hands free liftgate

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G-655065

Does anyone else have a problem with hands free liftgate not opening or am I the only dancing idiot in the parking lot?
 
G-655065 said:
Does anyone else have a problem with hands free liftgate not opening or am I the only dancing idiot in the parking lot?
Click to expand...
I've not had the greatest of success with mine. Kinda hit and miss, more miss than hit.
 
VAMINER has it right. Hit or miss. To me, more miss than hit. There is at least one thread I started about this. There were several suggested fixes. Not sure if any of those would apply to your issue.
 
I'd say mine works 90% of the time I try it.

Peter
 
G-655065 said:
Does anyone else have a problem with hands free liftgate not opening or am I the only dancing idiot in the parking lot?
Click to expand...

Hi G-65. If I can give one bit of advice: Many owners seem to be incorrectly swinging their foot left and right under the rear bumper. That is not the correct way to use it. The instructions from Lincoln, in the Owners Manual state:

"Hands-Free Feature (If Equipped)
Make sure you have the passive key within 3 ft (1 m) of the liftgate.
1. Stand behind your vehicle, and face the liftgate.
2. Move your foot, in a single-kick motion, without pausing, under and away from the rear bumper detection area.
3. The liftgate opens or closes.

Avoid the following actions when using the hands-free opening feature:
• Making physical contact with the bumper.
• Holding your foot under the bumper.
• Sweeping your foot from side to side, or kicking at an odd angle."

So owners should be moving their foot under and away from the rear bumper detection area, in a single-kick motion without pausing. Not swinging their foot left and right under the rear bumper.

And the detection area is also outlined in the Owners Manual.

Check the Index under "Liftgate" for the correct pages in your copy.

If you still have issues after reading and following the correct instructions, perhaps set up a service appointment to have the system checked.

Hope this help and good luck.
 
bbf2530 said:
Hi G-65. If I can give one bit of advice: Many owners seem to be incorrectly swinging their foot left and right under the rear bumper. That is not the correct way to use it. The instructions from Lincoln, in the Owners Manual state:

"Hands-Free Feature (If Equipped)
Make sure you have the passive key within 3 ft (1 m) of the liftgate.
1. Stand behind your vehicle, and face the liftgate.
2. Move your foot, in a single-kick motion, without pausing, under and away from the rear bumper detection area.
3. The liftgate opens or closes.

Avoid the following actions when using the hands-free opening feature:
• Making physical contact with the bumper.
• Holding your foot under the bumper.
• Sweeping your foot from side to side, or kicking at an odd angle."

So owners should be moving their foot under and away from the rear bumper detection area, in a single-kick motion without pausing. Not swinging their foot left and right under the rear bumper.

And the detection area is also outlined in the Owners Manual.

Check the Index under "Liftgate" for the correct pages in your copy.

If you still have issues after reading and following the correct instructions, perhaps set up a service appointment to have the system checked.

Hope this help and good luck.
Click to expand...
I'm getting old. My foot swings left and right just from trying to balance on one foot, even with my arms empty.
 
I struggled a lot at first to get the hands free liftgate to work. Now, I just don't think about it and it works almost every time. I think "kick" is not the right word here. More like casual swing of the foot barely under the bumper area opens the lift gate almost every single time. I have the Class IV Trailer Tow, so I unconsciously aim for between the hitch cover and the right hand tailpipe. Just don't put too much thought into it. Works for me. (Now watch, it'll never work again lol)
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BriBoy said:
I struggled a lot at first to get the hands free liftgate to work. Now, I just don't think about it and it works almost every time. I think "kick" is not the right word here. More like casual swing of the foot barely under the bumper area opens the lift gate almost every single time. I have the Class IV Trailer Tow, so I unconsciously aim for between the hitch cover and the right hand tailpipe. Just don't put too much thought into it. Works for me. (Now watch, it'll never work again lol)
Click to expand...
It may work with a slight swing/movement of the foot but it is programmed to work with a "kick" as the manual states. I've had mine start to close when loading/unloading a few times and I had not made a conscience kicking motion.

Peter
 
BriBoy said:
I struggled a lot at first to get the hands free liftgate to work. Now, I just don't think about it and it works almost every time. I think "kick" is not the right word here. More like casual swing of the foot barely under the bumper area opens the lift gate almost every single time. I have the Class IV Trailer Tow, so I unconsciously aim for between the hitch cover and the right hand tailpipe. Just don't put too much thought into it. Works for me. (Now watch, it'll never work again lol)
Click to expand...

Hi BriBoy. And just to add to peterk9's reply: By "kick", Lincoln does not mean kicking as though we are trying to kick a 60 yard field goal into a head wind.

Lincoln simply means the motion of moving our foot slowly forward under the correct bumper area, and then right back out. Just as in the available videos demonstrating how to use the Hands-free lift gate.

