When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Why does a $80k truck have a tailgate that randomly drops?
Won't be laughing at my "clean" fix after your tailgate drops and causes enough damage to make an insurance claim...
Just put on a new tailgate.......$525 dealer gate @ shop pricing..... Body shop prep and paint $730.....me switching everything over 4 hrs. Old gate in Craigs list $300 no takers yet (1.5 wks.)
Left the gate down and backed up with work trailer on, got angled and felt a little bump, stopped, looked (OH Shi..... can't believe how stupid I am....) looked like a paint less dent removal job. The top of gate hit electric trailer jack, pushed a very small U in the plastic top and slightly distorted right upper body line on gate. No paint damage at all as the plastic top took the hit. Two PDR guys said they could not do it. Buy the way there is no way to remove the top plastic header piece w/o trashing half the anchor pins. Getting the emblem Ford oval off was done with a hammer and punch from the inside, several good hits on the tip of the anchor pins. There is self stick adhesive that also anchors it. I ordered a different oval from OEM auto art so I wasn't transferring it to the new one (Using for garage art). I don't see that emblem coming off from the finished side w/o trashing it.
So $1250, plus top header, plus a day driving and swapping is the cost on the cheap end. I've painted about 4 cars (whole car) in my days and took one down to bare and finished, the paint on these vehicles I wouldn't even think about it.
The plus, it was an easily removable part that didn't tie up the truck. If I creased the quarter that would really su.... 20 250 Lariat no electric release gate, just a stupid driver
can’t you just rig up a strap or chain on the inside of the tailgate to keep it from opening if the remote release accidentally opens it?
I was going to drill a hole in each corner and slide a long large nail in the hole to keep the locking pin engaged. waiting for someoone else to productionalize a solution. sent an inqury to the built right folks. not sure the holes in the truck bed would be the most appealing solution.
There is, XLT mod. In all seriousness, it can't be that hard to remove the electronic crap and put in a manual latch. The low trim levels still come with manual latches, the way a truck tail gate should be!
I pulled the fuse and reinstalled with a fuse extender. pull the fuse and the problem is gone. switch on the fuse extender would be better.
I don't consider my "safety solution" a band-aid at all. I bought a longer and extended shank for my drop hitch. This allows me to lower the tailgate without it contacting the tongue jacks on any of my trailers when accessing stuff in the bed with a trailer attached. It also gives me a little more length between the truck and trailer if I need a tight turn.
my 2019 hasn't dropped once in 30k miles on rought roads,etc. But I do not like this feature. Sometimes it will not release when the Tonneau cover seal is tight against it. Also snow etc. I wish Ford had a handle or a way to release the tail gate in those conditions. Also I disconnect the gate and take it off often for my truck camper and that is a pia with 4 connections to deal with underside. The gate won't come down with one of those disconnected. So caution must be taken when disconnecting the wires. Gate must be down to take it off first. Then the wires.
So I have a 2019 that needs the unattended tail gate opening recall. Took it in and they couldn’t do it cuase the guy who usually works on Ford escort oil changes couldn’t print out the instructions to do the cutting and splicing.
been trying to get the recall print out do I could see how complex this is
in the meanwhile. Wife wanted to take the bikes to the park. Typical bike rack will cuase tail gate damage if the unattended tail gate opening occurs.
I installed a 1 Foot extension. So now if the tail gate opens...it won’t hit any thing.
Just trying to stay ahead of Ford engineering.
how can I look this up to see if my 2019 Lariat has this Issue?
I don't consider my "safety solution" a band-aid at all. I bought a longer and extended shank for my drop hitch. This allows me to lower the tailgate without it contacting the tongue jacks on any of my trailers when accessing stuff in the bed with a trailer attached. It also gives me a little more length between the truck and trailer if I need a tight turn.
I have something quite similar to this. When my trailer is hooked up, I can actually open the tailgate if needed and not hit the trailer jack. Love having this long receiver on it. Plus I painted it red so nobody can say they didn't see it when they run into it.
I don't consider my "safety solution" a band-aid at all. I bought a longer and extended shank for my drop hitch. This allows me to lower the tailgate without it contacting the tongue jacks on any of my trailers when accessing stuff in the bed with a trailer attached. It also gives me a little more length between the truck and trailer if I need a tight turn.
have you noticed any greater sway with a longer shank? I may be looking into this, but heard it can increase sway the further you get away from the truck.
have you noticed any greater sway with a longer shank? I may be looking into this, but heard it can increase sway the further you get away from the truck.
I've never experienced any sway, and I've hauled cross country several times in a lot of windy areas.
