Ford Pulls Mustang Mach-E from Sale over Dangerous Door Lock Flaw

Owners could get locked out, and young children locked in the electric crossover if the 12-volt battery dies

Owners primed to collect their brand-new Mustang Mach-Es have been turned away by dealers after Ford issued a stop-sale notice due to the crossover’s defective door lock software, which can lead to entrapment. Existing cars will soon be hit with a recall to remedy the same issue.

It’s the Software, Not the Lock Mechanism

The problem isn’t the locks themselves, but the software that tells them how to operate. As some Mach-E owners have discovered, should the 12-volt battery run out of juice, the door locks will retain their last position, whether that’s locked or unlocked, potentially leaving a driver unable to access the car’s interior.

Also: New Lawsuit Might Force Ford To Change Mustang Mach-E Door Handles

And although most people caught on the inside of the car when the power dies would be able to operate the mechanical door release handle, not everyone can. Babies and young children strapped in child seats would be stuck, and with summer coming, that’s not just inconvenient, but downright dangerous. It reportedly already happened to at least one family.

Fix Coming Soon, But Not Over-the-Air

Ford is working on a software fix to be rolled out in Q3, which is only a few weeks away. However, until that arrives, dealers are not allowed to sell or even demonstrate new examples of the EV to prospective buyers, as multiple posters on the Mach-E forum learned this week.

When the update does become available current owners will be invited to get the same fix. Unfortunately for time-strapped drivers, it won’t be an over-air job, and will require a trip to a dealer where technicians will update both the powertrain control module and secondary on-board diagnostic control module.

But a software update is unlikely to satisfy the plaintiffs in a California class action lawsuit who argue that the automaker should have fitted the Mach-E with a traditional keyhole to allow easy access in power-off emergencies.

Instead, anyone trying to retrieve something from the inside of their electric Mustang currently has to access the battery through a special service hatch and charge the battery. Or just hurl a brick through the window, depending on how desperate they are.

According to an email that Ford sent to dealers this week, 196,911 Mustang Mach-Es are affected in the United States, which is a sizable chunk of vehicles. We reached out to Ford for a comment, and the company confirmed all the above, adding that it is “not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to this condition.”

Is It Time for a Keyhole in All Cars?

Ford says it’s working on a fix, but for now, the lack of a keyhole is making a lot of people wonder: Should modern cars have one? Sure, it might seem old-fashioned, but in an age when digital systems control almost everything in our cars, a manual backup could make a lot of sense. What do you think? Should a keyhole be mandatory in all cars? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.

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