I have a 2004 Escape with just under 50k miles on it.
Lately when I get out of the car, the “your keys are still in the ignition and the door is open”/“Your lights are on and the door is open” bell dings, even though my keys are no longer in the ignition and my lights aren’t on. It’s happening intermittently but now more frequently over the past 2 weeks.
Yesterday I also noticed that after this erroneous dinging, when I went to lock the car, the anti-theft system wouldn’t come on. You know - one click to lock, two clicks to anti-theft. The car is supposed to give a little honk when the anti-theft comes on but it wouldn’t do it. It did LOCK, just didn’t give me the “your anti-theft system is now on” honk.
Should I be worried about these tiny malfunctions and have it checked out, or is this just a harmless symptom of a car getting old?
I’d hate for some larger system to fail completely where I can’t get into my car, but at the same time I don’t want to have to pay dearly for something trivial.
Something is broke or breaking, have it checked out, before the car alarm goes off inexplicably in the middle of the night, another triviality?
The shop I go to uses a diagnostic meter or something hooked up to the main brain of the car. If a code comes up hopefully it will be a code that will tell them what is wonky.
My center console lights and radio operations went dark again, last time I wiggled the fuse and “fixed it”. Not this time. I should bring it in but it remains trivial to me, but my Let It Be cd is stuck in there so my bad.
It could be something like a sticking relay. I’d get it checked out, though it may be difficult for the mechanic to diagnose if it only happens intermittently. If circuits are staying energized that shouldn’t while the car is off, it drains the battery. You don’t want to end up stranded somewhere and be unable to start your car because the battery went dead.
My bet is that the sensor inside the ignition switch, that senses when the key is inserted, is stuck. This happened on my Hyundai and I played around with the key, removing it and inserting it while applying various lateral pressures, until the sensor unstuck itself. The problem hasn’t returned in months.
I’d try lubing the lock mechanism with whatever product is recommended for such a use: like graphite, for example.
Oh man! Ford products have a history of electrical issues (at least, the people who own them in my corner of the world say so.)
An example: my wife has a 2003 Escape. When it had about 60K miles on it, the “Check Engine” light would come on and the vehicle would lurch badly (and dangerously, on the highway.) We ultimately had to replace the on-board computer; to the tune of $1100 plus labor! It still does wierd little annoying things like you described. Plus, she cannot lock the vehicle on very hot days, as the theft alarm goes off like clockwork. And the Einsteins at the dealer still say nothing is wrong.
Never, ever, EVER will I buy another Ford. :dubious:
My first thought is what Leaffan mentioned, the “key in” switch is faulty. You can try playing with it as he described, if you’re lucky that may fix it (for a while, anyway).
Having that switch stuck on is not a huge deal, but as you’ve seen the power locks won’t actuate if the key is in – or if the system thinks it’s in. While the switch draws negigible power, it may prevent various electronic modules from going into “sleep mode,” which means they would have a larger parasitic drain on the battery than normal. This is unlikely to be a problem with the car sitting a day or two, but might be if it sits for several days.
I don’t think it would be a big repair expense, but it might be a couple hundred or so if that switch is only provided as part of the ignition switch or as part of the lock cylinder.
See my ppower locks on the passat were misbehaving. I left the headlights on after driving thru fog banks and just after a few hours, the batt went dead! Later the man fiddled with the switch and fixed the locks (for now). Yet still no radio…
No, you’re right. It’s the same dinging whether my keys are in or my lights are on (and the door is open). There is no indication of which thing - keys or lights - is causing the ding, even when it is dinging properly.
So, I will try to wiggle it. Just a little bit. And see where that gets me.
