What? This is one of those unique Ford features that I wish everyone else had. It guarantees that I'll never get locked out. Why would you want to remove it?

 

I saw a video the other day where this guy had microchips implanted in his hand. He could unlock his car and house with no keys. He could also pay for stuff without carrying cash or credit cards or debit cards..

 

I use keyless entry 1-2x a month. The design of the keypad is dated and needs a refresh. I want physical buttons to remain but with an updated design. I had a 2020 Explorer and the pressure-sensitive electronic keypad was a hassle to activate and use.

 

Exactly, I think despite my love of newer tech, I am hung up on the version on the F-150 because it just works. It is almost certain to be the statistically most reliable and user friendly part on any F-150 built in the last 20 years. You can complain about the looks or whatever, but it works every single time. We have had Explorers and Lincolns with the touch sensitive and they were far too finicky.

So if they replace it, it needs to be a significant leap and an equal level of reliability. The thumb print would be nice, but touch sensitive parts don't work as well when wet or super cold. For anyone that had TouchID iPhones or equivalent Android devices, getting it to read your thumb print if your thumb or the sensor was wet took it from 95% accuracy/ease of use to maybe 10%. Same would almost certainly be true of your vehicle. But the buttons? The buttons always work. Gloves, no gloves, wet hands, ice, whatever.

I think a Tesla-style RFID card may be the next best thing using current reasonable technology without weather related drawbacks.

I also feel like some Ford vehicles would have the keypad behind the driver door handle. I think that could work in an F-150, there is a ton of room there.

 

Well according to this thread, looking stylish and modern is far more valuable than being guaranteed access to your $76k vehicle.

 

I was comparing between a 22 Sierra 1500 Denali and a F150 King Ranch, this feature was one of the few deciding factors in picking the Ford again. On board generator, key pad, hybrid powertrain were 3 standouts in the ford. Diesel, android operating system/interior redesign were big standouts in the GMC. I hunt and fish a lot, being able to leave keys in the truck and give the code to those with me so the first one back can run the truck is invaluable. Having a shuttle run on your truck, just have them leave the keys in and lock the door using the keypad. Flying somewhere, leave keys in the truck and lock it, no need to fly around the world carying those clunky things with you. I have yet to have a phone app work every time like it is supposed to, I have yet to have the keypad fail to work like it is supposed to.

 

Nonsense.

 

Um, not quite. That's not what I said, at all. I simply said that Ford using the same keypad from 30 years ago, is akin to having headlights from a 1995 F-150 on my 2021 model. It's a dated look, period! Also, I got my driver's license in 1987, have probably owned 200 plus vehicles in my life, and have never not been able to gain access to any vehicle I've ever owned...whether it had a keypad, or not! Ford has enough tech in the new F-150 that as long as I have my cell phone with me (which I do...100% of the time), I will always have access to my truck, with or without the keypad. Listen...I get it. People have spoken and love these ugly *** buttons that is technogy from the 1980's! It's great that those who love it find it useful, and aren't bothered by the design. It obviously didn't prevent me from buying my current F-150...or the 9 previous F-150's I've owned! It's just a feature I thought would be updated to look a bit more like it belongs in this century....and still work as well as its always worked!

 

Problem solved for all XL owners and non-ford owners….

HitchSafe HS7000 Key Vault, Black https://a.co/d/d4u9JzV

 

I worked security for part of my career. A hazard of working in that industry is that you often look at features and situations with an eye toward “how could that be exploited?”

The opsec angle is kind of interesting. Seems it’d be so simple to watch owners essentially “give you a key” every time they get in their truck. With the fob already inside, all the tech around protecting your vehicle from theft becomes irrelevant.

Any punk with a telephoto lens could “copy your key” from the comfort of an overlooking building or across the Home Depot parking lot. Follow you home, and then just pick the time. Or if you’re at work, or you park in the same lot with any regularity, you’re exposed.

It must not be a common occurrence or we’d hear about it more. But maybe people just don’t want to admit that their car got boosted in such a clean, low tech way.

Same thing applies to house keypads. Unless they are the type that randomize number locations after every unlock, it’s remarkably low tech to get into your house. You don’t even have to look under the door mat or find the obvious fake rock with the hidden key.