recall began on march 5, 2008. Owners may contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673.
Recall number 08V058000 · Recall details
Questions about the Ford Expedition door locks
Which Ford Expedition years have doors won't lock, open or latch problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2000 (12 complaints), 1997 (11 complaints) and 2001 (9 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix doors won't lock, open or latch on the Ford Expedition?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,000 (median of 6 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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