The power lift-gate on my wife's 2013 expedition randomly opens if she doesn't have it locked. We've ruled out accidentally touching the fob because it will happen in the middle of the night with her keys on the counter. It doesn't happen at work apparently because it is locked.

Does anyone know what might be going on? Google and our mechanic have not been much help so far.

Dogdoc said:

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The power lift-gate on my wife's 2013 expedition randomly opens if she doesn't have it locked. We've ruled out accidentally touching the fob because it will happen in the middle of the night with her keys on the counter. It doesn't happen at work apparently because it is locked.

Does anyone know what might be going on? Google and our mechanic have not been much help so far.

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Any other Fords in your neighborhood close enough that a fob signal might reach?

The alarm remotes/fobs, while they have the capability to, don't have tons of variations between them. I've had my Viper remote turn off/on another vehicle in a parking lot.

Have rodents been in the car? Check the umbilical that goes from the door to the car. It's the one in the black shroud, make sure it's not ripped or corroded. my parents Expedition had a similar issue, water was wicking itself in. Other possiblity is the sun/moon roof, have you checked for water intrusion? I can't recall if the tailgate switch is in the overhead panel but water and electronics don't play nice.

No other Fords in the neighborhood besides mine. We live in the country and both of our semi close neighbors have Chevys.

Dogdoc said:

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No other Fords in the neighborhood besides mine. We live in the country and both of our semi close neighbors have Chevys.

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Well then, I think sts has the right answer.

"Aliens"

The button is on the dash panel. I'll check the wiring this evening.

Quote:

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Other possibility is the sun/moon roof, have you checked for water intrusion?

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also an improperly installed windshield can do this if recently replaced, and it rains.

All of that checks out fine.

I'm now wondering if there is a washer fluid leak in the liftgate. For several months the washer fluid doesn't spray on the back glass. Pump works when I disconnect the hose at the fire wall. This has happened twice before, when the hose came apart above the headliner and leaked into the rear cargo compartment. The last time I fixed it, I siliconed the hoses together at the union.

Now, I can't find a leak anywhere. I guess I'll take the liftgate apart.

Have you rules out the fob shorting out? Pull the battery in the fob?

Sounds like a simple solution would be to just keep the vehicle locked when you aren't in it

FIXED!
So after I took the liftgate apart and found nothing, she finally mentioned that when she gets in to start it (mostly) in the mornings, all the warning lights flicker and act strange. Also, the starter is turning over slower than normal. She described it as it goes "wuuuuhhhh, wuuuhhhhh, wuuuhhhhh instead of wuh, wuh, wuh". Wish she had mentioned this to start with.
I changed the battery and the liftgate problem has resolved.