I have a 2017 Lariat that I really like so far. I had Line-Ex installed along with an aftermarket soft rollup tonneau cover. I've noticed that the cover fits tightly on the top of the tailgate so the tailgate does not automatically open when I hit the switch on the remote. What happens is that sometimes the tailgate appears to be closed completely but eventually drops while I'm driving. I notice this only when I put it in reverse and see a picture of the pavement in the parking lot. Does anyone know if there is a way of adding an alert of some type to tell me that the tailgate is open? Can something be done in Forscan? I think some of the earlier models (15 maybe?) had this alert but it isn't on mine.

Thanks.

 

Duct tape a fishing line to the top of the tailgate, run it through/over the bed through the back window and tie it to a little bell hanging from the rear view mirror.... When the tailgate opens, it"ll ring the bell.

 

Yea, don't think that I have seen a setting in Forscan that can enable the alert. These trucks used to have the alert, some went in because they were getting the alert for no reason and instead of fixing the issue, service departments started disabling the alert. Just never made sense to me that they would disable instead of fix it. Good luck, hopefully someone will chime in with a resolution for you.

Tom

 

Nothing for the tailgate, but I did get a message in my cluster the other morning indicating that the front camera was blocked/obstructed (whatever the wording was).

 

No I don't think Ford would put a warning for an open tailgate since it's common to haul long loads with the tailgate down. Also because a lowered tailgate poses no risk to the occupants there is no reason for a warning light.

 

Adjust the cover so it sits snug with your tailgate but not so tight it won't let it drop on it's own. When I installed mine I had to mess with it a couple times to get it to work, also opening and closing it repeatedly will help by wearing down that seal a little bit. It would drive me crazy if every time i hit the button on my remote it didn't drop.

 

Actually a dropped tailgate can pose a serious hazard to vehicles following a pickup loaded with say a large tool box. I almost dropped $600 worth of tools on the the road last week because the tailgate opened while driving.

I own a 2017 SCREW and was very surprised to discover the tailgate had opened while driving at 60 mph! Imagine a car hitting some of my heavy tools at that speed? Potential deadly DISASTER to say nothing about the loss of valuable tools.

Will no longer trust the tailgate to stay closed because I know with absolute certainly it was properly closed. Looking into installing my own system to alert me should the tailgate lower again while driving. The alert system has to be made so it can be turned off when using the bed extender which requires the tailgate to be down.

Bottom line it would be extremely inexpensive for Ford to have a warning that the tailgate is down, especially when it happens while moving! They do it for the doors so why not the tailgate? Electronic or mechanical sensors are not expensive and could prevent a serious accident or loss of valuable items carried in the bed.

 

I just posted this in the ForScan thread. I will post it here too.

Shouldn't be too hard to make your own tailgate alert. Get a push button switch like refrigerators use to turn on the light inside when the door opens and place it where the tailgate will press it when closed. Ground it to the frame. Run a hot wire from it to the cab and put an LED light and/or buzzer on it, then run the hot wire on to a switched and fused hot wire.

The light/buzzer will be activated when the tailgate is open and the ignition switch is ON or on ACC.

Optionally, you can put a toggle switch in the line too so you can turn off the alarm if you are carrying stuff a long way with the tailgate intentionally open.

Maybe I should suggest this to BuiltRight.

 

Get a can of wd40 water resistant silicone spray, stuff lasts a good long time. Sprayed my tonneau weatherstripping, helped it release easier. My $30000 13 Ridgeline had a tailgate open warning light and Global Windows on all 4 doors.

 

Ordered parts today to put together my own open "tailgate alert" modification. No way I'm trusting that GD tailgate to stay closed after my near disaster. Might sound funny to some but having expensive and potentially dangerous tools scattered down the highway is no joke to me. I wonder if being able to open it with the FOB has something to do with it happening? Don't know for sure but don't really care...

I'm going to make sure if the tailgates opens again when moving I'm going to be darn sure to know about it. With the toneau cover there's really no practical way of knowing it's open until you stop and look!