When Ford introduced the Ford Transit Connect (Photo-1) to North America late in the 2009 model year, the vehicle had already been on sale in Europe and other world markets since the 2003 model year. Since then, it has become a popular fleet and commercial vehicle. In North America, it is offered in two formats, as a passenger van with seating for five, and as a cargo van with seating for two.
The Transit Connect is based on the Ford Focus platform and features a car-like ride, front wheel drive and impressive fuel economy. It is offered in two basic styles, the XL and the XLT, with the XLT being the higher-end vehicle which is usually equipped with power windows and power locks. The XL is normally equipped with manual windows and locks. There is also an “XLT Premium” version that is only offered on the passenger vehicles that includes leather seating, premium stereo system, and paint and trim upgrades. Both the XL and XLT versions have become very popular as fleet and commercial vehicles.
All Transit Connect vehicles sold in North America from 2009 – 2013 were equipped with the Ford Tibbe lock system. For the 2014 model year, the redesigned Transit Connect (Photo 2) went to the Ford Focus 2-track lock system. Photo 3 shows a comparison of the Tibbe key versus the 2-track key. For this article I’ll be discussing the 2009 – 2013 Tibbe-equipped vehicles.
The Transit connect is a very difficult vehicle to generate a key for from scratch. And unless you have the specialized equipment, you really should refer these vehicles either to the dealer or another locksmith who has the proper equipment. If however, there is no one equipped to work on the Tibbe locks, you might want to think about getting set up to do them. In my area, hundreds of these vehicles are in use as commercial vehicles. Once I got the word out that I could service these vehicles, I started getting customers who drove 50 – 75 miles for me to make duplicate keys for them. Weigh your options and decide if this type of work is for you.
Unlocking the Transit Connect
Like all new vehicles, the Transit Connect features multi-layer weatherstripping at the base of the windows. I recommend using a plastic shim to protect the lower layers of the weatherstripping as you insert the wedges (Photo 4). If you do not shim the weatherstripping, the lower layer will roll under your wedge and make the fit of the window much tighter, and the weatherstripping may also be torn by the wedge. I also use two wedges placed about 10 inches apart at the front of the main window.
In the photos, I’m using the Tech-Train 1026 tool (Photo- 5) from Lockmasters, Inc., but a variety of under-window tools will work as well. I like this tool for this job because the door panel is wider than usual and this tool will reach the handle assembly without dragging across the top of the door panel. The width of the tool also allows me to use leverage to very quickly and easily push the door handle out rather than attempting to pull it.
I use the shim to protect the weatherstripping once again when I insert the tool into the door (Photo 6). Once the top of the tool is below the base of the window glass, I’ll work the top portion up along the inner surface of the glass. As soon as I see the inside weatherstripping bulge upward as the tool comes up, I’ll stop and remove the wedges before pulling it up any further. If you don’t remove the wedges, you are making the job harder and risk breaking the window glass. The Transit connect has a relatively roomy fit around the window glass, which makes inserting and removing the tool very easy (Photo-7).
Once the tool is inside the vehicle, I’ll position the tip of the tool inside the handle trim so that the tip is behind the forward end of the inside handle (Photo 8). Photo-9 you shows that the tip of the tool is behind the forward end of the handle, but the shaft of the tool is at the rear of the handle. Because of the shape of the TT-1026 tool, I now just push the shaft of the tool forward to unlock the door. Leverage will push the handle out easily as I move the tool. This is much easier than actually trying to pull the handle.
If the vehicle has power door locks, it is also equipped with a central locking system. Unless the battery is dead or disconnected, moving the handle out will not only unlock the door, but also both front doors and both sliding doors. This is important because many of these vehicles are equipped with barricades between the front seats and the cargo area. If the keys are locked in the rear portion of the van, this will give you access to the rear. If the vehicle does not have power door locks, only the door that you are working on will be unlocked.
Tibbe Lock System
The Tibbe lock system was introduced around 1985, and soon became the standard Ford lock system in Europe. It has also been used on Jaguar and Merkur vehicles as well others not sold in North America. The operating principle is somewhat similar to the Abloy system, in that it uses rotating discs instead of pin or wafer tumblers. The rotating discs work in conjunction with a sidebar to provide excellent security. The positions of the individual discs are determined by angled cuts made on the key blade. This type of system tends to be very rugged and pick resistant, although several picks have come on the market specifically for the Tibbe system.
