Just a little add on here. If you have pushbutton start, and you vehicle is set up from the factory this way, pay attention here I'm going to get specific! Cause I don't recall the technical word for this particular set up, as it can be fiddled with in FORScan, so if you have done that you know more than I do and you are on your own, this little blurb does not apply to you, okey dokey! You must have a proximity key, I think all pushbutton start vehicles have that, it's standard on the King Ranch, and Platinum, perhaps some of the other trim levels too. I wear my key around my neck, and never have I ever had to use it for diddly, long as it's on my person. Now there are two distances at which the proximity key works.
1. All the buttons work in CLOSE proximity, IE: 25 feet aprox., of the vehicle. You can lock, unlock doors, open the liftgate, or do any other nifty things you may have set up in FORScan like roll down/up the windows, fold/unfold the mirrors (Not recommended for cold climates, gears inside the mechanism that makes all that work are el-cheapo-plastic, get wet in the rain, and freeze in winter, nuff said).
2. All the buttons, and gee **** stuff you did in FORScan still works, in addition to that, and I am handing off a generous estimate here, this range works IN IMMEDIATE PROXIMITY, as in, from the drivers seat, and has a very short range aprox., 1 or 2.5 feet, I know it will not work from outside the vehicle with the door closed, or from the front passenger seat.
(Though I am wondering how the women are getting around this, don't most of you keep your keys in your purse, set that in the passenger seat? Or have y'all done figured out what I did, gotten you a gold or sterling chain to wear it around your neck, keep it safe between the two twins, as a FORD $ 90,000.00 - $ 115,000.00 ((2020)) neckless, er, FORD Fashion Forward Ladies neck accessory?)
Side Note: Additionally if you are entering the drivers seat of a running vehicle, and you get that warning on the left side of the instrument panel, "Key Not Detected, or Key Not in Vehicle." And it goes off by the time your seat belt is fastened, that B ok. Stays on longer? Then time to replace the battery in the proximity remote, so yah know. I keep a spare battery in the glove box, toss it every two years if I aint used it, that never happens! Lucky I get a year out of the one in the remote it's life is connected to how you use the vehicle and this nifty feature of the vehicle. Oh, and that second one you got in a drawer in the house, take the battery out and tape it to the back, less than two years it's going to be dead too if you don't remove it. These proximity remotes stay looking for the vehicle all the time, they ping for it, so the battery inside is being drained 24/7, they are supposed to sleep, but my two never seem to take a nap, its a very complex system, nuff said.
Ok, now this works regardless of the doors being locked or left unlocked, you as the custodian/driver of the vehicle have the only proximity key to that vehicle, I'm gonna say for at least a hundred yards to be safe, seriously it is a very complex system. You have left the vehicle, doors unlocked, or locked, vehicle is in park and motor is running, oh, to be crystal clear, the proximity key is on your person. Go handle your business, you can even tell the police officer writing you a ticket for leaving the vehicle unattended and running. Trust me, it's for sure attended even in your physical absence. Tell them to hop up in it and try to drive it off, he or she will tear the ticket up unless they are a "Hot Headed Cop," and we all know what they are capable of. Nuff said. Anyway, oh, kind of fun, don't recommend this, if you live in a small town, and can use the handicapped parking at Walmart, use your imagination you will figure it out, 5th time I got my backside chewed out for it when the officer what took the call figured me out!
Now this is, in a world of stupid, one of FORDS best ideas! You can't drive the vehicle with out the proximity key in immediate proximity of the steering wheel! Running, doors unlocked, the steering wheel and transmission are LOCKED DOWN! Running, doors locked, same thing, IT'S LOCKED DOWN! This is why that "Key Not Detected, or Key Not in Vehicle," shows up on the left side of the instrument panel till you get your seat belt buckled most times. That's the proximity key telling the truck, "Old farts back inside, behind the wheel, time to giddy up N go!" If you aint paying attention you will miss the whole show! Don't take more than 3-5 seconds, longer than that you need a battery for the remote. See, bet cha didn't know that yer truck has a way to tell you the battery in the proximity remote is gitten weak! I would not even be surprised if a thief got in there, bypassed by force the interlock on the steering wheel and the transmission shifter and tried to drive it off. The system as a deterrent put the vehicle into, "LIMP," mode to slow the scoundrel down. If it don't FORD, well, when you going to stick that feature on it? Or can we do it with FORScan, God that software does a lot!
Oh, them buttons on the door, Redundancy? I only use three of them, the two back ones at the same time to lock all the doors, and any one of them to unlock the drivers door, cause I am lazy and don't want to fish the proximity key out from around my neck and fumble with the buttons, long as I got that proximity key on my person it does all kinds of stuff with out even touching it. That is how it all works on my 2016 Platinum Expedition EL, ENIGMA!
