2013 Ford Flex: battery drain or dead battery

Filed Apr 11, 2024 · Body · MI

Repeated problems with door latch system in 2013 Ford Flex. Door is interpreted as being ajar, despite being closed. Two warning lights/messages to this effect persist, interior lights will not turn off (which drains the battery), doors will not automatically lock while driving in this condition and as I understand it, if an accident occurred, the airbags would NOT deploy due to the doors not being 'locked'. This is a serious safety issue and causes continual drain on the battery if left in this condition. The only way to sometimes get it to recognize the door being shut is to repeatedly close the door, often having to slam the door shut; this can take up to 15 attempts. Driver's door has been cycled & subsequently replaced six months later. We are taking it in now for a likely 2nd replacement on this door alone. The rear right passenger door & front passenger door have each been replaced as well. The first two repairs/replacement on the driver's door were under warranty, the remaining 2 replacements (and upcoming additional replacement) have been and will be at our own cost. This same door latch system has been recalled on three different occasions on other Ford models, yet not on the Flex. There should be a recall on this 2013 Ford Flex and we should get refunds for our out-of-pocket costs for this repeated and known problem.

Filed Sep 7, 2020 · Body · 85,000 miles · LA

Door adjar. Door opened while driving. Door randomly unlocks and sets alarm off. Has caused a dead battery. Will lock & unlock while traveling.

Filed Feb 4, 2020 · Electrical · GA

Received letter from ford advising they would replace driver door sensor due to issues that result in it reading door ajar, resulting in dome lights staying on and battery drain. The same issue occurs on other doors, specifically on mine the back driver side door. This happens sporadically, while driving, while parked, even when the door is not utilized.

Filed Dec 11, 2019 · Fuel system, Lights · NY

Now replacing the fuel modual sensor for the 3rd time in 5yrs. This is a known issue for other ford vehicles. Car will not start and needs to be towed each time. Front passenger door sensor doesn't work and interior light remains on until vehicle reaches 10mph. Interior light will not turn off and battery drains.

Filed Sep 19, 2019 · Electrical, Lights · 23,000 miles · OH

Left passenger door ajar alarm comes on randomly and causes the dome light to stay on and drain the battery when the car is stationary. Unsafe when it happens when driving at night as it is hard to see the road and causes stress to the driver and to passengers, especially children as the doors will not lock whole moving.

Filed Sep 9, 2019 · Electrical · 85,000 miles · WI

Front passenger door sensor thinks that the door is open when it is closed. The sensor has already been replaced on the drivers side rear door. This appears to be a common problem on the 2013 ford flex as evident when searching for answers. This sensor causes the lights to remain on and drain the battery. It is also affecting the car alarm.

Filed Jun 26, 2019 · Electrical · 85,000 miles · VA

2 door lock/sensors replaced to date (6/2019). Door sensors say it is open when all doors are closed. Occasionally it will decide the door is open while driving, causing all lights in the vehicle to go on. Hazard when driving in the dark. Doors do not lock at all while driving if sensor says door is open. Was also unable to lock the car while the sensor issue was ongoing because the alarm would go off multiple times a night. Battery drained multiple times because interior lights remained on all night and there is no way to turn off interior lights in the 2013 model.

Filed Apr 11, 2019 · Electrical · 60,000 miles · FL

Door sensor on front passenger door stays on causing dome to stay on. Runs battery dead keeps panel lights on. Already replaced back passenger door under warranty last year. At 60000 miles warranty is out and cost is $500 to fix. I have read a lot of complaints about this issue.. I cannot let anyone sit in my front passenger seat for fear of not being able to shut door for door sensor to go off and not come out to a dead battery. Now the door open light comes on without the door being opened and won't go off. This causes do.e lights to stay on resulting in draining the battery..this is obviously a big issue now. As I have read there is a lawsuit..

Filed Jul 25, 2018 · Electrical, Fuel system · 82,000 miles · CA

2 issues 1) the front passenger door though closed is read as a warning "door ajar". The warning stays on at all times. It drains the battery and I have replaced the battery once since owning the 2013 ford flex when purchased in 2016 with just under 20,000 miles on it. The interior lights stay on from starting the engine until accelerated speed. The interior lights after parked stay on for a minimum of 30 minutes though it could be longer contributing to draining the vehicle battery. 2) the vehicle began to feel as if it is pulled while in commute. Not starting right away or shuts down/stalls. It has stalled and not turned over though the lights and radio work. Fortunately this has happened after being parked in my parking spot. It will not turn over, but the next morning it will start. After reading about similar issues for other ford flex vehicles last week with my vehicle doing the above action I replaced the fuel pump relay module. Which is located in the rear passenger area between rear passenger door and furthest rear window where the seat belt pulls from I felt I had resolved the issue. However, a week exactly later I attempted to start my vehicle when the exact scenario happened all over again. Vehicle would not start, but lights and radio worked. Left alone overnight I went to start it this morning and it starts. Through out the duration of this issue of stalling, not starting, pulling while in motion as it feels like the vehicle is being jerked there is no check engine light or when checking system the only warning is passenger seat ajar.

Filed Jun 22, 2018 · Electrical · CA

The door ajar sensor stays on even after the door is shut. Two doors have had this issue repaired already in the past, now a previously repaired door and another door are coming up on the dash screen as door ajar. This causes the interior dome lights to come on, which drains the battery and the alarm to randomly go off at night while the alarm is set and the door "opens and closes" as the car car is thinking is happening without disarming first. The dome light also stays on for about 30 seconds while driving, which is distracting at night. The doors will no longer automatically lock while driving either since the car thinks the doors are open. This seems to be a common issue that needs to be addressed beyond ford.

Filed Apr 10, 2018 · Driver assistance, Electrical · TX

The driver side door sensor keeps saying that the door is open when it's closed. While driving the car says shift to park and constantly alerts because it thinks that the door is open and won't allow the doors to lock. The car alarm goes off randomly even when it's locked and you aren't able to use the buttons to turn off the alarm without manually inserting the key in the door while pressing the button.. And the light on in the car will stay on all night because it thinks the door is open. I have seen this as an issue for many other people who own the ford flex as well. With the doors not locking during driving and battery drainage this concerns me as a mother.

Filed Oct 18, 2017 · Electrical · 47,000 miles · NY

The door front driver side door sensor went bad and tells car that door is ajar. This was replaced under warranty last year. Now yesterday the same thing has happened to the front passenger side door sensor. This was quoted to me at $700. This is ridiculous for a bad door sensor that ford has put bad and faulty sensors on. I feel that I should not be liable for .the ford dealership in town said, "this is a problem with ford flex". This door ajar sensor keeps lights illuminated draining the battery, even though the door is shut. This keeps the lights on when driving, and at night makes it very very hard to see and drive. This will cause an accident due to faulty door sensors.