Multi function tailgate problem

[CobraKai]

Nothing wrong with my 60-40 doors. The issue was the regular tailgate was not closed hard enough and therefore the release button would not work on the larger of the barndoors. You can't close tailgate normally, you must slam it shut. Even if latches properly, for some reason it doesn't register for the barndoors to open unless you slam (or close very firmly).

I had the same issue when my 2025 limited was delivered from Mark Dodge. Tailgate worked fine as normal but split would not work, no sounds nothing. I started to panic regretting getting rid of my 24. then I slammed it shut in frustration and BAM. everything works fine and has worked for months no issue now... go figure lol

 

[go-ram]

.
Another episode for me today of tailgate latches (both drop-down and barn-door latches) not working. They worked fine a week ago, the truck sat for a week, and today (02-09-2025), both latches dead silent, no clicks when pressed, same with the keyfob tailgate release, no sound whatsoever. So I disconnected the 12 V battery ground cable for 90 minutes, reconnected battery ground, both latches worked fine after that.
.

 

[wegasque]

I've also had an ongoing issue with my barn doors for a while now. I have no issues with opening the tailgate either way and I don't use the power release at all. My issue is that I have to slam the 60 door in order for it to shut. If I shut it properly, then it will hit the first latch but you get the open tailgate icon on the dash, at which point you have to go back and slam it shut. I just got it back from the dealer and they spent a day on it with 4 different technicians and were not able to fix the issue. They told me to take it to their body shop to see if they could do it since the techs at the Larry Miller Surprise dealership had never adjusted an MFT before. Today, I went by their body shop and talked with someone who then told me he's never had a Ram with the MFT in his shop before. On the way home, I went by the Larry Miller Avondale dealership who told me that they have n4ever adjusted on of them either, but if I could leave it for a few days, they'd be happy to try. At that point, I went home.

I'm probably going to have to leave it at the Avondale dealer and get this logged. This is the dealer where I bought the truck and I'll be hitting my 36 months in mid-March. so want to get this taken care of.

 

[Aidan]

I've also had an ongoing issue with my barn doors for a while now. I have no issues with opening the tailgate either way and I don't use the power release at all. My issue is that I have to slam the 60 door in order for it to shut. If I shut it properly, then it will hit the first latch but you get the open tailgate icon on the dash, at which point you have to go back and slam it shut. I just got it back from the dealer and they spent a day on it with 4 different technicians and were not able to fix the issue. They told me to take it to their body shop to see if they could do it since the techs at the Larry Miller Surprise dealership had never adjusted an MFT before. Today, I went by their body shop and talked with someone who then told me he's never had a Ram with the MFT in his shop before. On the way home, I went by the Larry Miller Avondale dealership who told me that they have n4ever adjusted on of them either, but if I could leave it for a few days, they'd be happy to try. At that point, I went home.

I'm probably going to have to leave it at the Avondale dealer and get this logged. This is the dealer where I bought the truck and I'll be hitting my 36 months in mid-March. so want to get this taken care of.

Did you ever resolve this? I have to slam my tailgate to ensure it's recognised as closed - also have a MFT.

 

[go-ram]

I've also had an ongoing issue with my barn doors for a while now. I have no issues with opening the tailgate either way and I don't use the power release at all. My issue is that I have to slam the 60 door in order for it to shut. If I shut it properly, then it will hit the first latch but you get the open tailgate icon on the dash, at which point you have to go back and slam it shut. I just got it back from the dealer and they spent a day on it with 4 different technicians and were not able to fix the issue. They told me to take it to their body shop to see if they could do it since the techs at the Larry Miller Surprise dealership had never adjusted an MFT before. Today, I went by their body shop and talked with someone who then told me he's never had a Ram with the MFT in his shop before. On the way home, I went by the Larry Miller Avondale dealership who told me that they have n4ever adjusted on of them either, but if I could leave it for a few days, they'd be happy to try. At that point, I went home.

I'm probably going to have to leave it at the Avondale dealer and get this logged. This is the dealer where I bought the truck and I'll be hitting my 36 months in mid-March. so want to get this taken care of.

.
I don't know if you read the previous postings in this thread, some of which include links to another MFT thread, but those other posts do have potentially useful info in them.
.

 

[wegasque]

Did you ever resolve this? I have to slam my tailgate to ensure it's recognised as closed - also have a MFT.

It's not 100% solved, but here's what I did. I went to dealer A who made some adjustments and told me that they weren't able to really affect the operation. They referred me to their body shop since they might have more experience with the MFT adjustments. 2 weeks before my BTB warranty ran out, I went to their body shop and got it adjusted. It was a little better but certainly not fixed. I did find out that if you shut the 40 door, and hold it with your hand to provide some stability, then the 60 door can shut softly and fully latch. The issue stems from the play in the 40 door in that it wiggles enough when the 60 door shutting that it doesn't always fully engage. one week before my BTB warranty ran out, I then went to dealer B (different location of the same dealer A franchise) and go it adjusted. Again, they were able to make it a little better, but it's still not 100%.

 

[wegasque]

.
I don't know if you read the previous postings in this thread, some of which include links to another MFT thread, but those other posts do have potentially useful info in them.
.

The link to the other thread are for the power tailgate not working. My power tailgate works fine, my issue is with the MFT barndoors not fully latching without slamming them closed.

 

[Skater]

The link to the other thread are for the power tailgate not working. My power tailgate works fine, my issue is with the MFT barndoors not fully latching without slamming them closed.

You have a power MFT that powers up with the push of a button?

 

[wegasque]

You have a power MFT that powers up with the push of a button?

I wish. I have the power tailgate release button on my key fob.

 

[Skater]

I wish. I have the power tailgate release button on my key fob.

Oh. Ok. I misunderstood your post.

