sferrell615 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 i have 2015 ford fusion se 2.0 ecoboost with a lot of bells & whistles including intelligent access, remote start, lane assist, bliss, auto-headlights, rain-sensing wipers. i have autolock, autounlock, mislock, etc. features enabled. the fusion locks the doors as expected when reaching ~ 15mph (whatever). i am not able to open the car door from the outside of the car (i.e. put hand out the window and pull the door handle while driving). however, i am able to open the car door from the inside of the car on the 1st attempt. this does not seem safe. is this expected? also, 1 minor complaint is that there is occasional vibration coming from the driver-side seat-belt adjustable-height holster next to my ear. ideas? thanks in advance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 It's not only normal and expected, it's actually a safety feature. It allows you to get out of the car in an emergency without having to unlock the doors first. It's also really handy in non-emergency situations. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyross Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 I don't know if it's on all cars, but all Fords I have owned (which is all the cars I have owned) allow the driver to open the door without unlocking first. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Who reaches outside to pull on the door handle while driving? As the others have stated, this is normal. Aside from that, there's no inside lock button or tang to open manually on these cars. There's only a red LED where a manual lock button used to appear. How would you get out in the event of an electrical system failure? So, no one can open your door(s) from the outside while locked and you can open the door from the inside mechanically. Seems quite the opposite of unsafe to me And BTW, my father's 1963 Chevrolet did the exact same thing WRT door locking as your 2015 Fusion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sferrell615 Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) all thanks for your input. i'm glad to know that this is not just an issue with my fusion. sure, there are use-cases in which a person might need to exit the car which should be considered when designing the locking mechanism... and because of these use-cases, i would have advised keeping the manual locking mechanism installed. however, IMO enabling a car door to be opened while driving 20+ mph is unsafe. think of how much kids horse-around in the back seat... if a child were to (accidentally) pull open the door then either child could fall out of the car and be killed. i haven't had a ford in a while, but i'm fairly certain that on the 1995 ford taurus i had back in HS, you couldn't open the door until you unlocked it, even after the car was turned-off. i'm fairly certain that most cars i've been in (and i used to be a valet so i've been in a wide variety of cars) operated the same. sure, some cars auto-unlocked the doors when the car was turned-off which i am a fan of. drolds1, the reason was obvious and i was safe so there's no reason to act like i'm an idiot and i don't appreciate the implication. i don't care whether or not an old car or a new car has this feature (or lack thereof IMO)... i don't think that this feature is safe and - at the least - i think that i should have the option to change it. Edited October 5, 2016 by sferrell615 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Calm down. No one was implying you're an idiot. However, I still have no idea why you'd try to open your driver's door from the outside while driving. sure, there are use-cases in which a person might need to exit the car which should be considered when designing the locking mechanism... and because of these use-cases, i would have advised keeping the manual locking mechanism installed. however, IMO enabling a car door to be opened while driving 20+ mph is unsafe. think of how much kids horse-around in the back seat... if a child were to (accidentally) pull open the door then either child could fall out of the car and be killed. Yes, kids horse around and might accidentally pull the door handle. Of course, they should be belted in but that's what the childproof locks are for. For the record, the rear doors do not operate like the fronts. When locked, the first pull of the handle will unlock the door and a second pull will unlatch it. Rear Door Unlocking and Opening Pull the interior door release handle twice to unlock and open the rear door. The first pull unlocks the door and the second pull will unlatch the door. I discovered this feature when my my two year-old grandson opened the door while my wife was driving. My bad for not reading this section of the owner's manual and for not having the childproof lock engaged. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 all thanks for your input. i'm glad to know that this is not just an issue with my fusion. sure, there are use-cases in which a person might need to exit the car which should be considered when designing the locking mechanism... and because of these use-cases, i would have advised keeping the manual locking mechanism installed. however, IMO enabling a car door to be opened while driving 20+ mph is unsafe. think of how much kids horse-around in the back seat... if a child were to (accidentally) pull open the door then either child could fall out of the car and be killed. i haven't had a ford in a while, but i'm fairly certain that on the 1995 ford taurus i had back in HS, you couldn't open the door until you unlocked it, even after the car was turned-off. i'm fairly certain that most cars i've been in (and i used to be a valet so i've been in a wide variety of cars) operated the same. sure, some cars auto-unlocked the doors when the car was turned-off which i am a fan of. I learned to drive in a 1988 Taurus and both it and my dad's later 1995 Taurus both opened the front doors from the inside when locked. I'm sure your 1995 did as well. As noted by Art, the rear doors are different, so your kids aren't going to fall out. Rear doors also have the childlock feature that can make the inside handle never open the door. BTW back in the day on a family trip we rented a Chevy Celebrity. Going around a corner once the rear door did pop open and somehow I managed to not fall out and be killed. Probably because I had my seatbelt on as everyone in a car going more than 20mph should do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 My 2013 Fusion passenger door latch failed a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately it failed as I opened it in the parking lot and not while we were driving. That would be scary. Had to duct tape it shut to drive it to the dealer. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) My 2013 Fusion passenger door latch failed a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately it failed as I opened it in the parking lot and not while we were driving. That would be scary. Had to duct tape it shut to drive it to the dealer. Did you get a recall notice, Allen? Ford is certainly having door latch issues of late, aren't they? Ford Door Latch Recall Edited October 5, 2016 by drolds1 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 I got the recall notice a few days before it failed. Not sure if I got one earlier or not - there were at least 3 and some had to wait for parts so I lost track. