2006 Ridgeline Tailgate Does Not Open

PRIORITY/ACTION REQUIRED
To: All Honda Service Managers/Advisors

From: Technical Research & Support Group

Re: Request For Visit: 2006 Ridgeline Tailgate Does Not Open in Swing Mode

Print this iN message and provide a copy to the Shop Foreman and all Service Advisors.

Background
American Honda (AHM) would like to inspect certain 2006 Ridgelines with a customer or dealer complaint of the tailgate not opening in swing mode.

NOTE: To fully understand the cause of this occurrence, AHM would like to inspect the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

NOTE: The 2006 Ridgelines AHM is interested in must have a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) that is after/higher than 2HJYK1…6H506000.

If you have or know of such a vehicle, please refer to Action Required below.

Action Required
Call Technical Research and Support (TRS) Group at 1-800-880-1072. TRS will coordinate with you and the factory to arrange a mutually agreeable inspection date and time.

Thank you.

My VIN is lower than the one asked for but I have had this problem a few times. I have to open the regular way first then open in swing mode as the latch appears locked at first try. It hasn't bothered me enough to do anything about it. Maybe on the oil change I will ask about it. My only issue after 3,300 miles. :)

I'm in the same boat. Flip it down and close then the swing door will work. I'll do the same, tell them about it at my first oil change.

Be sure to be insistant on them getting someone to act on this ASAP. Print this notice and take it with you if you have to. I'll back you up if I need to, just don't let them take it lightly.

This happened to me last night, but it was just because I closed it the "regular" way to softly. After letting it down and putting it up a little harder it worked fine in swing mode.

RidgeOwner is right. If you don't close the gate hard enough, it will lock-out the swing opening. It's a safety feature. You don't want that baby falling off doin 75 mph...............

Are you mean we can't ask Honda to fix something that isn't broke?

FYI...my handle for swing mode stopped functioning all together today. Pulls freely without just a few clicky noises but no reaction. Anyone know how to fix it? If I can't fix myself I'll reluctantly take it to a dealer and will post whatever they do.

Slam it firmly in normal mode and make sure it is all the way closed. Swing mode may then work.

Sadly doesn't help.

I have not had this problem.I am constantly opening my swing tailgate to load my saddle and misc. equipment. Maybe my luck is that I use that mode all the time. :rolleyes:

I too have this problem occassionally, but closing it harder in normal mode has always fixed it, so far. I hope mine doesn't quit working altogether, that would suck. Just turned 2000 miles over this past weekend, btw. Looking forward to 3000 so I can put Mobile-1 in it.

I too have this problem occassionally, but closing it harder in normal mode has always fixed it, so far. I hope mine doesn't quit working altogether, that would suck. Just turned 2000 miles over this past weekend, btw. Looking forward to 3000 so I can put Mobile-1 in it.

FYI, honda (factory) recommends leaving the factory oil in until the 15%-5%
notice on your oil like display.

The Oil Change period for a new Honda Vehicle is between 5000 and 7500 miles. This is due to the fact that there is a special "Break-In" oil that is put in at the factory that allows the engine to be properly lubricated for the first time. For best performance, it needs to remain in the truck/car for at least 5000 miles.

Good news, I was able to fix it and avoid the dealership.

You need to remove the tailgate edge trim piece, 3 phillips screws, slide right and pop off a dozen plastic clips. Take off the tailgate composite cover, about 8 torx screws.

You then see what looks like the inside of a car door panel, a bunch of rods and lever mechanism connecting the latches to the handles. It has a set for swing and one for drop, and a lockout so that only one is active at a time.

There is a white plastic piece that can engage the lever connected to the swing mode handle. It slides in a race to be in the right place when swing is okay and missed completely when drop is okay. It was just missing by a few millimeters on mine for swing mode. In fact there is an alignment line on the mechanism for where it should rest and be struck dead center. I had to unhook the bottom rod (of tailgate when closed), and bend slightly to change where the plastic piece would rest.

The bad news, those pieces are as durable as a Honda Civic car door panel. So definitely not ready for a thousand hard slams like a person used to a pickup truck would do. Lots of plastic and snapped together. So future problems are possible.

Contact me if anyone needs help doing the repair.

I assume for those with intermittent problems we are experiencing near misses of these parts. The slam in drop mode is probably introducing a tweak to where the parts happen to come to rest for the next open/close.

Now there is a TSB for it...

http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Honda/1113289200000_1130223600000_05-017/index.html

which includes a part # for a replacement arm of the correct length instead of my solution to bend the one I had to the right length.

Thank God for this forum! Today, I really showed my butt and acted like a 5 year old by slamming my tailgate shut. So, I got a full taste of what goes around comes around when the tailgate would not open. I felt really proud of myself then. I read this thread and fixed the tailgate in about an hour. It was hard removing the top trim because of all the clips. Especially, since I could not open the gate and slide the trim piece off. I removed the bolts from the large cover but it would not come off. So, I just pulled back on it and used a make shift slim jim to pull the control rod and open the gate. I used 3 zip ties as a temp fix to hold the rod in place. Everything is working now and my attitude sure has improved. Thanks everybody.

Thank you guys very much. My tailgate was completely stuck closed. It was Thanksgiving day and I'm going camping the next day. I was pissed. Then I found this forum and found the solution right here in this thread. What a relief. I popped the cap off the tailgate, pried open the panel enough to look inside and after 10 minutes of flailing around I found the broken tie rod connector. As soon as I moved it the gate opened and I was able to take the panel off and repair it. Thanks again guys, you saved me a hell of a lot of grief.

Jeremy,maybe now we'll hear more from you?;)

I have this issue, ocassionally, with my 06 Ridgeline. Typically just by dropping the talegate and then putting it back up then allows the swing mechanism to then work. However it is getting annoying and who knows if this fix will work forever.

I cannot locate the TSB you guys mentioned or find it anywhere. Could someone post a link to the TSB or email it to me so I can know what to do to fix it?

Thank for your help!

I have the same issue with the gate occassionally not swinging open on my 06. Could someone actually post the TSB for this, or a link to it so that we can fix it ourselves? I am out of warranty and am not willing to pay $200 plus for them to do something that might take me 20 minutes!

Thanks in advance!