Locked Out Of My Own Car!!!!!

[oldoutboardjim]

When I drove home from work this evening, I stopped the car in the street about 1/2 block from home, got out, and removed the slush "hitchhikers" (aka: road boogers) from my wheelwells, so they don't fall off in my garage. As usual, I left the car running, since this activity only takes about a minute or so.
When I went to get back in, my hand slipped while pulling on the door handle, so that the handle only moved about half way out, and then snapped back. The power locks immediately locked shut! I was flabbergasted! Nothing like this has ever happened before.
I went home to get my spare key and remote, but the remote did nothing (neither the doors nor the hatch reacted - it was like the remote was disabled). I tried the spare key in the driver's door, but it wouldn't turn the lock mechanism. Finally I was able to unlock the hatch (with the spare key), and get in that way. After driving home, I tried both keys and remotes. Both remotes worked as they should. The Ford (I presume original) key opened the driver's door with ease. The spare key ("Strattec" brand cheap @%$& provided by the dealer) would only open the hatch, even though it looks identical to the original (I hate these chipped keys!).
Anyway, this could have been a real mess if I was farther from home. For what it's worth, I have the Autolock (when you reach a certain speed) disabled (it's been this way for several years now).
Any clues what happened?

[FocusMech.73155]

I don't know why your doors locked after you pulled the handle halfway out, but the keyless entry remote is disabled when the vehicle is running. As far as your crappy spare key....you can have it re-traced or if you use some steel wool and scuff it up a bit. That should help it turn in the door

[Monkey-Gein]

i was going to post an opinion about the situation..... BUT, what ever Dave says ^^^^^ go with. i would say black is white when it came to Foci if it came rfrom him

[iminhell]

There is a wire you can cut on the GEM module to make the key fob work when the car is running (best to splice in a toggle switch). Forget the wire color or which site it was on.

[Steve@Tasca]

It's got nothing to do with the Stratec key, we sell thousands a year and if they're cut properly theres no issues with them at all.

As for the car locking itself? Mine has done that in my driveway as well, If I'm anywhere other than home (where I have a spare key) I always open the window far enough so I can reach in and open it if it locks.

Mines only done it 2-3 times ever but I learn fast.

I suppose it's part of the vehicle security system cutting in and locking the door when it senses someone "test" the handle, I don't know if the system is that smart or not.

[Pappy]

Mines also locked itself before when running. I carry a spare at all times, since I always warm my car up while im at work...

[oldoutboardjim]

It's got nothing to do with the Stratec key, we sell thousands a year and if they're cut properly theres no issues with them at all.

Just so there's no misunderstanding, the Strattec key did NOT come from Tousley.

[Steve@Tasca]

No worries Jim, we can screw up a key just like anyone else.

We actually use an automated key machine though so there's virtually no room for human error but the machine does goof up once in a while.

Another issue can be that lock cylinders and keys do wear over time and it can be hard to make a copy of a worn key so if they copied a worn key then that could be why it doesn't like the lock cylinder doesn't like the copied key.

[oldoutboardjim]

Another issue can be that lock cylinders and keys do wear over time and it can be hard to make a copy of a worn key so if they copied a worn key then that could be why it doesn't like the lock cylinder doesn't like the copied key.

The car only had 6,000 miles on it when I had the duplicate key made, so the original key should have been in pretty good shape.

[Steve@Tasca]

Another issue can be that lock cylinders and keys do wear over time and it can be hard to make a copy of a worn key so if they copied a worn key then that could be why it doesn't like the lock cylinder doesn't like the copied key.

The car only had 6,000 miles on it when I had the duplicate key made, so the original key should have been in pretty good shape.

Sounds like they just did a bad job then, probably using an old school manual key machine. Those allowed plenty of room for error.

[tgnorman]

Guess I'm not the only one with a car that doesn't want me driving it.....

[Steve@Tasca]

Guess I'm not the only one with a car that doesn't want me driving it.....

Can you blame it?

[iminhell]

Do you guys know why your car will lock on it's own? (I do)

You know how the doors will lock once you get to ~10MPH? Well that is based off the Vehicle Speed Sensor. When it's cold/moist outside the VSS doesn't like to work up to par; if your speedo has seemed sluggish or unresponsive you've seen this first hand, and it is related.
My theory is (has been for some time) that the ignition is causing interference with the VSS. The problem only seems to happen at low RPMs where the ignition is bleeding lots of voltage, higher EMI I assume.
Maybe bigger/better grounds will help. Maybe shielding the VSS better will help. Maybe shielding the plug wires will help. I really don't know. I've tried the bigger/better ground method and it helped some but didn't solve the issue.

Pretty much blame Ford and their piss-poor wiring.

[tgnorman]

Guess I'm not the only one with a car that doesn't want me driving it.....

Can you blame it?

Not when it's this cold.

[Monkey-Gein]

i believe that wire cutting "mod" is on focushacks.com or whatever it is. i don't think i've ever had this happen to me. but, now i'm gonna be careful, i only have 1 key and 1 fob programmed.