zacsc Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Now that the weather has turned colder the intelligent access key feature on our Sel model is not always working. When trying to open the locked doors or lock the doors when leaving by touching the pad, if wearing gloves nothing happens. All works fine when I take my glove off, but it's winter. I would think having lock features should work with gloves on or off, or is this a design flaw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaDadMiami Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 I'm not sure what the sensors actually sense, in that regard. Good question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Z Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 I have had the same problem up here in the cold white north. The difference is that it doesn't even work with gloves off. It seems if it is really cold it will not unlock or lock with the touch/ sense feature. It seems to act up when it is -15 Celsius or more. Once the day warms up it seems to work better in the afternoon, but still a little spotty. Had it to the dealer and they could not replicate the problem, no kidding it works fine in the warm shop. I never would have guessed. Be great to know if anyone else is experiencing this problem, and any solutions you may find. Cheers, Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtb9153 Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 I'm guessing the door lock function in the CMax door handle senses the heat or your fingerprint in your hand, or sort of like the unlock function in my iPad mini or my iPhone5. Gloves on will not open the device, unless you are wearing a pair of those gloves I've seen with small touch pads in the finger tips which supposedly allow function with smart phone/device screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAZ Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 Leather police search gloves work for me down to 20F so far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPRifleman Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 I have noticed that when the weather turned cold (down into single digits), unlocking the doors still worked while wearing cloth gloves. When the snow started is when I had more problems unlocking the doors. The snow would cover the inside of the door handle and even melted snow (AKA water) would make sensing my gloved hand hit or miss. Taking off the glove and wiping the moisture from the inside of the handle will then have the automatic unlock working properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordService Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Now that the weather has turned colder the intelligent access key feature on our Sel model is not always working. When trying to open the locked doors or lock the doors when leaving by touching the pad, if wearing gloves nothing happens. All works fine when I take my glove off, but it's winter. I would think having lock features should work with gloves on or off, or is this a design flaw? zacsc, I would definitely take your C-Max to your dealer and show them the concern you're having. Once you've got an appointment, send me a PM with your name, phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealer info, and I'll get your regional customer service manager involved. Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adair Posted December 21, 2013 Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 On really cold days, mine doesn't work with gloves off. I have to use the fob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyburn Posted December 21, 2013 Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 Mine does that periodically, however I can't blame cold weather. Cold for us in south Texas maybe, but you hardy northerners would merely scoff at our "cold" temps. With that in mind, it does seem to happen in cooler weather...or when I'm in a big hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Noticed this over Thanksgiving. It was cold and snowy in Vermont, but nothing like the last few weeks. Touch sensors worked eventually, but the kids gave me grief for not using the fob first. Oddly, in the recent cold spells, no issues at all despite >0F lower temps. Given spyburn's report, there's more going on than just temperature. Have fun,Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertiv Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I don't think this is a universal issue. We had temps in the -teens°F and briefly -20's. Doors unlocked consistently even with my regular leather gloves on. I tend to use the fob to lock as I'm walking away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erwhitham Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 When we had -15 a couple weeks ago, only my FOB unlocked the doors. Unfortunately, garage only held my husband's car, so CMax had to stay out. I made sure the tank was full and remote started the car every few hours. My mpg fell to 7 at one point since the car wasn't driven for 3 days. I was happy it started so mpg didn't stress me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree63 Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 zacsc, I would definitely take your C-Max to your dealer and show them the concern you're having. Once you've got an appointment, send me a PM with your name, phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealer info, and I'll get your regional customer service manager involved. Ashley What other Fords have the same access system? Wonder what their experience might be with same feature. Warmth in cold temps helps but I had to revert to fob for a while after a recent deep freeze, and now back to working fine (cancelled dealer appt). Moisture at sense point might be the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zacsc Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Just had car at dealer for the intelligent access key feature not working with gloves on. Was told it's a safety issue not to have doors lock or unlock by accidentally having a coat swipe the handle. Dealer