Happy to make a contribution to the knowledge base after so many helpful threads I have read.

I had a balky rear tailgate release, actuating the keyfob would result in a feeble *click* from within the tailgate, but 60% of the time it would not lock or unlock. No bueno. I opened up the access panel to take a look, found everything properly connected and no visible reason that it would not work. I disconnected and removed the white plastic electrical actuator, cracked it open, made sure there was no debris or crud in there, blasted out the lock mechanism as it was a little dusty, put a drop or two of oil on the pivots, reassembled. No difference.

Step 2 was to try and buy the little white actuator. And after much Googling I finally gave up trying to find it, went to my local Ford dealer, and two days later I had it in hand. Today I learned why I could not find the actuator itself: Ford does not sell the white electric actuator separately, they sell it as part of a larger assembly that includes the lock mechanism. I didn't pick up on that when I was looking at the parts fiche online. So this morning the part came in and it will take twice as long to write this up as it did to replace it, and here's how to do it.

This is the part you need, # FL3Z-9943170-E "Control" List price is $32.58


Unscrew the taligate access panel. This uses Torx screws.





This is the part you will get, it is 180 degrees from its orientation in the tailgate as you are fixing it. The wiring harness plugs in to the end of the white actuator upper left. Unplug that.







Squeeze this white plastic doobus and push it through with the tip of a screwdriver to release the wiring bundle from where it is clipped into this.





The rods that connect to the handle and the latches on either side are threaded on their ends, and the threads are captured by these green plastic clips. Put a flat screwdriver agains the tip of the clip and give a gentle pry to pop them open.





These two 10mm nuts and their captive washers hold the assembly into the tailgate. Remove these.



Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.

Install the assembly with the two 10mm nuts.

Push the wiring harness holder doobus through the hole in the assembly upper right.

Plug the actuator pigtail into the white actuator body lower right.

Lay the lock and latch rods into the green clips so the threaded ends engage the teeth, snap them shut. You may need to rotate them to get them into the same orientation that you found them.

Test the assembly with your keyfob to ensure proper operation.

Reinstall the tailgate access panel with the Torx screws.

That's it! Good luck.

Nils Menten

 

Thank you for posting this. I am having the same problem with my 2015. I did some research and ordered HC3Z-9943170-C from TascaParts. I had them check the VIN and they came back and said the correct part is GC3Z-9943170-E. Their own website says the opposite, but I am going to trust them based on the VIN. Oddly, both parts are different from what you ordered. Looks like an easy fix.

 

8, that's right, it took my dealer replacing this 8 times before one that worked. They said they replace these daily.

 

Just finished installing part # GC3Z-9943170-E in my 2015. Super easy as mentioned above. The new part was plastic and my old was metal. The old part was marked FL34-99431F94-D, I assume it was original although someone had definitely been in the tailgate before.

 

Update: Much to my disappointment, the tailgate is still sticking today. After looking more closely at the latches on each end, one side is clearly binding and difficult to move with my fingers. I guess the next step is to replace the latch on that side. I definitely recommend checking those before replacing the actuator, assuming you hear the actuator clicking when it does not open.

 

You could hear mine clicking and not unlocking, like I said, they tried everything and then another tech said they will just keep throwing actuators at it until they find one that keeps working......