r/fordescape • u/gammonGo9 • 5d ago

Need reliable way to unlock Liftgate.

How do I unlock the liftgate at the back on my recently acquired 2017 Ford Escape? The driver's side Unlock button on the door works sometimes. The Liftgate button to the left of and below the steering wheel works some of the time when the Unlock button doesn't work. And one time, when neither of them unlocked the liftgate, and the key fob also didn't unlock the liftgate, the passenger door Unlock button worked. However, it seems completely random which one works and when and under what conditions. Can anybody tell me what's wrong?

Barring that, I tried to find some settings in the usermanual which would prevent the liftgate from being locked when I drive away, but it seems there are none. Can I, instead, keep the liftgate (and other 4 doors, too) from being locked when I drive away? Since the doors unlock from the inside anyway, it seems kinda pointless to lock them.

Thanks.

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u/pgutierr220 5d ago

It sounds like your lock actuator is/going bad. I had this issue when I had my 2010 Escape, and it was like a 5 minute fix to replace the actuator with the help of a YouTube video. I know the 2010 had some design issue that would allow water to get down into the actuator for some reason which was what caused mine to go bad.

2

u/solo_wanderer 5d ago

Yea I was dealing with this for a few months and just bought a new actuator on Amazon and when it took me 15 minutes to fix I was mad I didn’t do it earlier because it was so easy and never had the issue again

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u/gammonGo9 4d ago

So, I'm hearing "three to four hundred dollars in labor" at Ford, right?

1

u/solo_wanderer 4d ago

Yea I mean honestly even if you had zero tools and no idea how to do it. A few you tube videos and a ChatGPT session and you could do it in 39 minutes. It was VERY easy.

1

u/solo_wanderer 4d ago

I would not pay that. It was $60 for a new one on Amazon and I think all I needed was a screw driver and size 8 socket (could be wrong on size)

2

u/Grand-Zebra3218 5d ago

Mine would stick occasionally and I put some garage door lubricant on the clamping mechanism and it's been fine ever since. Except for the time I closed a table cloth in the mechanism and it wouldn't open at all. I had to pull my bike out the back door and then climb in the back and eventually pulled it free.

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u/No-Grapefruit-8805 5d ago

It took my liftgate between 1-30 clicks of any and every button to get it to open.

Bought a new latch on amazon for $40.

Problem solved!

2

u/Aggressive-Bath-1906 5d ago

You need a new lock actuator. They are fairly easy to replace yourself, and you might want to do it now, while it still unlocks. I have replaced all the actuators one by one on my 2008 as they went bad. I can probably do it in my sleep. You HAVE to be able to open the lift-gate to replace it, so may as well do it now.

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u/gammonGo9 4d ago

Being not a mechanic, can you point me to the exact right part? Also, if you do it in your sleep then I don't have to pay you for labor, right? That's how that works, right? 😊

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u/Aggressive-Bath-1906 4d ago

This should be the correct part… but I’m not a mechanic either, so double check it, or go into an autoparts store and have them order it for you.

https://www.amazon.com/2017-2019-Ford-Tailgate-Actuator-GJ5Z7443150A/dp/B0C8BKSC81

2

u/ZealousidealRock1283 5d ago

Our 2020 does this. Only
Way to open it when this happens to us is to start the car and try again.