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sferrell615 Posted October 6, 2016 Author Share Posted October 6, 2016 (edited) i'm ok but it did come across as a little insulting. anyways, i did it because i was shocked that i could open the door from the inside so i wanted to make sure that the autolock feature was actually locking the door. i thought that i had read that (rear door requires pulling latch twice to open door; first time pulling latch just unlocks the door) in the manual as well but i asked wife to open rear door while driving to test out and she said it opened on first time. so i started to think what i read had to do with something else e.g. remote unlock button (there is option to unlock front doors or all doors upon first press of remote unlock button). i'll double-check the rear unlock while driving capability (no drolds1, i won't be doing both... J) i agree that the childproof lock mechanism in the rear is 'an option' however, if i recall correct it's not as simple as turning on / off as some cars used to offer... you have to manually turn a lock on the door, correct? i confirmed (page 25 of user manual). i don't have kids but i do have nieces and nephews in the car on occasion. while searching the web i found someone in a similar situation: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t55437_ds732004 i will digress... but to me, it seems the safest combination of options is 1) do not allow doors to open when locked, 2) allow doors to be manually unlocked (e.g. for emergencies and/or doors cannot be automatically unlocked) and 3) provide childproof locking option (as opposed to key). i agree, kids 'should' always wear seatbelt and never horse around while car is in motion... but i don't want to depend on these expectations to keep them safe. 1 of the reasons that i started to investigate whether i have an issue with my car is because of the latch recall and the fact that the recall didn't include 2015 fusions; however, i believe the recall is a different issue in which the door can open while driving without pulling the latch. glad to hear that you didn't get hurt. i recall a large # of times being stuck in a car and asking whomever to unlock the door because i could not get out (this included when i was in passenger seat because some cars did not provide unlock button in passenger seat, just window controls)... so while i seem to be the minority that believes this is a change in features in this forum thread, i'm certain that i'm not making this up. so certain that i took the time... and i found a forum in which a similar discussion took place and someone who claimed to be a certified master locksmith (if that title exists) whom had unlocked 3,000 cars and claimed that 'merely' 60% of american cars will open from the interior when pulling on the handle of a locked door. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?s=71441d08423fd73629ec979d9212ddf5&p=17538151&postcount=27 here's the entire thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=728054 not sure if he ended up bringing the guy the pancakes he requested Edited October 6, 2016 by sferrell615 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 i recall a large # of times being stuck in a car and asking whomever to unlock the door because i could not get out Which is why most of us prefer Ford's design. You're not going to "accidentally" pull the front door handle. And even if you do - you're not going to fall out as long as you're wearing your seatbelt. You're overthinking this. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sferrell615 Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 i wouldn't say that i'm "overthinking this"... i'm just extra cautious (in particular of doors being opened accidentally or unknowingly by kids) and this is a 'feature' that i'm not familiar with, nor a fan of. yes, i'll continue to tell people to wear their seat belt but (again) it's not a fail proof design. alas, i now understand the situation... so i believe this topic is closed. thanks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 One thing to clarify though is that the back doors do require a double-pull, not a single pull. So either your wife was mistaken or your doors are broken. I just confirmed on my Fusion that it takes a double-pull to open the rear doors. A single pull would actually be illegal, per FMVSS 206: S4.3.1� Rear side doors. Each rear side door shall be equipped with at least one locking device which has a lock release/engagement mechanism located within the interior of the vehicle and readily accessible to the driver of the vehicle or an occupant seated adjacent to the door, and which, when engaged, prevents operation of the interior door handle or other interior latch release control and requires separate actions to unlock the door and operate the interior door handle or other interior latch release control. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sferrell615 Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 yeah, i forgot to mention that i confirmed that as well... i think that it recognizes it electronically (i.e. sensor) because i don't hear or feel a 'click' when pulling on it the first time. strange it's just 'illegal' on the rear doors. i guess it presumes that kids never sit in the passenger seat and will 'never' pull on the door twice. again, a poor presumption IMO but I don't plan on anyone falling out of my car because i'll require everyone to wear a seat belt. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 strange it's just 'illegal' on the rear doors. i guess it presumes that kids never sit in the passenger seat and will 'never' pull on the door twice. again, a poor presumption IMO but I don't plan on anyone falling out of my car because i'll require everyone to wear a seat belt. Yes, it's a fair presumption since kids should never be in the passenger seat. The CDC recommends that children should not ride in the passenger seat until they are in their teens. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that children between the ages of 8 and 12 ride in a booster seat, which shouldn't be used in the front anyway. State laws vary but here in NY, children under the age of 16 must wear a seat belt even in the back seat. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 yeah, i forgot to mention that i confirmed that as well... i think that it recognizes it electronically (i.e. sensor) because i don't hear or feel a 'click' when pulling on it the first time. strange it's just 'illegal' on the rear doors. i guess it presumes that kids never sit in the passenger seat and will 'never' pull on the door twice. again, a poor presumption IMO but I don't plan on anyone falling out of my car because i'll require everyone to wear a seat belt. a "poor presumption" that's been validated by over 30 years and millions of vehicles in the real world. If this was an actual problem you can be sure you would have heard about it by now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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