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Tailgate will not open

11K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  cdepuydt 
#1 ·
My tailgate is locked in closed position.Yes it is completely closed.I took it to the dealership they said they have not seen this before and could not fix.I took the top rail off removed the torx screws off the tailgate and removed the side panel to get a good look.Everything seems to work except the top lock on top right from outside. I disconnected the rod from the plastic retainer and when i pulled it offered no resistance. It seemed to be connected to the locking mechanism but the arm was pulling freely and not disegageing the lock.I can not figure out how to get the tailgate off other than cutting off the top locking post. I hope there is a better option.
Thanks Brad
 
#2 ·
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#5 ·
I find this forum a premier place to acquire information on my Ridgeline. My tailgate refused to open in either the normal or swing. Took it to my local dealer and of course they were not familiar with the problem. After talking with the service manager and using his computer on your site we came the conclusion that it was a problem. The real issue for me was the fact he wanted to charge me 130.00 dollars to determine what was wrong. I have hondacare and pushed hard saying that it should be covered. Long story short it ended up being 3 broken clips of which he said 2 were covered by the hondacare and the third is not. Bottom line is is will cost me approx. 6 dollars to have fixed. Of which I dont understand why the 3rd clip isnt covered


06 Ridgeline 04 Element 00 C-rv
 
#7 ·
I have the OEM Tonneau Cover installed, and twice I have had problems opening the tailgate (either way). Have only had the truck 3 weeks now. It's as if the latches were locked. Each time I had to push the top of the tailgate really hard to get it to latch properly. I guess the Tonneau cover is preventing it from latching tightly on occasion.
 
#8 ·
It's two different problems that can cause this. I have had the OEM cover lock jam the tailgate & then there is the tailgate cable itself. The last time I thought it was the OEM cover lock but it was the other & the tailgate handles won't work.
 
#9 ·
I had something very similar to this happen to me also. I had something (bungee cord hook) stuck in the back of the trunk lid. So, when the trunk lid was closed, it pushed the trunk lid forward enough to interfere with the tailgate closing properly. Since the tailgate would not close completely/properly, the tailgate handles would not "reset", and would become unoperable (I would grab them and would not feel anything there. Almost like they had become disconnected).

The fix was super-simple. Remove bungee cord hook from back of trunk lid opening. Close. Close tailgate. Tailgate handles reset properly. 1 trip to the dealership, and a $125 later...Problem solved. I sure felt stupid. :act018:

You may want to check your cover to make sure it is not interfering with closing of the tailgate. As I said above, it doesn't take much, because if the handles don't reset for whatever reason, you can't get the dang thing (tailgate) open in either mode.
 
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