Tailgate opening by itself

[Rowdy]

While pulling out of my driveway today my tailgate came open. Unfortunately I was pulling a trailer and damaged the tailgate pretty bad. Not the first time this has happened but I assumed it was because I somehow pushed the button on the key fob in my pocket but this time my key fob was on the console with nothing near it.
Anyone else have their tailgate opening by itself?

2020 1500 Laramie.

 

[EugeneYYZ]

ouch , its painfull

 

[sgk]

Hi Rowdy,

Horrible outcome and I'm not sure if you have any recourse but I got a recall because of this over a year ago. Im in Ontario Canada but not sure if that matters for the recall however, the tailgate did have the ability to open on its own. Not saying yours did but it could have and it is possibly not your fault. Now im not sure what can be done but its possible that your truck is a 19' model and was never taken in for the recall. I would try to fight it and confirm that your truck has or has not got the recall taken care of.
Maybe take a couple of photos with your hitch on to show that you were not accidentally or backed into anything but rather it definitely was your hitch/trailer that could have caused that.

Hope this could help you.

Here is a little article about it.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the trucks are having issues with the tailgate actuator limiter tab, which can fracture and cause the tailgate to open unintentionally. ... The recall applies to Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks with a 6 or 8-foot-bed and a power locking tailgate.Sept 2019.

 

[Jimmy07]

Hi Rowdy,

Horrible outcome and I'm not sure if you have any recourse but I got a recall because of this over a year ago. Im in Ontario Canada but not sure if that matters for the recall however, the tailgate did have the ability to open on its own. Not saying yours did but it could have and it is possibly not your fault. Now im not sure what can be done but its possible that your truck is a 19' model and was never taken in for the recall. I would try to fight it and confirm that your truck has or has not got the recall taken care of.
Maybe take a couple of photos with your hitch on to show that you were not accidentally or backed into anything but rather it definitely was your hitch/trailer that could have caused that.

Hope this could help you.

Here is a little article about it.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the trucks are having issues with the tailgate actuator limiter tab, which can fracture and cause the tailgate to open unintentionally. ... The recall applies to Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks with a 6 or 8-foot-bed and a power locking tailgate.Sept 2019.

That recall is for the 4th gens. The 5th gens don’t have a power locking tailgate, and doesn’t have that affected part.

 

[20nightEdition]

I’m not sure if this is the case but I had mine pop open two times. What I realized was I had my had on the button in the handle when closing it so it wasn’t latching. I was just putting my hand on the handle as that what I’ve always done in the past with my trucks. Since realizing that was happening I stopped closing with my hand there and it has stopped popping open . Not suggesting it’s your fault but wanted to share that. Sorry to see the damage to the gate


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dookie]

5th gens do indeed have a power locking tailgate.

 

[Rowdy]

Thank you guys for the replies so far.
My tailgate latches good and still does after being crushed surprisingly. I believe the problem is in the electronics.

I’m going to reach out to the dealer today and see if they will help out with repairs.

I am going to see if they can disable the auto open feature somehow as well to avoid any future issues once I get the gate replaced.

 

[Jimmy07]

5th gens do indeed have a power locking tailgate.

No, they do not. They do not have a lock actuator, nor do they use secondary lock and unlock drivers. You have a switch, and two latch releases. When you press the switch, a pulse is sent to the BCM. If the BCM sees that the doors are unlocked, it will send the release signal to the tailgate latches. If the BCM sees that the truck is locked, it will ignore the pulse from the switch.

 

[sgk]

I apologize, I was wrong. I guess it was for 4th Gen. I could have sworn I got that recall notice but I did not. But I have had mine pop open before without (well as far as I know without) pressing anything. Maybe I'm looking into the future and letting you know it will be a recall.

 

[mikeru82]

No, they do not. They do not have a lock actuator, nor do they use secondary lock and unlock drivers. You have a switch, and two latch releases. When you press the switch, a pulse is sent to the BCM. If the BCM sees that the doors are unlocked, it will send the release signal to the tailgate latches. If the BCM sees that the truck is locked, it will ignore the pulse from the switch.

You're arguing semantics. There may not be a lock solenoid, but the latches themselves are actuated by solenoids. Controlled by the BCM. All of these components are electric. You can't even open the tailgate without power because there is no mechanical latch release. So in it's simplest form, it does have a power locking tailgate.

 

[Jimmy07]

You're arguing semantics. There may not be a lock solenoid, but the latches themselves are actuated by solenoids. Controlled by the BCM. All of these components are electric. You can't even open the tailgate without power because there is no mechanical latch release. So in it's simplest form, it does have a power locking tailgate.

Well...when we’re wondering why a tailgate is dropping out of the blue, and comparing to a recall for a complete different tailgate lock/release system, then it’s important to understand exactly how the tailgate works. When people say “power locking tailgate”, that refers to a system that has a physical locking mechanism operated by an actuator, which 5th gens do not have. If the tailgate on a 5th gen drops out of the blue, there can only be three causes- the tailgate was not shut/latched all the way, the latches stuck open just enough to “grab” the tailgate, or some sort of glitch in the BCM, especially while in gear when the switch is supposed to be disabled.