Before the introduction of the Ford Transit Connect, the Tibbe system was almost extinct in North America. At one time, dedicated Tibbe key machines were available from most key machine manufacturers, but now those machines are hard to find. Instead, there are several Tibbe adapters available for common machines such as the Framon #2, Framon SD1 & SD2, the HPC 1200 and the Ilco Universal II. All of these adapters will allow a locksmith to originate a Tibbe key or to duplicate one after decoding it.
There are two basic Tibbe Systems: the 6-disc system and the 8-disc system. The 8-disc system is normally found only on older Jaguars in the U.S. The 8-disc system uses a key that is longer than the 6-disc system. In addition to the difference in length, the two systems also use different cuts on the key. Photo 10 shows a comparison of the cuts in the two systems. As you can see, the 8-disc system uses only three angles while the 6-disc system uses four angles. Since you need to decode the key before making a duplicate, it is important to know which system you are working with.
All Ford Transit Connect vehicles use the 6-disc system so there are four angles used on all of those. The number one angle is essentially a “no cut” in that the surface of the key as it comes out of the box would be all number one cuts just as on many traditional systems. The number four cut runs from the outer edge of the key all the way down to the small fin that runs the length of the key blade. The number two and three cuts are evenly spaced between the number one cut and the number four cut. Photo 11 shows a six-wafer Tibbe key cut to the following cuts: 1 2 3 4 3 2. With just a little practice, you should be able to visually decode a properly cut Tibbe key in just a few seconds.
Just as in a mechanical combination lock, the Tibbe locks use a fixed spacer placed between each rotating disc to prevent unwanted movement from being transferred from one disc to the next. Photo 12 shows a full set of tumblers and spacers from one 6-disc Tibbe lock placed alongside the lock chamber from which they came out. The spacers are in the upper row and the discs are in the lower row. Each disc has a sidebar notch that aligns with the sidebar when the proper key is inserted as well as one larger notch with a stop on each end that limits the movement of the disc inside the chamber. Photo 13 is a close-up of a single disc, where you can see the sidebar notch, the stops and the number of the cut that is associated with that disc. In the Ford Transit Connect, all of the discs are numbered with the exception of some “Dummy Discs” that are labeled with a “D”.
When the correct key is inserted and turned, each disc rotates to a position that places them under the sidebar. When all of the sidebar notches are properly aligned, the sidebar can drop into the notches. Photo 14 is two shots of the same lock with the sidebar removed. In the top image, the individual discs are not aligned and in the lower image the discs are properly aligned so that the sidebar can drop into place. In the Tibbe locks the sidebar is actually a steel pin that floats freely in a slot in the side of the lock chamber. Photo 15 shows the lock chamber with the sidebar pin next to it. Note that the sidebar chamber is filled with grease. Tibbe locks are designed to be lubricated with grease and the grease will help hold the sidebar in place as you reassemble the lock. Photo-16 shows the sidebar in place in the locked position; in this position the lock will not turn. Photo-17 shows the sidebar in the unlocked position which will allow the lock to turn.
Door Lock Removal
All of the door locks, including any locks on the sliding doors (if equipped) are removed in the same basic way once the inner door panel has been removed. In this case, we are removing the lock from a rear door, which has the easiest access in most cases. On most cargo vans, a fiberboard panel, (Photo 18) secured by 11 plastic push-in upholstery clips, (Photo 19) must be removed in order to access the lock. The lock is secured into an armored box inside the door with two retainers (Photo 20). One is a large horseshoe clip that appears to be designed to prevent the lock from rattling, and the second is a very substantial active retainer built into the side of the lock housing. The horseshoe clip can be easily removed with a pair of pliers (Photo 21). The active retainer can be depressed with an ice-pick or similar tool through the poke-hole (Photo 22).