Here is one from Lincoln:

Watch the next video also. It was made by a Lincoln Dealer and gives a bit more amusing information.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
peterk9 said:
It may work with a slight swing/movement of the foot but it is programmed to work with a "kick" as the manual states. I've had mine start to close when loading/unloading a few times and I had not made a conscience kicking motion.

Peter
Click to expand...
Yeah, I did the accidental open/close trick at Winn-Dixie the other day!
 
bbf2530 said:
Hi BriBoy. And just to add to peterk9's reply: By "kick", Lincoln does not mean kicking as though we are trying to kick a 60 yard field goal into a head wind.

Lincoln simply means the motion of moving our foot slowly forward under the correct bumper area, and then right back out. Just as in the available videos demonstrating how to use the Hands-free lift gate.

Here is one from Lincoln:

Watch the next video also. It was made by a Lincoln Dealer and gives a bit more amusing information.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
That was amusing. Thanks 😊
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Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!
 
bbf2530 said:
Hi G-65. If I can give one bit of advice: Many owners seem to be incorrectly swinging their foot left and right under the rear bumper. That is not the correct way to use it. The instructions from Lincoln, in the Owners Manual state:

"Hands-Free Feature (If Equipped)
Make sure you have the passive key within 3 ft (1 m) of the liftgate.
1. Stand behind your vehicle, and face the liftgate.
2. Move your foot, in a single-kick motion, without pausing, under and away from the rear bumper detection area.
3. The liftgate opens or closes.

Avoid the following actions when using the hands-free opening feature:
• Making physical contact with the bumper.
• Holding your foot under the bumper.
• Sweeping your foot from side to side, or kicking at an odd angle."

So owners should be moving their foot under and away from the rear bumper detection area, in a single-kick motion without pausing. Not swinging their foot left and right under the rear bumper.

And the detection area is also outlined in the Owners Manual.

Check the Index under "Liftgate" for the correct pages in your copy.

If you still have issues after reading and following the correct instructions, perhaps set up a service appointment to have the system checked.

Hope this help and good luck.
Click to expand...
bbf2530 gave a good summary here. One additional point, the place to do the kick may be different if you have a trailer hitch or not. The manual for my Nautilus shows different areas to kick depending on whether or not you have a trailer hitch, so that may be a factor for the Aviator as well. The owner's manual should show the places to kick if there is a difference.
 
VAMINER said:
I've not had the greatest of success with mine. Kinda hit and miss, more miss than hit.
Click to expand...

Funny - my exact observations in the last few days. When I want it to work - it doesn't. When I'm leaning over and hooking up my trailer hitch - it starts beeping after me. Fortunately I learned what that meant the 2nd time since the first time I got my head smacked.

More 'sometimes' technology. In other words, it works 'sometimes'.
 
bbf2530 said:
Hi G-65. If I can give one bit of advice: Many owners seem to be incorrectly swinging their foot left and right under the rear bumper. That is not the correct way to use it. The instructions from Lincoln, in the Owners Manual state:

Avoid the following actions when using the hands-free opening feature:
• Sweeping your foot from side to side, or kicking at an odd angle."

So owners should be moving their foot under and away from the rear bumper detection area, in a single-kick motion without pausing. Not swinging their foot left and right under the rear bumper.

Hope this help and good luck.
Click to expand...

Good tips - I'll try this and report back.
 
G-541189 said:
Does anyone have an issue with the gate coming down when they are loading things into the vehicle? Is there a way to disable the hands free lift gate feature?
Click to expand...

Hi G-5. Yes, the Hands-free liftgate feature can be disabled and enabled through the vehicle settings on the touchscreen. Or as the Owners Manual states:

Switching the Power Liftgate On or Off
You can switch the power liftgate on or off
through the vehicle settings on your
touchscreen.
When switched off, the liftgate only unlatches
and does not power open or close.

In fact, now that I looked it up, it seems that others who have complained that their Hands-free liftgate will only unlatch...but not open...inadvertently have it disabled in the vehicle settings.

Good luck.
 
Or just stop dancing with your feet going under the car while loading ;)
 
Our 23 Aviator came with the Hands-free liftgate disabled due to a chip/module shortage at the time. Has anybody had this fixed on your 23?
 
Pete@STAP said:
Our 23 Aviator came with the Hands-free liftgate disabled due to a chip/module shortage at the time. Has anybody had this fixed on your 23?
Click to expand...
Hi Pete. There really isn't anything to "fix" as that is the way it is now manufactured. I did post in another thread that a member of the Ford Explorer forum was able to get his to work after buying some parts and using FORScan. There is nothing coming from Ford to my knowledge. It is what it is. :(
Peter
 
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