 

[go-ram]

The link to the other thread are for the power tailgate not working. My power tailgate works fine, my issue is with the MFT barndoors not fully latching without slamming them closed.

.
The link worked fine for me. For good measure, I'll repaste it here (cued to page 2): Power Tailgate not opening
.
That thread DOES have a number of posts regarding the barn-door part of the MFT. It began as issues with latch release for the drop-down tailgate, but it does include a number of posts related to MFT barn-door opening issues.
.
The MFT in particular has issues with flexing/bouncing upon closure, which can cause problems with the door-closed sensors. Why? Because (A) it's made of aluminum for lightness but unfortunately aluminum is nowhere near as stiff as steel, and (B) it's inherently far less stiff than a one-piece design because it's severed in the middle.

Yeah, it's rated for a 2,000 lb STATIC load, which makes it sound really strong, but a static load has almost nothing to do with how the MFT tailgate structure responds to dynamic inputs, i.e. closing the barn doors or closing the drop-down gate. Hence the advice to close the barn doors firmly but with your palm pressed firmly against the backs of the doors in order to keep the doors/gate from "bouncing" so much due to the flexing caused by impact of closing them. Individual trucks may indeed have alignment issues or door-striker post position/alignment issues that need tweaking, but the basic physics and mechanics of materials are at play all the time. The MFT is a great option, I love mine, but you can't ignore the physics of the fact that in order to get that extra convenience & functionality, the structure itself is somewhat compromised and that needs to be taken into account. It ain't the same animal as an old-fashioned one-piece steel gate.
.
Lastly, whether the issue is with the drop-down conventional tailgate or the barn-door mode of the MFT, the business of electronic gremlins and disconnecting the battery ground cable to get the various computers and distributed electronic control modules scattered throughout the vehicle to reset themselves, is relevant to literally EVERYTHING in these trucks.
.

 

[Aidan]

It's not 100% solved, but here's what I did. I went to dealer A who made some adjustments and told me that they weren't able to really affect the operation. They referred me to their body shop since they might have more experience with the MFT adjustments. 2 weeks before my BTB warranty ran out, I went to their body shop and got it adjusted. It was a little better but certainly not fixed. I did find out that if you shut the 40 door, and hold it with your hand to provide some stability, then the 60 door can shut softly and fully latch. The issue stems from the play in the 40 door in that it wiggles enough when the 60 door shutting that it doesn't always fully engage. one week before my BTB warranty ran out, I then went to dealer B (different location of the same dealer A franchise) and go it adjusted. Again, they were able to make it a little better, but it's still not 100%.

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at how the smaller door sits when closed etc. The latches definitely close so not sure what the closed signal is checking etc.

 

[wegasque]

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at how the smaller door sits when closed etc. The latches definitely close so not sure what the closed signal is checking etc.

When closed but not fully latched, mine is almost imperceptible. You can barely notice a misalignment where the 60 door isn't fully flush. I've tugged on it and it appears to be secure, but the dash light still shows an open tailgate until you slam it.

I have a tonneau cover on so usually just slam it instead of opening the Diamondback, closing the tailgate, and then closing the cover again. I'm just lazy that way I guess.

 

[2025 Ram Limited]

Nothing wrong with my 60-40 doors. The issue was the regular tailgate was not closed hard enough and therefore the release button would not work on the larger of the barndoors. You can't close tailgate normally, you must slam it shut. Even if latches properly, for some reason it doesn't register for the barndoors to open unless you slam (or close very firmly).

Mine did the same thing. Slam it harder and the barn doors are able to be opened.

 

[Aidan]

When closed but not fully latched, mine is almost imperceptible. You can barely notice a misalignment where the 60 door isn't fully flush. I've tugged on it and it appears to be secure, but the dash light still shows an open tailgate until you slam it.

I have a tonneau cover on so usually just slam it instead of opening the Diamondback, closing the tailgate, and then closing the cover again. I'm just lazy that way I guess.

Yeah when mine is closed, there isn't much play in it, and everything looks aligned. It's like the latch status return doesn't register so am wondering if it's an issue with my connectors

 

[Aidan]

Mine did the same thing. Slam it harder and the barn doors are able to be opened.

How old is your Ram? I swapped bed's to a MFT/Rambox (from a standard 5'7'' bed) so was thinking my connectors/actuators may be faulty.

 

[StuartV]

I had a '21 Limited with the MFT. I traded it last week for a '25 Limited with the MFT. I can't see ever having another truck without an MFT, but I digress. The MFT is just SO much more useful than any other tailgate design I have seen.

With my '21, if I didn't somewhat slam the 60 door, the truck would not register that it was closed.

Sometimes, I didn't close the 40 door hard enough and the truck would not register that it was closed.

If the truck thinks either barn door is not fully closed, it won't let you open it classic style. I presume if it thinks it's not fully closed classic style it won't let you open it barn door style, either.

My solution was always to just re-open the barn doors and close them harder. That always fixed it for me. I never had to slam them hard, just slam them harder than I might normally do it.

Now, with my '25, I've opened and closed the barn doors a number of times already and haven't had a single issue, and I have not been slamming them - just closing them firmly.

With my '21 I always had a suspicion that the problem was nothing to do with the tailgate itself but rather with whatever switches are back there to detect when it's closed. But, it was never enough of a problem for me to even ask a dealer about it.

 

[1.21gigawatts]

I have a '22 with the MFT. and i have always had to close the barn doors harder than i think i should to get it to "close." fast forward like 2-ish years and i had to replace the LED in the tailgate handle. its fine now but i'm guessing all the hard shutting jostled the LED and made it start kinda strobing. i think its just an inherent flaw in the design of these but i still will not give up that MFT willingly! i get a ton of ude out if it.