2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn Tailgate won’t open

[midfleet]

Do you have a classic Big Horn (4th gen)? Because on 5th gens, you don't pull anything to open the tailgate. It's more of a switch you push. It's not a mechanical lever like on earlier pickups.

Yes, poor wording. 2019 5th Gen. I should have said push the switch

Any rate, dealer "couldn't replicate the issue". I purposely didn't open the tailgate when I got to the dealer so that I could show the check in clerk, which she confirmed. But, since it reopens time and again after you get it going, the techs couldn't replicate it. So, the solution they gave me is to keep pushing the unlock on the key fob until the tailgate will open. Then next time I come in, don't touch the tailgate until the techs see it.

Not very happy about that.

I'm convinced it has to do with the lock mechanism, because it is only after having driven and you get out of the truck, which disengages the locks. They never drove it fast enough to have the locks engage. Also, if you lock and/or unlock it manually with the key fob or the door switch, I haven't noticed the tail gate get stuck closed. Only after you've been driving and the locks auto engage.

 

[brian42]

I took mine in for the same issue. They cleaned the grounds since they could not reproduce the issue and it started working again...until last week.

I'm taking my truck in next week to have that looked at (round 2), a transmission shifting issue (round 2), and the tailgate cable slack (round 3). At least it doesn't cost me anything but time.

I'm at 33K miles so am trying to get everything resolved in the next 3K miles.

 

[spiG]

Even if you can’t get it resolved since you brought it in for the issues and have them documented prior to your warranty running out they “should” still cover those issues. But than again it is a Ram dealer and we all know how they are.

 

[brian42]

The dealership I go to has been good to me. I make sure that everything is documented whether they can/will do anything about it. Later down the road I can point back to those visits if there are any serious issues down the line.

 

[pgrant3491]

I took mine in for the same issue. They cleaned the grounds since they could not reproduce the issue and it started working again...until last week.

I'm taking my truck in next week to have that looked at (round 2), a transmission shifting issue (round 2), and the tailgate cable slack (round 3). At least it doesn't cost me anything but time.

I'm at 33K miles so am trying to get everything resolved in the next 3K miles.

What does it mean to clean the grounds? Can you post a pic please?

 

[brian42]

The dealership did it so I don't have any pictures or where the grounds are.

I cleaned grounds on my last truck. All I did was disconnect the ground, make sure that both surfaces were clean metal (no paint, rust, or any other buildup), then re-attached the ground (making sure there was good contact and that the connection was tight).

All you're really doing is making sure that it's a good conduction point for the circuit (metal-to-metal contact, clean, and not loose).

 

[JoeyA]

I have the same problem with a 2019 bighorn. Bed sticks from time to time- if i press against the tailgate while pulling the latch it will open- but i shouldn’t have to do that. Clearly this is an ongoing issue with god knows how many 5th gen trucks... is this not a recall yet?? And if so- what’s Ram waiting for?

 

[RamCares]

Hi @JoeyA,
We certainly can understand your frustrations with this concern. If at any point you decide to address this with your Ram dealer, our team is just a private message away and more than willing to escalate a case on your behalf to a specialist for further support through that process.

Kathryn
RamCares

 

[Curlymurt]

I have the same problem with a 2019 bighorn. Bed sticks from time to time- if i press against the tailgate while pulling the latch it will open- but i shouldn’t have to do that. Clearly this is an ongoing issue with god knows how many 5th gen trucks... is this not a recall yet?? And if so- what’s Ram waiting for?

Same deal here. I called the dealer a few months ago thinking my tailgate was stuck. I figured out I could push on it to undo it, so I hadn't given it a second thought. Interesting to know it's not just me though.

 

[Cudapower]

I have had the same issue with my 2019 Laramie, couldn't open it for nothing. I found that if you push in (lean in on the gate with your shoulder and work the latch it unhooks. Then it will work ok for a month or so.

 

[JPendergrast]

I've had the same issue on my 2019 Laramie. Bringing it into the dealer for the second time next week to see if they can figure this out. Anyone know if Ram is looking into this problem. I do plan on looking at my tonneau cover this weekend to see if I can adjust it forward like suggested in an earlier post, will let you know how I make out.

As an addendum: I move the cover forward to make sure that it wasn't interfering with the tailgate. This worked for about a week then the problem occurred again. Very frustrating!

 

[bill-e]

I had just the opposite happen to be this morning. I got up and looked out the window and my tailgate was down! Reminiscent thoughts of the issue that plagued the Gen 4 trucks except I'm going to blame this first occurrence on the FOB going off in my pocket.

 

[Curlymurt]

I had just the opposite happen to be this morning. I got up and looked out the window and my tailgate was down! Reminiscent thoughts of the issue that plagued the Gen 4 trucks except I'm going to blame this first occurrence on the FOB going off in my pocket.

Mine fell down as I got the once. I realized the right side of the tailgate is where the latch sticks. If I don't close the tailgate hard enough, I have to push on the right side to hear it click. When looking closely, it has a noticable reveal from the truck bed if it's not latched properly. It's always the right side.

 

[bill-e]

Mine fell down as I got the once. I realized the right side of the tailgate is where the latch sticks. If I don't close the tailgate hard enough, I have to push on the right side to hear it click. When looking closely, it has a noticable reveal from the truck bed if it's not latched properly. It's always the right side.

I have the MFT so mines a bit different. I almost never use the gate in the drop down mode which is why it surprised me.

 

[onelochevy]

My bighorn does the same thing. Just have to push in on the gate a bit and it will open. Im not in and out of it enough for it to really bother me.

 

[jloops]

Thanks to a few members posting on a different thread I adjusted the passenger side striker bolt where the tailgate latches and haven’t had the issue since. I only had to move mine about 1/16th inch rearward and it took about 5 minutes.

 

[19RamBC]

Had same issue numerous times. Have made a video to show the dealer. They tried to tell me that my tonneau cover was holding the tailgate shut but its a over the rails one, so that's not possible lol

 

[WRS087]

I have the same issue with my 2020 bighorn. If I press slightly it opens fine...


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[rnbaja]

Did anyone ever figure out the solution to this one? Mine's at the dealership right now with the same issue. They've been diligently looking for the cause and fix for several days but are not coming up with anything.

 

[brian42]

I've had mine looked at twice by the dealership with no fix.

The first time they cleaned the grounds and it seemed to work for a few months after that. The second time they said there was nothing they could find and there were no messages (STAR Cases or TSBs) that gave them any further guidance outside the shop manual.

A slight inconvenience but it's better than having the HEMI tick.