I'd almost be surprised if something didn't start going awry at those temps, but then again, what do I know, I live in Miami.
Power Liftgate Issues
Two days ago my wife started experiencing problems with the power liftgate. We have a 2015 MKC Reserve with 2300 kilometers on it. It's frustrating to have this issue on a 4 month old vehicle.
Neither the interior dash button, key fob or hands-free sensor would work resulting in the hatch having to be opened manually. The hatch would close using the button on the gate but it wouldn't latch completely and resulted in a liftgate ajar message. Yesterday the liftgate worked fine using all 3 options but again this morning it didn't work properly.
I should add that the temperature in Thunder Bay has been in the low minus 30's Celsius with the windchill.
Looking on-line I've discovered Ford Escape owners having similar issues mainly blamed on liftgate misalignment and the cold affecting performance. Has anyone else on the forum experienced a similar issue?
Thanks for reading,
Mike
Neither the interior dash button, key fob or hands-free sensor would work resulting in the hatch having to be opened manually. The hatch would close using the button on the gate but it wouldn't latch completely and resulted in a liftgate ajar message. Yesterday the liftgate worked fine using all 3 options but again this morning it didn't work properly.
I should add that the temperature in Thunder Bay has been in the low minus 30's Celsius with the windchill.
Looking on-line I've discovered Ford Escape owners having similar issues mainly blamed on liftgate misalignment and the cold affecting performance. Has anyone else on the forum experienced a similar issue?
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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The thing is...we bought a 2007 MKX new, lived in the same climate and didn't have any issues with it not working in the cold
Well geezer, that's interesting....I just got back home with your identical same problem, or almost exactly. I got home last night, unpacked a lil parcel I had in the cargo area using my foot to activate the sensor, and closed it in the same manner ( using the programmed software).
This morning I got into the "C" and noticed an "lift gate ajar message), got out walked to the back and used my foot to open it, nothing....walked back into the C and hit the button on the dash next to the auto light switch, nothing....but getting the chime, went out to the back again and this time, used the manual button above the licence plate, nothing but the chime!
Because the lift gate is not fully engaged, the interior lights are on, and staying on.....got out again, this time tried to manually lift the gate up, but something was holding it closed....it would move about 2" but then resistance!!!
Drove it to the dealer and they took it in....as I was standing there talking with the shop foreman, one of his mechanics with key fob in hand, walked up to the ride, and all of a sudden the gate auto lifts up...foreman looks at me and says wow...lol stuck my foot under the sensor and it responded by closing....repeated the same thing, this time opening it then closing....crazy stuff guys!
He plugged into the port to check for any caught codes...nothing but there was some electrical glitch,cleared that up, and left the job sheet open just in case it happens again.
They were about ready to keep it there and were making arrangements to get me a Lincoln loaner when this happened...
So, if I was in Toronto and this would have happened I would have been screwed, no Lincoln dealers that I know off there, and how do you go inside for the night knowing your cargo gate is not secured???
I'll see what will happen in the next few days with this auto lift gate!
This morning I got into the "C" and noticed an "lift gate ajar message), got out walked to the back and used my foot to open it, nothing....walked back into the C and hit the button on the dash next to the auto light switch, nothing....but getting the chime, went out to the back again and this time, used the manual button above the licence plate, nothing but the chime!
Because the lift gate is not fully engaged, the interior lights are on, and staying on.....got out again, this time tried to manually lift the gate up, but something was holding it closed....it would move about 2" but then resistance!!!
Drove it to the dealer and they took it in....as I was standing there talking with the shop foreman, one of his mechanics with key fob in hand, walked up to the ride, and all of a sudden the gate auto lifts up...foreman looks at me and says wow...lol stuck my foot under the sensor and it responded by closing....repeated the same thing, this time opening it then closing....crazy stuff guys!
He plugged into the port to check for any caught codes...nothing but there was some electrical glitch,cleared that up, and left the job sheet open just in case it happens again.
They were about ready to keep it there and were making arrangements to get me a Lincoln loaner when this happened...
So, if I was in Toronto and this would have happened I would have been screwed, no Lincoln dealers that I know off there, and how do you go inside for the night knowing your cargo gate is not secured???
I'll see what will happen in the next few days with this auto lift gate!
Thanks for sharing Candy. I should add, we were experiencing the same chiming noise and lights but could only open it manually. Your description is almost exactly what happened to us. Funny you mention the dealer...I was ready to bring it in yesterday morning but tried it just prior to driving over and all was normal. I would have looked like a fool had I brought it in.
........which is how I felt geezer....I did notice a discrepancy between the drivers side and passenger side gap where the hatch meets the body....check yours out and report, passenger side is a wider,bigger gap than driver's side.....I see misalignment, the shop foreman also agreed with me, He's submitting a report to Lincoln regarding the gaps.
Well isn't that interesting...our hatch has a noticeably wider gap on the driver's side where it meets the body. I noticed it when we took delivery (came from London, ON) but the gate functioned fine so I didn't want the body shop messing around with the alignment. Only a Ford dealership in Thunder Bay and they aren't at all familiar with the MKC. If this keeps up I won't have much of a choice. I have no idea how the gap passed through quality control. Thanks for your contribution to this thread.
