[bajabenedik]

I just leased a new 2010 Ford Flex SEL and am having a problem with the keyless entry keypad not working properly. It seems that the 7-8 button does not work properly and operates inconsistently. When I press on the 7-8 button it does not light up about 70% of the time. Pressing the other buttons lights up almost every time. I took it into the dealership and they tested it out and said it was working properly but I showed them the inconsistency I am experiencing. I touched any button to light up the keypad and then tried touching 7-8 and 9-0 together and it would not lock. Pressing the 7-8 button by itself, the light does not light up but it does when pressing the 9-0 button. It seems that touching ANY other button before the 7-8 button causes this problem but the problem itself is inconsistent. They tested 3 other Flexes on their lot and it exhibited the same behavior.

They finally replaced the keypad after talking with Ford and when I went in to pick up my Flex, it did the same exact thing as the old keypad. I asked my service advisor if the keypad needed to be calibrated and he said they didn't need to be. Instead of leaving my Flex with them for another day (they had it for two days) I asked that he leave the case open and talk to Ford again. I'm thinking either the keypad is defective across some of the 2010 Flex line or it operates very sporadically and is not as reliable as the keypad on the Explorer. I owned an Explorer prior to my Flex and I NEVER experienced this type of keyless entry problem.

Has anybody else seen this type of behavior on their Flex keypad?

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

bajabenedik, on 04 February 2010 - 10:34 PM, said:

I just leased a new 2010 Ford Flex SEL and am having a problem with the keyless entry keypad not working properly. It seems that the 7-8 button does not work properly and operates inconsistently. When I press on the 7-8 button it does not light up about 70% of the time. Pressing the other buttons lights up almost every time. I took it into the dealership and they tested it out and said it was working properly but I showed them the inconsistency I am experiencing. I touched any button to light up the keypad and then tried touching 7-8 and 9-0 together and it would not lock. Pressing the 7-8 button by itself, the light does not light up but it does when pressing the 9-0 button. It seems that touching ANY other button before the 7-8 button causes this problem but the problem itself is inconsistent. They tested 3 other Flexes on their lot and it exhibited the same behavior.

They finally replaced the keypad after talking with Ford and when I went in to pick up my Flex, it did the same exact thing as the old keypad. I asked my service advisor if the keypad needed to be calibrated and he said they didn't need to be. Instead of leaving my Flex with them for another day (they had it for two days) I asked that he leave the case open and talk to Ford again. I'm thinking either the keypad is defective across some of the 2010 Flex line or it operates very sporadically and is not as reliable as the keypad on the Explorer. I owned an Explorer prior to my Flex and I NEVER experienced this type of keyless entry problem.

Has anybody else seen this type of behavior on their Flex keypad?

I haven't noticed any issues with mine, but I don't use it all that often.

[roush3]

i have noticed the same thing.

[mallie]

I'm used to my 99 Explorer Limited's keypad so this one took some getting used to. It's sleek but I see more trouble out of it than the raised soft buttons. I also thought my 7-8 & 9-0 lock function didn't work. After reading the manual, I discovered what I was doing wrong. Seems with this style of keyless entry, you must hold the 7-8, 9-0 for 2 seconds. I was just touching and releasing like I did with the code. You guys probably already knew that, but just in case....
Monica

roush3, on 05 February 2010 - 02:17 PM, said:

i have noticed the same thing.

[roush3]

mallie, on 06 February 2010 - 11:30 PM, said:

I'm used to my 99 Explorer Limited's keypad so this one took some getting used to. It's sleek but I see more trouble out of it than the raised soft buttons. I also thought my 7-8 & 9-0 lock function didn't work. After reading the manual, I discovered what I was doing wrong. Seems with this style of keyless entry, you must hold the 7-8, 9-0 for 2 seconds. I was just touching and releasing like I did with the code. You guys probably already knew that, but just in case....
Monica

yea i knew that but thanks just in case others haven't. But the 7-8 is part of my code so i know for sure that sometimes its doesn't work. Even if i just press 7-8 the little status light doesn't come on. Sometime pushing hard gets it to work but seems weird to me, because my dad has the Taurus SHO and it has the same key pad but with o ut the problem. So maybe a bad batch of pads or something.

[bajabenedik]

roush3, on 07 February 2010 - 02:50 PM, said:

yea i knew that but thanks just in case others haven't. But the 7-8 is part of my code so i know for sure that sometimes its doesn't work. Even if i just press 7-8 the little status light doesn't come on. Sometime pushing hard gets it to work but seems weird to me, because my dad has the Taurus SHO and it has the same key pad but with o ut the problem. So maybe a bad batch of pads or something.

I have another appointment at my dealership this week. The service dept talked to Ford and they recommend the next step is to check the grounding of the circuits of the keypad to see if that fixes the issues I'm having. The keypad seeems to be a defective part on the Ford Flex line since three other Ford Flexes on their lot exhibits the same behavior. In my opinion, ALL buttons when pressed on the keypad should light up. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen which causes a problem trying to lock the Flex when pressing 7-8 and 9-0 at the same time. I'll update this thread after taking my Flex back in this week and report the results.

[bajabenedik]

Well the dealership had my Flex all day today and no dice. They tried several things that Ford recommended (they didn't give me any details yet) and none of them worked. They are keeping my Flex another day to see what Ford says is the next step. GRRRR...they've had my Flex a total of four days over a weeks time and they still can't figure out how to fix the keypad. If they can't figure it out tomorrow, I'm going to ask them to work on the fix with one of their Ford Flexes on the lot that has the same problem and to schedule an appointment with me once they figure out the fix.

[bajabenedik]

WOOO HOOO...it NOW seems to be working properly!! After taking my Flex in three times and them having it a total of 5 days, the fix was they straightened out the connector pins so it is now getting solid contact between the keypad and cable. From my little testing so far, the buttons all light up now when I press them. I use the keyless keypad a LOT since I'm a surfer and elated to have that functionality back on my Flex!