stated the locks will not work with gloves on with any Ford model having the intelligent access key feature. Thanks to Ashley and Linda at Ford for trying to help. Guess we'll have to have the fob handy in the cold weather while wearing gloves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhackwyatt Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Just had car at dealer for the intelligent access key feature not working with gloves on. Was told it's a safety issue not to have doors lock or unlock by accidentally having a coat swipe the handle. Dealer stated the locks will not work with gloves on with any Ford model having the intelligent access key feature. Thanks to Ashley and Linda at Ford for trying to help. Guess we'll have to have the fob handy in the cold weather while wearing gloves. I bet it's just the technology they use is capacitive. Same reason you can't use an iPhone with gloves on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-N Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 Check TSB 13-12-13 in the Maintenance & TSB's Forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redux Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 I've been having problems with my intelligent access key feature too—for locking only. Originally, I thought it was cold weather related but it unlocks without any problems, no matter how cold. Not wearing gloves for that to be a factor. The locking feature worked fine when I got car last month, but it's worked less and less consistently to the point where I can't get it working anymore—even if I unlock the doors successfully right before it with my hands in the same position. I've been observing it for the last 2 weeks, making sure that it wasn't user error. Taking it to service on Friday, fingers crossed they can replicate and fix the issue at the service department. I'll post an update here. Anybody else having problems with only locking or unlocking but not both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-N Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 I've been having problems with my intelligent access key feature too—for locking only. Originally, I thought it was cold weather related but it unlocks without any problems, no matter how cold. Not wearing gloves for that to be a factor. The locking feature worked fine when I got car last month, but it's worked less and less consistently to the point where I can't get it working anymore—even if I unlock the doors successfully right before it with my hands in the same position. I've been observing it for the last 2 weeks, making sure that it wasn't user error. Taking it to service on Friday, fingers crossed they can replicate and fix the issue at the service department. I'll post an update here. Anybody else having problems with only locking or unlocking but not both? Just make sure you're touching only the outside of the handle. Other than that, check the Maintenance and TSB's forum for info about a recent unlocking issue; it may be related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnOhio Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Just had car at dealer for the intelligent access key feature not working with gloves on. Was told it's a safety issue not to have doors lock or unlock by accidentally having a coat swipe the handle. Dealer stated the locks will not work with gloves on with any Ford model having the intelligent access key feature. Thanks to Ashley and Linda at Ford for trying to help. Guess we'll have to have the fob handy in the cold weather while wearing gloves. Strange? I can lock and unlock mine with gloves on. Leather gloves do not work but cotton does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnOhio Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Just make sure you're touching only the outside of the handle. Other than that, check the Maintenance and TSB's forum for info about a recent unlocking issue; it may be related.It comes and goes for me. The exteme cold seems to be the cause. I can grab the back door handle and not unlock but grab the front and it works. Only on extreme cold days -0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redux Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Just make sure you're touching only the outside of the handle. Other than that, check the Maintenance and TSB's forum for info about a recent unlocking issue; it may be related. Thanks Bill-N! It works — now that I'm making sure to only touch the outside of the handle for locking. I didn't end up going to service the problem on Friday since it started working again when I was trying correctly. Didn't read that part of the owner manual originally, but I see it's a safety guard. The unlocking and locking aren't supposed to be exactly the same. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelM Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Not saying that this is part of anyone's difficulty with the unlock/lock function of the FOB. But in my case I noticed that the unlock function appeared inconsistent when attempting to enter the car. I would ususally use my right hand to reach into the handle, sometimes it would unlock others it would not. I read in the manual that the FOB must be within 3 feet of the car for the auto unlock to work. I'm a little wider than probably most operators, and noticed that sometimes the FOB would be in my right pants pocket, sometimes the left.This led me to try repositioniong my body when the unlock function would not work. Surprisingly each time then, the door would unlock. I noticed this sometimes occurred also with the kick/opening of the hatchback.Just in case it was a strength of signal issue, I replaced the battery in the FOB, and have had no issues since. Perhaps on the wavy edge of the sensing field with less than optimal signal strength. I don't know, I'm just sayin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdefny Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 I find that switching hands usually helps, no matter which hand I use first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.