Odd Automatic Lock Problem

I've noticed recently that when I sit down in my car that is already running and close the door, the doors will lock. I didn't hit the lock button and I didn't put it into gear.

Any thoughts?

Are you saying that when you sit down the doors will lock? :eek:

Are you saying that when you sit down the doors will lock? :eek:

Pretty much. It only happens if the car is running though. If I don't have the key in the ignition and I sit down, it doesn't happen.

It sounds as if the Autolock feature is messing up. It's supposed to work after the car detects a movement of 3 mph, but something could be out of alignment (including a tranny adjustment) or a module could be bad.

Is the car already running because of a remote start, or because you drove somewhere, got out, then got back in?

The locks lock when you sit down, or when you close the door? Is the gear selector on the floor/console or on the steering column?

-Rod

The shifter is on the steering column. I've been starting the car in the morning before I leave for work. When I get in, sit down and close the door they lock.

I did notice sometime in the last few weeks the indicator for which gear I'm in is messed up. When I'm in park the gear shifter says I'm in reverse. Does that have anything to do with it?

When I get in, sit down and close the door they lock.
This is all normal for the autolock system, EXCEPT that it should also sense the car moving 3 mph. The only exception to that is if you've already drove someplace, stopped, got out, got back in, then closed the door. Then they would lock again.

When I'm in park the gear shifter says I'm in reverse. Does that have anything to do with it?
Good question. I would think that the speedometer would effect it more than the gear shifter, but I wouldn't rule out the gear shifter just yet.

What year is your Taurus?

-Rod

What year is your Taurus?

-Rod

1999 SE.

You may have a damaged wire in the transition block between the body of the car and the driver's door. If the "lock" wire is momentarily shorting to ground when you close the door, it will cause the doors to lock.

If you don't have the key in the ignition, sit in the seat, and close the door, do the doors still lock? Your comments above (posts 3 and 6) don't make it clear if the locking is associated with you sitting in the seat or with the door closing.

-Rod

You may have a damaged wire in the transition block between the body of the car and the driver's door. If the "lock" wire is momentarily shorting to ground when you close the door, it will cause the doors to lock.

If you don't have the key in the ignition, sit in the seat, and close the door, do the doors still lock? Your comments above (posts 3 and 6) don't make it clear if the locking is associated with you sitting in the seat or with the door closing.

-Rod

It happens just after I close the door. It only seems to occur when the car is running.

If the "lock" wire is momentarily shorting to ground when you close the door, it will cause the doors to lock.
Check the pink/yellow wire for ground, although I'm betting you'll find that it's OK. Since the locks go to a battery circuit, if it's a short then your doors should lock everytime you close the door, and not just when the car's running. This is more a function of the module. You'll need to do this checking while the door is being swung open/closed.

We're assuming a lot of things here which we probably shouldn't, so let's cover them for just a minute. Is this car new (to you)? Do you have an owners manual? Has anything else 'strange' with the car started to happen (at any time)? Do you have any aftermarket equipment installed on the car?

Check the pink/yellow wire for ground, although I'm betting you'll find that it's OK. Since the locks go to a battery circuit, if it's a short then your doors should lock everytime you close the door, and not just when the car's running. This is more a function of the module. You'll need to do this checking while the door is being swung open/closed.

We're assuming a lot of things here which we probably shouldn't, so let's cover them for just a minute. Is this car new (to you)? Do you have an owners manual? Has anything else 'strange' with the car started to happen (at any time)? Do you have any aftermarket equipment installed on the car?

I'll have had the car for two years next February. No other odd electrical problems. I had some heating problems a couple of months ago and now I need a new brake caliper and rotors. I'll have to go close the door a few times when is not running to see if it will do it then.

So no aftermarket alarms, keyless entry and/or remote starts?

So no aftermarket alarms, keyless entry and/or remote starts?

The keyless is factory.

So far the best two candidates are either a short or a bad module. We'll know more once you answer the running question above.

Seems like it might be worth your effort to adjust the gear selection display. If you are comfortable working on cars, this should not be too difficult a procedure for you.

I seem to recall Way2Old having posted the process a couple months back, and if you cannot find it, send me a private message with the request and an e-mail address for you that can accept PDF attachments.

-Rod

I finally got around to playing with this. It only seems to lock when the car has already been running, such as when I warm it up in the morning and then get in 10 minues later. I couldn't get it to do happen when the key was not in the ignition.

Consider yourself luck that it only seems to do it if you sit in the seat. It would be a real bummer to have it lock the doors after you start the car, get out, and close the door.

This seems like an issue with the Smart Lock or Autolock feature. I don't understand the correlation to sitting in the seat though. Per the service manual:
Smart Locks

The smart lock feature prevents the doors from locking with the key in the ignition. When the GEM receives a lock command from a door lock control switch, and the key is in the ignition switch with the driver door open, the GEM will command the all doors unlock relay on by grounding the relay after the lock has occurred.
Autolocking

The autolocking feature locks all doors when all doors (including liftgate) are closed, the ignition is in run, the transmission is in either a forward or reverse gear and vehicle speed is 5 kph (3 mph) or higher. If any door becomes ajar, this feature will relock all doors when the ajar door is returned to a closed position and all previous conditions are met.


You may want to find a shop that can read the GEM module diagnostic codes and see if it has any stored. A dealership or shop with an OTC Genisys or Nemesis scan tool should be able to read the GEM codes. There may be other tools that can do this as well, but I'm not aware of them.

-Rod