Hey Mike, nice to see someone else from the north on here LOL I am in the North Bay area but originally from Geraldton! I'm wondering if maybe the foot sensor is covered with ice or snow? When the car is brought into the warm garage the snow melted and thus it started working again? I haven't had any problem with mine yet....touch wood!
Good to hear from you CG. The "C" was recently washed. No ice or snow build up on the hands-free sensor area.
If you read a lot of the other threads, you will see that the MKC has a mind of its own a lot of the time! 
One time my hatch did something weird like you guys are describing with it chiming then not working correctly in some way but it was a long time ago and I can't remember if it was exactly your problem(with it not latching). I do remember needing the key fob to "fix" it kind of like candy described. It's never happened again so I chalked it up to something I did wrong.
There are numerous quirks to this car. I've learned to give it time and see if it happens again before going to dealer. The manual gives us very little information. Even the techs don't know a lot of it.
There are numerous quirks to this car. I've learned to give it time and see if it happens again before going to dealer. The manual gives us very little information. Even the techs don't know a lot of it.
^ Agreed.....LOL I named mine lady stardust hehehe!If you read a lot of the other threads, you will see that the MKC has a mind of its own a lot of the time!
Maybe Bowie has something to do with all this (smiling).:angel
Oh mmoretti....How right you are!!!!!!One time my hatch did something weird like you guys are describing with it chiming then not working correctly in some way but it was a long time ago and I can't remember if it was exactly your problem(with it not latching). I do remember needing the key fob to "fix" it kind of like candy described. It's never happened again so I chalked it up to something I did wrong.
There are numerous quirks to this car. I've learned to give it time and see if it happens again before going to dealer. The manual gives us very little information. Even the techs don't know a lot of it.
Basic math dictates that, if there is as little as 1/64" or at most, 1/32"" of play within the upper hinges (quite possible) that would result in almost a 1/4" of play at the latch area @ 4 ft away ( bottom of door).....enough to offset the locking mechanism,and potentially cause misalignment issues...
IF there were 3, instead of 2 top hinges, this would be reduced to NO deflection, but I'm willing to bet there is only 2 hinges...one on either side...
If you notice the closing procedure, once the hatch is down, the latch engages first, then the entire hatch is "pulled" down and tightened shut!
I'll test mine tomorrow and do some measurements in lowered hatch position with a deflection infra red measuring device I have....I'll see what the side to side "play" is between two marks I'll set up, and report back...
This rear door is a heavy unit in itself,over time, this play will continue to widen,(broaden) OR if the hinges have nylon bushings on either side of the hinge pin....as those bushings wear, so does the side to side "play" increases.
Of course, Lincoln will call this play ( if there is any) "within tolerance"....
sigh! :eek
The hinges look to ge all steel and I noticed you can turn the lower bumpers to adjust the gap.. My allignment seems to be OKOh mmoretti....How right you are!!!!!!
Basic math dictates that, if there is as little as 1/64" or at most, 1/32"" of play within the upper hinges (quite possible) that would result in almost a 1/4" of play at the latch area @ 4 ft away ( bottom of door).....enough to offset the locking mechanism,and potentially cause misalignment issues...
IF there were 3, instead of 2 top hinges, this would be reduced to NO deflection, but I'm willing to bet there is only 2 hinges...one on either side...
If you notice the closing procedure, once the hatch is down, the latch engages first, then the entire hatch is "pulled" down and tightened shut!
I'll test mine tomorrow and do some measurements in lowered hatch position with a deflection infra red measuring device I have....I'll see what the side to side "play" is between two marks I'll set up, and report back...
This rear door is a heavy unit in itself,over time, this play will continue to widen,(broaden) OR if the hinges have nylon bushings on either side of the hinge pin....as those bushings wear, so does the side to side "play" increases.
Of course, Lincoln will call this play ( if there is any) "within tolerance"....
sigh! :eek
blankster, those lower rubber bumpers are gate rests,they nestle in the receivers to take the weight of the gate away from the hinges (essentially lightning the load off the hinges...they really do not offer adjustment,adjusting one higher than the other results in a twisting load on the hatch itself....they should just touch the body frame...The hinges look to ge all steel and I noticed you can turn the lower bumpers to adjust the gap.. My allignment seems to be OK
In my case with one side protruding out a bit, the right hand side hinge needs to be loosened and moved inward to cancel the larger gap I currently have...
Measured the play at base of gate (sideways) and found it out by almost a 1/4", as I suspected it would be....I think the latching mechanism sometimes misses the loop and does not fully engage...I was on the phone with the dealership foreman, and he agrees with me, that the mechanism needs adjustment ( a slight movement to the left, so the tongue FULLY slides over the "D" loop...
I'll be taking mine in for it's first oil change at 5,000km, so they'll look at it then.....like the foreman said, you shouldn't have to deal with fitment issues with a Lincoln!
quite a difference in gap size.....
Is that about the same as your's?quite a difference in gap size.....
Yes, offset too....my larger gap resides on the passenger side,which means the locking mechanism is being offset to the driver's side,possibly causing the glitch...
Place a small flat ruler preferably a wooden one so you don't scratch anything and lay it over the two sections....the hatch and the body....note the receded drop at these two points, that would give you an exact correlation how much the upper hinge needs to be adjusted in OR out to rectify. those two points HAVE to line up, edge of the outermost hatch and and edge of the outermost body....hope you're understanding how I mean this.
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