2004 Ford Taurus: doors won't lock, open or latch

9 of the 375 complaints about the 2004 Ford Taurus describe doors won't lock, open or latch.

owner complaints: 9
of this car's complaints: 2%
typical mileage: 85,000
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 1 service bulletin covers this area of the car. See below

Doors won't lock, open or latch by model year

2015
1
2014
1
2013
6
2012
2
2011
6
2010
3
2007
2
2006
4
2005
4
2004
9
2003
3
2002
2
2001
9
2000
10
1999
5
1998
3
1997
6
1996
14
1995
8
1994
6
1993
5
1992
1
1991
6
1990
2

What owners say

Filed Apr 7, 2016 · Electrical · 155,000 miles · TX

While driving on the highway (50 - 60 MPH), the car stalls, all the lights turn off including the hazard flashers. Braking and steering then become very difficult. I always put the car into neutral and attempt to coast to a safe parking location. I am able to restart the vehicle sometimes immediately, sometimes after prolonged periods. So far, the stall problem has never occurred while the vehicle was at rest. Sometimes the door locks will briefly "chatter" as the solenoids mysteriously activate. This can occur while driving or idling. The problem first occurred in june 2015. Then recurred randomly once every 2-3 weeks. Recently, the problem occurs 2-3 times in a day. The problem does not persist long enough to be diagnosed.

Filed Jan 29, 2015 · Body, Locks · 182,000 miles · OH

When it gets cold outside, the door latch becomes stuck and the door will not latch and close properly and the door flies open. The passenger door latch will do the same thing. So you have to drive holding the door shut until the door latch/sensor decides to unfreeze. This is a serious safety hazard because you may think the door is shut because the sensor light goes off and then you start to drive and the door flies open. If you look online, several model years from 1997 and up of the taurus have experienced the same thing as well as the mercury sable and a few other older ford models. I just read online that they recalled 2010-2013 for door latch issues. Please make them extend the recall for older ford taurus before somebody dies or gets seriously injured.

Filed Dec 8, 2013 · Electrical · 104,000 miles · NJ

Faulty gem or smart junction box causing all door locks and trunk lid to not properly work.on occasion the trunk will open by its self while driving. I cannot lock the doors and the interior dome light stays on while driving and after the car is shut off. This has drained my battery. Driving at night is very distracting with dome light on. I cannot turn it off and when I touch the cover of the dome light it feels very hot. I cannot tell what the mileage is because dash flashes all doors and trunk is ajar. I took the car to a local ford dealer. I was told that they did a scan and followed some type of ford technical service bulletin and found the cars smart junction box or gem module was the problem. I was told it cannot be fixed because the part is discontinued, obsolete and not made any more and no aftermarket part exists. I inquired about a part possibly from another car of the same year and model. I was told that would not work because the specific part in question was programmed for my car and its computer. I telephoned another ford dealer and spoke to the parts dept. I was told the same thing. I was told by both dealers that nothing can be done to fix the problem other than pulling the interior bulb out. This by far does not fix the problem. Please help. Any information or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Owner of a 2004 ford taurus se model.

Filed Mar 13, 2013 · Locks · 85,000 miles · WI

Driver side door latch not latching.

Filed Nov 18, 2011 · Body · 52,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. While parked, the contact noticed that the front driver side door would not latch when closed. The contact had to hold the door while driving so that it would not fling open. The failure recurred when the temperature reached below 30 degrees fahrenheit. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The technician greased the door latch and applied silicone spray but the failure was not corrected. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.

Filed Jan 23, 2011 · Locks · 65,000 miles · MN

Door latch switch sticking.

Filed Dec 14, 2010 · Body, Locks · 60,000 miles · IA

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford taurus. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in below freezing temperatures, the driver's side door would not close. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnosis of the failure or repairs. The manufacturer was contacted but provided no assistance. The contact stated that the failure would occur intermittently in extremely cold temperatures. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 100,000. Updated 02/08/11*lj updated 03/03/11

Filed Mar 31, 2009 · Locks · 100,000 miles · OH

In cold weather the drivers door will not latch...the latch is somehow freezing,,has happened several times now.

Filed Jan 10, 2007 · Locks · 35,000 miles · MI

In cold weather, the side door latch mechanisms sometimes freeze and do not return to the latch position when the door is closed. The doors can open while the vehicle is moving. This is similar to tsb# 05224 and the federal safety agency# 10018738 but is occuring in a 2004 ford taurus. The other incidents apply to ford five hundred, freestyle, and mercury montego models.