Tailgate locking trouble

[DeanR]

Follow up inquiry:
How did this work out for you? I re-read the thread and was wondering if you could use a blow dryer to maybe warm up the lock to get it to move more easily. Anyway, hope you got this problem resolved.

I'll find out in a few days. It's not frozen, the last time it happened it must have been 60. I'm guessing the little motor in the tailgate is shot.

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[Dad]

I'll find out in a few days. It's not frozen, the last time it happened it must have been 60. I'm guessing the little motor in the tailgate is shot.

Understand. Keep us posted!

 

[Mav_27]

I don't remember if I posted this before or not, but my tailgate is locked and nothing will open it. Have a tonneau cover on it so the bed is inaccessible for now. The lock/unlock buttons have no effect, the key fob has no affect, the key itself has no effect, the phone app has no effect. When you pull on the handle there is no tension, when you insert the key it has a spongy feel to it. Last time luckily I didn't not need in the bed so no bid deal, this time I did need in the bed but it wasn't a world ending tragedy but just a minor inconvenience. Anybody else have this issue? The last time was several months ago and I took the tailgate apart and adjusted the rods, it seemed to help but I think it was more coincidental than a fix. For now WHEN I get it open I'll roll up the cover. Any ideas?

Same thing happened to me. I Installed a new actuator about 6 months ago on my 22 XL and its been working great. Today my tailgate wouldn’t open-power lock or key (mushy). Took off access panel and the rods had popped out of the plastic snap holders. Anyone else have this problem and any ideas how to prevent in the future?

 

[maggy55]

My tailgate wouldn't open today. Same issue as Mav_27 , bar had popped out of the locking tab. Looked at tab , don't see any way of securing it short of gluing it. Not sure I want to do that.

 

[HTX]

Same thing happened to me. I Installed a new actuator about 6 months ago on my 22 XL and its been working great. Today my tailgate wouldn’t open-power lock or key (mushy). Took off access panel and the rods had popped out of the plastic snap holders. Anyone else have this problem and any ideas how to prevent in the future?

Any resolution to this issue? I’m a little worried about swapping out my XL to the power actuator and having the same problem. Have a hard tonneau so that would be a REAL problem to get open.

 

[Carlitos_92]

I was having similar symptoms the first few times I tried to open my tailgate. Keyfob made the power lock "make noise," but there was no real feeling to the handle, and the key felt like it was bending plastic parts when I tried to manually unlock it.

What I found is that it seems like there is pent-up pressure on the tailgate pushing towards the rear of the truck. On mine, maybe that is just due to the thickness of the SIBL, not sure.

The solution that works for me after power-unlocking is: leaning against the tailgate, pushing it "more closed" ever-so-slightly, and taking some of the tension off all the locking mechanism parts as I pull the handle. This has worked 100% of the time for me since. Might be worth a try...

 

[Mav_27]

Any resolution to this issue? I’m a little worried about swapping out my XL to the power actuator and having the same problem. Have a hard tonneau so that would be a REAL problem to get open.

I glued the rods to the snap holders with some heavy duty gorilla type glue and haven’t had a problem since. Just make sure you’re lined up correctly before committing to permanently gluing the rods. It’s critical that they are lined right

 

[capecruiser]

My tailgate has done this two times. No feeling in handle trying to open. Dealer could not duplicate. I have a hard tonneau cover that will make it hard to get open if it fails.

 

[HTX]

My tailgate has done this two times. No feeling in handle trying to open. Dealer could not duplicate. I have a hard tonneau cover that will make it hard to get open if it fails.

My hard tonneau has a pull cord to open the latches. Wondering if I can make a slim Jim type piece of thin metal with a hook that I could slip between the cover and tailgate to get the cover open in this situation. That’s my current line of thinking at least.

 

[capecruiser]

My hard tonneau has a pull cord to open the latches. Wondering if I can make a slim Jim type piece of thin metal with a hook that I could slip between the cover and tailgate to get the cover open in this situation. That’s my current line of thinking at least.

LOL Jon. I was thinking the same about a hook tool also. Not sure if it will work or not. I will look into it next week.

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