 

[Dookie]

I know this...If I lock my doors with any of the various ways to do so, and I do not have my fob within 5 feet of the truck (passive entry equipped), I cannot open my tailgate manually. It's a blessing and a curse.

 

[mikeru82]

Well...when we’re wondering why a tailgate is dropping out of the blue, and comparing to a recall for a complete different tailgate lock/release system, then it’s important to understand exactly how the tailgate works. When people say “power locking tailgate”, that refers to a system that has a physical locking mechanism operated by an actuator, which 5th gens do not have. If the tailgate on a 5th gen drops out of the blue, there can only be three causes- the tailgate was not shut/latched all the way, the latches stuck open just enough to “grab” the tailgate, or some sort of glitch in the BCM, especially while in gear when the switch is supposed to be disabled.

I wasn't disagreeing with you. The 4th and 5th gen tailgates operate very differently. And it's true that the recall was for the 4th gen system. But it's being disingenuous to just say the 5th gens do not have a power locking tailgate when in fact they do. It's just not accomplished with a dedicated lock solenoid.

 

[RamCares]

Thank you guys for the replies so far.
My tailgate latches good and still does after being crushed surprisingly. I believe the problem is in the electronics.

I’m going to reach out to the dealer today and see if they will help out with repairs.

I am going to see if they can disable the auto open feature somehow as well to avoid any future issues once I get the gate replaced.

Sorry to hear this, Rowdy. Were you able to have this looked at by your dealer? Please send us a private message so we can have this documented and help you get this addressed.

Lydia
RamCares

 

[Havana Joe]

I had my gate open up one time but it is the MFG gate and one of the barn doors opened up to the side. when i backed out of my driveway.

Turns out i just had to put a bit more gusto into throwing them closed and give it a good confirmation tug now. Have not had any issues since.

 

[timndenise]

While pulling out of my driveway today my tailgate came open. Unfortunately I was pulling a trailer and damaged the tailgate pretty bad. Not the first time this has happened but I assumed it was because I somehow pushed the button on the key fob in my pocket but this time my key fob was on the console with nothing near it.
Anyone else have their tailgate opening by itself?

2020 1500 Laramie.

I bought a 2020 Ram 2500 Limitied about 5 months ago. Truck was parked in my garage and I had already opened and closed the garage door after parking. Hour later went and opened garage door again and the tailgate was open and hitting the Garage door. Nobody had been in the garage. I had heard about Rams doing this but not the 5th gens so wondered if possibly I hit the button in my pocket that had only my keyfob in it. Highly unlikely as I was sitting the last hour watching sports.

Then today went out to my garage and the truck was running and I hadn't touched the keyfob. Went and got the key fob and by the time I got back truck was off. Got in and it said remote start cancelled and the truck was warm. Odd couple issues for a new truck.

 

[mikeru82]

I bought a 2020 Ram 2500 Limitied about 5 months ago. Truck was parked in my garage and I had already opened and closed the garage door after parking. Hour later went and opened garage door again and the tailgate was open and hitting the Garage door. Nobody had been in the garage. I had heard about Rams doing this but not the 5th gens so wondered if possibly I hit the button in my pocket that had only my keyfob in it. Highly unlikely as I was sitting the last hour watching sports.

Then today went out to my garage and the truck was running and I hadn't touched the keyfob. Went and got the key fob and by the time I got back truck was off. Got in and it said remote start cancelled and the truck was warm. Odd couple issues for a new truck.

This forum is for 1500's, and the discussion in this thread is addressing 1500's. I have no experience with the HD's, but I do know that they are still using 4th gen sheet metal. So I'm assuming that includes the tailgates. Does your tailgate have an actual mechanical release lever, or is it a pressure switch like on the 5th gen 1500's?

 

[Motors95]

Thank you guys for the replies so far.
My tailgate latches good and still does after being crushed surprisingly. I believe the problem is in the electronics.

I’m going to reach out to the dealer today and see if they will help out with repairs.

I am going to see if they can disable the auto open feature somehow as well to avoid any future issues once I get the gate replaced.

Did you have any luck? I had mine open up while driving towing my camper. Truck nor camper faired well. Dealer cant find anything wrong and FCA pretty much told me to go f*&k myself

pretty pissed this 2021 has 2300 km on it. not one issue w my 16 or 19 ever.

 

[Chris3058]

Happened to me....dropped down onto my bike rack....a little scuff on the paint. figured it was my screw up....guess not.

 

[MaineDoug]

I have a 2019 1500 Ram, 5th gen. The tailgate has opened by it self 6 times in the last 4 months. The first few times I blamed myself thinking I must not have shut it hard enough, but the last 3 times I shut it hard and gave it the tug test, but 5 minutes into my drive I had people waving at me on the highway. I pulled over and the gate was down. Reading this thread, it looks like I am not alone. I am going to have a look at the latches in the morning, and maybe clean and lubricate them. Has anyone else had success finding the cause or fixing this issue?