We bought a 2010 Ford Escape Limited recently, and the dealer didn’t have the unlock code (for the exterior key pad). They want us to pay $60 or $70 for them to tell us what it is.
I found out online that this code is usually found by looking under the dash, on either the driver’s side or the passenger side.
Many folks said they found theirs by simply getting down low and poking around with a flashlight. I looked all around down there near the pedals and above there. Couldn’t find it.
I didn’t know if I was looking for a number printed on a sticker or written somewhere.
Can anyone help?
If this is true, that’s a terrible idea. Anyone who’s had your car for a few minutes, like a valet or a mechanic, could then get into your car in the future. Maybe the previous owner agreed with me and removed the number.
You need to remove the passenger side kick panel and find the number on a label on the side of a module box. That is the way they said to look for it on my 2000 Ford Explorer. The label is removable, and I suggest you do once you have it. It should be a 5-digit code.
I used to write various codes on the last page of the owners manual, nobody ever looks at even the first page of the manual so it was considered a safe place.
Mine is on a seperate paper with the owners manual. Whatever it is you can change it but you will always need to keep the programed number handy.
The parts dept might be able to look it up.
Most importantly, you just bought this and the seller wants up to $70 to let you have it when he should have given it freely?
IT MIGHT BE TO LATE NOW BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD THE DEALER TO KISS YOUR WHATEVER! That’s unbelieveable.
I could not say for sure on the Escape but a quick look at the Edmunds site shows that you may not have a choice. A cut and paste below:
I work for a Ford dealer…and yes for the keypad security code, you will have to take your vehicle to the service dept and pay the diagnostic fee for the technician to retrieve it, there is no other way to get it. In fact, I would highly recommend that after you get the code you refer to your manual and change it to something else so that no one has the new code. Good Luck
Maybe there’s no sticker on this model and it’s coded in the ECM?
The codes on my Lincolns are located on the trunk hinges. Of course if the trunk is closed and you’re locked out then you’re up the creek anyway. 
I used number stamps to stamp mine into a small piece of a 1/8" aluminum tab and attached it to the frame rail on the left rear of the car.
I don’t know about the Escape either, but on the Lincoln LS, the code is in the DDM computer and on a plastic card in the owner’s manual. If you don’t have the plastic card, you have to get it read out of the DDM via the diagnostic port.
There’s no need to memorize the factory code. You can assign your own personal (and easy for you to remember) code.
I found another forum thread elsewhere in which an “ASE Certified Ford Technician” said they stopped putting them on the 2010 models.
I had just found a video on youtube showing where one guy had found his. But it seems mine was different. I’m about to give up.
You bought this car from a Ford dealer? Or, Joe’s Used Car Sales? A Ford dealer should provide the code when they deliver the car, even if they have to look it up.
If you bought the car from a non Ford dealer, then I wonder about the origin of the car? It seems a legit dealer would have the code to unlock the doors for such a late model used car. When you buy a used car from a dealer you should get 2 sets of keys, 2 key fobs, and all the codes (radio security lock out, and doors) that go along with the car.
Cars that are repossessed come without all the keys and codes for example. So, I wonder about the “history” of your car. Something seems “fishy”.
The OP did not say they bought it from the dealer who wants to charge them for the service. . .
I don’t feel this is an appropriate conversation for CarTalk. How do we know you’re not a thief? If it’s really your car, and you are a legitimate owner, call the Ford regional office and ask for help.