If the vehicle is equipped with power door locks, it ise necessary to remove the power door lock fuse before attempting to remove the lock. The fuse box is located on the left hand side of the dash behind a snap-on cover (Photo 23). This cover also conceals the OBD-II port that you will need to access if the vehicle is transponder equipped. The power door lock fuse is #163, which is a 20 amp fuse located in the lower row of fuses, fourth from the right (Photo 24). If you do not remove the power door lock fuse, the central locking system will attempt to lock the door as you turn the key to depress the active retainer, which will make it very difficult to remove the lock. When the key is turned into the unlock position, the active retainer can be depressed. With the retainer depressed, rotate the entire lock counter-clockwise and pull it out of the door (Photo 25). Two lugs inside the lock mount engage in the two slots in the outside of the lock housing (Photo 26).
Lock Disassembly
Photo-27 shows the lock after it has been removed from the door and the active retainer that we depressed in order to remove the lock. Unlike most other types of automotive door locks, this lock is disassembled from the rear. The black cap on the front of the lock does not need to be removed unless you need access to the shutter assembly. The lock chamber is held into the lock housing with a horseshoe retainer (only one side of which is visible in this photo) and a plastic anti-rattle clip at the rear of the cylinder.
Use two small screwdrivers to gently lift the tabs on the anti-rattle clip and then slide it off of the tailpiece of the lock (Photo 28). The lock return spring is wound around the anti-rattle clip and will usually pop off as you remove the clip (Photo 29). Photo 30 shows the two ends of the horseshoe retainer where they extend through the side of the lock housing. Pressing in on both ends of the retainer will release it so that it can come out of the opposite side of the lock housing. Photo 31 shows the horseshoe retainer from the end of the lock cylinder. Not shown in the photo is a small clear plastic bushing between the retainer and the back of the plug. Take care as you remove the retainer and the plug that you do not lose or damage this plastic bushing. The lock plug can now be pulled out of the housing from the rear. Photo 33 shows all of the major components of the lock including the plastic bushing and the sidebar pin.
Now that the plug has been removed from the lock, we can service any damaged components, decode the lock, or rekey it by removing and / or replacing the discs (Photo 34). Make sure that there is one spacer between each disc and that the discs are inserted into the lock with the numbered side toward the face of the lock. A lug cast into the inner wall of the chamber fits between the two stops on each disc (Photo 36). As the key is rotated, the discs move as far as the stops will allow. When the correct key is used, the individual sidebar notches will align under the sidebar, allowing it to drop within the chamber. Once the sidebar has dropped into place the lock plug can rotate along with the discs, which will unlock the door.
One interesting thing to note about the Tibbe locks is that the sidebar can only drop in when the key is turned in one direction. This allows the doors to be locked by any key, but unlocked with only the correct key. If you are using a Tibbe pick to pick and / or decode the lock, you will always want to try a key in the lock first to see which direction you need to pick the lock.
Ignition Lock
After the steering column shroud has been removed, the transceiver ring (if equipped) must be released to gain access to the poke-hole for the active retainer (Photo 37). Two tabs on the transceiver ring snap onto the two lugs on the lock housing. Carefully pry up each tab and pull to release the transceiver ring. Photo-38 shows the lock cylinder in place with an arrow to indicate the position of the poke-hole for the active retainer. When the lock has been turned to the “ON” position, the retainer can be depressed with an offset scribe or a Shrum tool. After the retainer has been depressed, the lock will pull free of the steering column (Photo 39).
With the lock removed (Photo -40), you may notice a striking resemblance to the Ford Focus and other flat-faced Ford ignition locks. This is due to the fact that many of those vehicles are sold in Europe with Tibbe locks in place of the 8-cut locks that we are familiar with here in North America. The steering columns in most of those vehicles were designed to accept both the 8-cut ignition and the Tibbe ignition cylinder.
A major difference between the Focus-style ignitions and the Tibbe ignitions is that after the timing ring has been removed from the end of the plug, a second internal Truarc ring must be released in order to remove the plug from the housing (Photo -41). Unfortunately, this is about as far as you can go in servicing these locks. The shutter assembly is crimped onto the top of the lock chamber (Photo 43) and if you were to remove it, I doubt that you could put it back together in such a way that it would function properly.
Fuel Door Lock
A lock on the fuel door is operated by the key that fits the other locks on the vehicle (Photo 44). At first glance, I thought that this would be the best way to make a key to a Transit Connect if the key was lost or stolen, but I was wrong. Even though the fuel door is plastic and can be forced open with little risk of damage, you can only get three of the six cuts necessary to make a key for the vehicle.
