Does your Bronco ever lock itself with the key fob inside?

[Surfnbike]

I took my '23 Wildtrack to the dealer because the Bronco will lock itself randomly with the keys sitting inside the cup holder (I was locked out of the gym recently, don't worry I trust everyone there) and the dealer said they can't find anything wrong and it, namely that it "appears to be the normal design characteristics of the vehicle," which I take to mean "we ain't gots no idea what the hell is wrong with it." It also locks itself randomly when I park it overnight in my garage. Not all the time, but every so often.

Any thoughts? I was thinking maybe it's a faulty door lock actuator or there is just some kind of wiring gremlin, but it's getting quite annoying to go into my bronco to get something and finding that the doors locked themselves.

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[KABQ]

It's never happened to me, and I haven't seen it on here. I'm pretty sure it's explicitly designed to not want to lock the doors from the outside (unless with a keypad) with a key inside.

 

[superchar1982]

Happened to my ‘24 black diamond once. I’ve had it since April and leave the key in it 3 times/wk while at work. Not sure why it locked. Luckily I had a keypad installed.

 

[Brian_B]

Happens to me every time I hit the manual lock tab with my knee or elbow

 

[CalvinT]

I always keep my fob in my pocket. Problem solved.

 

[Enginerd]

I’ve locked myself out once. Enjoying some off road fun in Anza Borrego, pulled off at a viewpoint and we all hopped out for a quick picture while vehicle running in park with parking brake on. My key fob and phone were in center console.

Now, I suspect either my daughter or sister may have accidentally hit the door lock button while getting out, but to this day not sure if that was the case or it locked itself.

Long story short, we somehow had 1 Verizon bar and had to download the Ford app on my friends phone, log in, and after a few minutes of waiting it unlocked using the app. But that was a close call. Since then I have had a keypad installed inside fuel door.

 

[sp4nno]

Happens all the time on my 2023 Wildtrak. Usually when I’m filling up - the key is in the cup holder, I get out, close the door, damn.
I found it only affects the driver side door though(!), so I just have to walk to the passenger side, open the door, curse Ford and retrieve the key.

 

[BroncoChallenger]

Does no one leave their keys in their pocket anymore? Never having to pull it out of my pocket means I am never locked out of my vehicle...it's awesome, since I used to do it 1-2x a year before keyless entry fobs, then about once a year until I didn't have to put the key in the ignition anymore.

 

[MayhemMike]

The “ left my fob in the Bronco” post gets followed up by the “my Bronco was stolen” post. Occasionally there is an additional post known as “ I was locked out of my Bronco because I routinely leave the fob inside”.

 

[wjtinfwb]

I took my '23 Wildtrack to the dealer because the Bronco will lock itself randomly with the keys sitting inside the cup holder (I was locked out of the gym recently, don't worry I trust everyone there) and the dealer said they can't find anything wrong and it, namely that it "appears to be the normal design characteristics of the vehicle," which I take to mean "we ain't gots no idea what the hell is wrong with it." It also locks itself randomly when I park it overnight in my garage. Not all the time, but every so often.

Any thoughts? I was thinking maybe it's a faulty door lock actuator or there is just some kind of wiring gremlin, but it's getting quite annoying to go into my bronco to get something and finding that the doors locked themselves.

‘23 Big Bend Mid pkg. sits in the garage every night so I leave the key fob in the cup holder. In 2.5 years it’s never locked itself. It will lock with the key inside if I use the remote start on my phone or force it to lock from the phone app with the key it it. I’ll do that at the airport so I don’t have to carry the fob with me while traveling. So no, I don’t think locking by itself is normal behavior.

 

[UncleBrad]

Though not mentioned in these posts, I believe it's possible that the lockout situations being described involve those Broncos having door handle sensors. I had the problem of being locked out in my Bronco Sport, but not my Bronco (a stripped-down Big Bend). Those intermittent lockouts involved the driver's-side door only, and the dealer agreed this was likely due to the door handle sensor/related tech.

I live out where gophers have to pack a sack lunch and always keep my fob in the vehicle. I have not have a problem with this Bronco going batso with the locking, fortunately.

 

[CV428]

Does no one leave their keys in their pocket anymore? Never having to pull it out of my pocket means I am never locked out of my vehicle...it's awesome, since I used to do it 1-2x a year before keyless entry fobs, then about once a year until I didn't have to put the key in the ignition anymore.

I do, but Ford did such an awful design on the fob that it's too easy to hit the panic button and set off the alarm. Even with the Forscan changes for a double-click, it still happens. I'm likely going to pop the fob open and superglue the switch contact open so the panic button has no function, because there isn't a single instance I can think of where that stupid button is useful.

I miss keyed ignition, maybe a basic fob with lock/unlock. These proximity keys are more of a nuisance, like almost all crap-based technology in newer vehicles.

As for OP's question, yes, I've had that happen. Thankfully I had the other fob just 15 feet away. The relays were going nuts. Maybe Ford can fix it with a recall, or an infotainment screen update (I joke, I joke).

I've been a Ford guy my whole life, but holy moly do I regret buying anything newer than 2014. My '14 GT500 was the last vehicle that wasn't inundated with glitches, issues, and constantly whining for software updates that make things worse. I know I say this a lot, and I probably get a lot of eye rolls. Hopefully people wake up soon and realize that the cost of their bluetooth butt-wipe features was having a robust and functional vehicle.

 

[GoHawks63]

I do, but Ford did such an awful design on the fob that it's too easy to hit the panic button and set off the alarm. Even with the Forscan changes for a double-click, it still happens. I'm likely going to pop the fob open and superglue the switch contact open so the panic button has no function, because there isn't a single instance I can think of where that stupid button is useful.

I miss keyed ignition, maybe a basic fob with lock/unlock. These proximity keys are more of a nuisance, like almost all crap-based technology in newer vehicles.

As for OP's question, yes, I've had that happen. Thankfully I had the other fob just 15 feet away. The relays were going nuts.

The older fobs were even worse! I am constantly setting off the fob to my 2016 Mustang while at work.

 

[CV428]

The older fobs were even worse! I am constantly setting off the fob to my 2016 Mustang while at work.

I had a 2018 GT that had the same overall fob design, same issue. Maybe Ford should have a meeting called "lessons learned" where they go through the issues from previous designs before they go and design new abominations.

Sort of like Microsoft... They have no business pushing software updates if they aren't going to fix issues still persistent from Office '97. "But, our overpaid programmers wanted to change GUI graphics to justify their existence!"

I know I'm sounding really negative, I partially apologize. Just feels like everything is more crap than ever and nobody else sees it for what it is.

 

[Jim05]

Mine does it all the time, and just the driver door so far. I just keep it in my pocket now.

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