Driver side door handle replacement

FL3Z-1626605-DAPTM is the chrome version

I could be wrong here, but if your battery dies and the electronic locks won’t work you will not have anyway to get inside the vehicle to even pop the hood so you can charge/jump the battery. On my C7 Grand Sport if the battery dies you have to use the key to open the hatch near the license plate and then crawl in through the back just to open the doors with the emergency pull. Just food for thought....

Good time to add an Anderson Powerpole.

PlainJane said:

Good time to add an Anderson Powerpole.

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What is this?

pastorwug said:

What is this?

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You can create an adapter that connects to your battery and have the receptacle located some place that is easily accessible from out side the vehicle in order to charge or use the power from your battery.

Spectragod said:

You are correct.

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Ski4Ever said:

So you're saying that you could just buy the cover (if it were possible to just buy the cover), paint it to match the truck color, and then simply remove the existing cover, and slap the new one in place, essentially covering up the lock hole?

I suppose that would be more convenient, because it would disguise the thief into thinking there's no lock to pick, plus it would also give the owner the possibility to still use the actual key (hidden in the key fob) by removing the cover. Is that right? Or am I misunderstanding something?

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You don’t want to just replace the cover, you need to replace the whole door handle or disconnect/remove the lock cylinder if you are worried about theft as the OP intends to do.

Even if the door is locked you can still pull the handle out far enough to break in with a pair of channel lock pliers by twisting the lock cylinder. There’s videos out that show how easy it is to break into our trucks that way.

Downside is you do loose ability to get in if your battery dies but what does a locksmith cost to get you in for that one off incident? $50?

SD64 said:

You don’t want to just replace the cover, you need to replace the whole door handle or disconnect/remove the lock cylinder if you are worried about theft as the OP intends to do.

Even if the door is locked you can still pull the handle out far enough to break in with a pair of channel lock pliers by twisting the lock cylinder. There’s videos out that show how easy it is to break into our trucks that way.

Downside is you do loose ability to get in if your battery dies but what does a locksmith cost to get you in for that one off incident? $50?

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I didn’t see where the OP said he wanted to remove the lock assembly, as far as getting in the truck with a dead battery..... good luck. No need for a lock smith as there are no locks. There are other tools but most people don’t own them.

Speaking of $50, that’s what my insurance deductible is, I say have at it.


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I think worrying about how easy it is to gain access to a locked vehicle is a waste of time. Having attended a school on lock picking and hot wiring, I can tell you that changing the lock isn’t going to deter the entry. Most thieves are only proficient on one type of vehicle and usually have several methods to defeat that vehicle. It’s not like gone in 60 seconds where a their is an expert at all vehicles. With that said, changing the handle might deter a crime of ease. but if they are there to steal our Raptor, unless you park it in a garage with the tires removed and a roving guard, the truck is gone. As for the crime of ease, don’t leave quick to grab stuff in plain sight.

JP77 said:

I think worrying about how easy it is to gain access to a locked vehicle is a waste of time. Having attended a school on lock picking and hot wiring, I can tell you that changing the lock isn’t going to deter the entry. Most thieves are only proficient on one type of vehicle and usually have several methods to defeat that vehicle. It’s not like gone in 60 seconds where a their is an expert at all vehicles. With that said, changing the handle might deter a crime of ease. but if they are there to steal our Raptor, unless you park it in a garage with the tires removed and a roving guard, the truck is gone. As for the crime of ease, don’t leave quick to grab stuff in plain sight.

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I agree I was just pointing out what the OP was going to do because I assume he got the idea on the internet somewhere. It’s not about the raptor but about 2015+ F150s in general and the amount stolen that gained national attention a few years ago. You can literally watch a video and then be proficient in breaking into these trucks in 10 seconds.

I read about a crime ring in Texas that targets 2015+ F150s because I guess a lot of people leave keys in their trucks because of the entry keypad and all it takes is a pair of pliers to get inside.

Just did a quick search for a news article I read in 2017 or 18. Didn’t find it but I’ll keep looking. The quick version was the police somewhere in Texas talking about how they were getting calls about 100s of trucks getting their locks popped but not stolen and maybe a few dozen trucks reported stolen in the area at the same time. They had security cam of two guys scouting in a lot, a guy walked up and looked in the truck, walked to the drivers side and was able to break in quick, then got out and just walked away. Left the truck. They said they think thieves identified people may leave keys inside so they were targeting 2015+ F150s with keypad locks because of how easy it is to pop the lock in seconds with a random chance the keys may be inside. Just FYI it was an interesting read.