If you need to service a fuel door lock, you can remove it by carefully prying up the rear edge of the lock bracket (Photo 45) that holds the lock. Four lugs snap into holes in the bracket, and by carefully releasing all four lugs, you can remove the lock (Photo 46). Once the lock is free of the fuel door, you will see that it is essentially a Tibbe cam-lock. Photo 47 shows both the upper and lower halves of a fuel door lock from a 2010 Transit connect. Notice that the underside of the lock appears to be ten years older than the top half. This is due to the corrosive nature of the gasoline fumes that this lock is constantly subjected to. As a result, this will probably be the first lock to fail on the vehicle unless it is kept properly lubricated.
If you need to disassemble one of these locks, you will first need to release the plastic cam at the rear of the lock. Next, the shutter assembly must be removed from the front of the lock (Photo 48). The shutter assembly is crimped in place, but once removed it can be reinstalled without damaging the lock. Use a small screwdriver to carefully pry the plate at the front of the lock free (Photo 49). Be careful’ when the face-plate pops off, the shutter door will be pushed out of the lock by the shutter spring. After the face plate is free, gently tap on the tailpiece of the lock to move the plug out of the shell (Photo 50). When the plug begins to move, the shutter assembly will come free of the plug (Photo 52). Photo 53 shows the major components of the fuel door lock. You can pull the discs and spacers out of the lock with a key as shown in Photo 54.
Photo 55 shows the lock completely disassembled. Look closely at the second, third and fourth discs from the left. All three of these discs are the dummy discs that I mentioned earlier. Photo-56 shows a close-up of one of the dummy discs, stamped with a “D”. In this lock only discs 1, 2, and 6 were “real” discs with numbers on them, so you can only get half the information that is needed to make the full key.
Hood Lock
In Europe, vehicle theft is a much worse problem than it is here in the U.S. For that reason, The Transit Connect uses a hidden hood release that is key operated. To open the hood, you first have to flip the “Blue Oval” Ford logo upside down as shown in Photo 57. Once the lock is visible, the key is inserted and turned one way, as indicated in the diagram on the grill, and then the other way (Photo 58). The first turn will release the hood part way and the second turn will release the secondary catch. Photo 59 shows the hood lock assembly as seen from above.
As far as I can tell, the hood lock will do you very little good in generating a new key for the vehicle, but if you should ever have to service one, here is the procedure. Begin by tracing the outline of the latch with a marking pen so that you can replace it exactly as it was. Then remove the six screws along the top of the grill so that you can pull the plastic grill and trim out far enough to release all four of the 8mm bolts that hold the lock in place. When the bolts have been removed, you will have to flex the grill assembly out in order to lift the lock assembly free (Photo 60).
Photo 61 shows the lock removed from the vehicle. Notice that the lock itself is held into the mounting bracket with three bolts ‑ one on each side of the latch, and one long bolt that goes across the lock cylinder. Before removing any of these bolts, carefully mark the bracket so that you can put the lock back exactly as it was mounted. The bracket has slotted openings for the bolts in order to allow for adjustment in the position of the latch. Photo 62 shows the lock and latch removed from the mounting bracket. Once the lock and latch assembly have been removed from the bracket, the lock cylinder will pull free of the latch (Photo 63). The lock cylinder is essentially a sealed unit and it is not designed to be serviced. If you remove the face cap, you will have access to the shutter assembly, but nothing else. There is a drain hole in the bottom of the lock housing where the discs can be lubricated directly if needed (Photo 64).
Transponders
Do not assume that these vehicles are all transponder equipped. In my experience, many of the XL versions are not. All of the XLT versions that I have worked on were transponder- equipped and had an integrated remote in the head of the key as well. If you do need to program a transponder, I would highly recommend that you stock the 80-bit keys. Some of the early Transit Connects used the 40-bit key, but since the 80-bit key will work for both types, that is now the only one that I stock. As far as programming goes, the Transit Connect uses standard Ford programming and if your device does not specifically list the Transit Connect, try programming it as a Ford Focus of the same year.
