Dorman 901-351 Door Ajar Switch Compatible with Select Ford / Lincoln / Mercury Models

Dorman did their job! As usual, this Dorman product is excellent and a perfect replacement part at a much better price compared to OEM Ford parts.I gave just 3 Stars for Easy to Install since we are, in fact, dealing with a Ford. I typically find many jobs that 'could' have been simple, are over-engineered and therefore a bit trickery than they should be.That is precisely the case with this replacement.Getting to the part is easy. The door panel easily lifts straight up after removing the window/mirror switch armrest part and then removing two 7mm screws.Then the fun begins. I had to remove the three 27mm star screws at the rear edge of the door that hold the actual door latch in place on the door. Then I tried to manuever the door latch within the confines of the door cavity which was hampered by the door window track rail and some locking rods that attached to the latch. I removed the one rod that went to the manual lock knob.According to everything my research found, it should have been a simple counter-clockwise 1/2 turn to remove the old switch. But, regardless of how hard I tried it would not budge. THIS is when you worry about breaking OTHER parts that you weren't intending on replacing but now are faced with having to replace!Thankfully, I FINALLY got the old switch to move! I'd already unplugged it so it dropped free into my waiting hand.A little tab on the body of the switch was the only part that broke. No harm done, but what a pain.The new switch fit into place and locked into place pretty easily. Plug the connector into it, replace the threw 27mm star screws and I was ready to put the door back together.This job 'should' have taken me about 15 minutes, but ended up more like 30. Oh well.The switch works! I was replacing it because I did not like that the interior lights weren't coming on when you opened the driver's door. A safety issue for anyone driving the truck. In addition, that switch alerts you to the door not fully closed, and the key still in the ignition (Helps to prevent you from locking your keys in the vehicle).

Nice working

perfect fit, took care of the failed part

No matter what I tried, this switch would not properly fasten to the latch. So, I ordered a second one. Same thing. It comes close, but it just doesn't quite fit a Ford Ranger. It's off by 90 degrees.

Direct replacement fit. It takes a bit of effort to replace, but easy enough for a shade tree mechanic.

Product as advertised

My door ajar switch failed in my 05 F150 and was driving me crazy. The lights wouldn’t come on when opening the door, the radio wouldn’t shut off when leaving the vehicle (unless opening a passenger door), and worst of all the Door Ajar warning alarm would come on randomly while driving.The Dorman part seemed decent quality and I was excited to install it. Make no mistake, it’s a pain to install, but it worked and solved my door issue easily enough for less than 15 bucks.A year later it failed completely, so I had to order another Dorman because the real Motorcraft part was not available.Upon taking the year old Dorman apart, it was severely corroded and was “crunchy” when pushing the plunger down.The new part did not have the blue diaphragm the old one did, so I cleaned and put it in the new one. New Dorman on the left, old Dorman on the right. I also added a light coat of dielectric grease on all the internal copper contacts to help prevent corrosion. It works well now and I’ll update if it fails again.

Installing this part was difficult but not the fault of the part. The vehicle manufacturer seems to like to keep repairs made at the dealership. This component fixed the problem and is working really well. It is worth it's value.