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2006 Ridgeline Tailgate Does Not Open

43K views 39 replies 30 participants last post by  RGNaegele 
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#1 ·
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.
 
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#27 ·
OK...this was kind of a weird one...ends up my tailgate issue was not actually a tailgate issue...let me try to explain.

I brought my RL in for an oil change last Wed. While I had it in, I asked them to take a look at the tailgate...as it would swing open, but wouldn't close right, and the handle for the flip-down/normal mode felt like there was nothing there when you pulled on it. Like something had become disconnected.

After an hour wait, they said they had checked it out, and it looked like it was corrosion preventing the swing-out mode mechanism from operating correctly. So, the lubed it up with white grease and everything was working great. I was running a bit late for work, so I didn't bother checking the tailgate, drove to work, and when I checked it out there, it wasn't working...same issues as before.

I contacted my service guy and told him what was going on. He applogized, as he said his tech said things were "working like a champ" after the lube-job, and he didn't actually check the results of his work. He said to bring it in today and the would take a more thorough look at it.

Brought it in at 9:00 today and about an hour 15 minutes later my service guy came back and said they were still working on it and could not find what was wrong. He said they took it apart a couple of times, everything worked OK, they'd put it back together, and the same thing would happen.

About 15 minutes later my service guy came back and said they think they had figured it out. I had some bungee cords in the back of the truck and it looked like I had opened the trunk an one of the hooks from one of the cords fell into the gap between the trunk lid and edge of the trunk opening...and when I closed it...the trunk got pushed forward on the passenger side...just enough to stop the tailgate from closing completely...stopping the latch mechanism from "resetting"...causing the issue.

They pulled the bungee cord out, closed the trunk, closed the tailgate in swing mode...and everything started working as it should. So, almost 2 hours and $120 later...the issue ended up being "foreign material between trunk lid and edge of trunk closure area".

So, anyway...I thought I should post this...because it sounds like if you get anything between the trunk lid and edge of trunk closure area...big enough to push the passenger side of the trunk lid forward enough to prevent the tailgate from closing all the way in swing mode...it could cause this issue.

Oh, and on a side note...I have the tailgate seal around my tailgate, including on the trunk lid, to prevent dust from being sucked into the bed when I have my Retrax closed. So, I am pretty sure this may have contributed to the issue.
 
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#28 ·
This seems to be the problem tonight happen to my sister today will up in NY.
She called me I thought it was the oem cover lock holding the tailgate shut it works when it wan't to. I said who pushed the lock down & flip the latch had not been using it in awhile. I said I would check on it when she got back.
I did the thief thing to open it but seems to be the tailgate latch itself.
It is jammed with stuff from her trip inside need to visit dealer to get it open.
Swing & drop down on gate handle are tight then they are dead until you push on gate then tight again as normal but will not open.
 
#29 ·
Update truck went to dealership this mourning sister had to take it.
I always have service done for her but had to take elderly mother to doctor appt .They got the tailgate open & installed new clip. $168.00 a $20.00 labor discount from coupon. Service took a few hours after they open as she was first in line when they open this mourning. She had went up to Woodbury Commons shop area in NY so the truck was loaded with stuff in the back & trunk & the tailgate would not open plus oem bed cover was closed. They said they would need to replace latch if it happens again. So the truck is a few months over 5yrs ownership & has 90,434 miles on it. This is the first time this happen but I was aware of this from this thread & a few others.
 
#30 ·
[*]there is an alignment line on the mechanism for where it should rest and be struck dead center.

I just had the same "no swing mode issue" sure enough, the alignment was off. Wire tie and bending the rod did the trick. Thanks for that tip paulmoony. Works great now.:act035:
 
#31 ·
Just had this same issue pop up on my 2011. I will be due for an oil change in about another month so I will probably just wait til then to have it fixed. Its kind of a pain for me because I love to use the trunk! Regardless, I still LOVE my RL!
 
#33 ·
The tailgate on my 2008 wouldn't open either way after our last big snowstorm here in the Northeast back in Feb 2013. I thought it was only frozen at first but apparently the whole mechanism had seized up and broke. So finally I went in this week for other maintenance and asked that the tailgate get fixed... I had read here and there on the Web and this forum but decided to not attempt it myself.

Parts included synchronizer assembly ($131.32), tailgate stopper ($2.55), Rear tailgate striker ($50.96) and a tailgate lock ($32.95). The $165 labor was well worth my time. While I wasn't thrilled about the ~$400 overall cost to repair, I couldn't risk driving around without access to the spare in my trunk any longer or having to climb over the fenders to use the truck bed.

So for those of you skilled enough to take this on yourselves, this is some idea of the cost you're avoiding, I wish I had such skills myself. :act064:
 
#36 ·
Re: 2012 Ridgeline Tailgate Does Not Open

I just had the same problem with my 2012. The tailgate will not open in swing mode. I tried closing it firmly in the pull down mode, swing mode still won't open. The handle feels loose. I will have the dealer look at it, as it's under warranty.
 
#37 · (Edited)
I was able to remove the trim and all of my rod connectors are connected and not broken. Can someone give me more of an idea about the alignment mechanism? The swing does not swing anymore. I see everything under there but I don't know what part to adjust and how to adjust it? Please help, can't really afford to let the dealer rip me off. Thanks.

UPDATE:

I got the tailgate to open and swing out. By pulling on some cable. Not sure how it happened. But when I pull on the cables on the inside the mechanism that the cables should release does not make the (not sure what to call it) the hooking piece move now that i have it open. Any suggestions on what I should do? Beside marry a mechanic :(

UPDATE 2: I watched the video in the other tailgate thread about his problem. I shortened the rod with the green plastic piece because it appeared to be the rod that went to the side latch and now the tailgate won't open any which way!! What should I do besides take it to the dealer? Can I take it to a local place? What about Ford? There is no Honda dealer near my work or home. Ugh, so frustrated!!

Beth
 
#39 ·
My tailgate started acting up on the weekend. What a pain. The white nylon parts where not aligned properly. I am trying to work on them but its a pain to do. I will have to look at it again after work tomorrow. At one point I got it to drop and the whole tail gate fell off the hing on the right side or passenger side of the tail gate. What a pain. No idea why that happened. We tried to adjust the bar for the drop down but we wound up having the tailgate swing instead of dropping LOL! I will have to look at it and try and tweak it. I would like to know how you tied the parts to get them to line up.I will try a pm.
 
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