Interesting... I wouldn’t have thought the manual gate could open easily since its secured with 2 latches and no electric actuator. I had the manual/locking tailgate on my 2010 F150 and I kinda wish I had that same thing on my Lariat to be honest. I’ve never found the electric releasing tailgate handy in any way. And if the system goes dead with a tonneau cover installed, there is no good way to get access.

I’ll be sure to update this thread once it’s fixed.

 

Mine will not open unless the Truck is in Park and Off. Otherwise you have to use the unlock switch on the door.
Guess the FOB will do it but i usually pitch it on the seat or Floor since don't need it, as long as in truck it starts.

Can see a good safety measure but a PIA, when on the Ranch you want to just jump out and get some something
out of the back. Have to walk back and hit the door lock button if forget. no more than drive the truck its not a big deal.

If forget and leave down, don't know if a light shows or not. Again seldom drivin, so not much attention paid to
lights on the cluster.

With tailgate thief's, will be feature have to live with on all trucks
GMC has the good idea of open and close electrically whereas ford just lowers

 

I'll be curious to see what the dealer says. I park my truck backed up to a concrete wall every night, so I would be really bummed if I came out in the morning and saw it up against the wall. This thread will probably change that habit.

 

You know, I was think about that today too. There are several F150s in the parking lot at my office and some are backed up against a concrete wall. And I’ve parked my truck up against a brick wall a few times at home when we have company over to get extra space in the driveway. I won’t be doing that anymore for sure!

 

Dealer just called me and said they’ve ordered a couple of replacement electrical harnesses. Not sure how those could go bad but that’s what they’ve diagnosed. Parts are coming out of the US (I’m in Canada) so it will be 4 or 5 days. In the meantime, I’ll retrieve my truck and will leave the tailgate harness disconnected.

 

Another update... I was able to talk to the tech that diagnosed my truck. He said there is a harness just upstream from the tailgate disconnect harness that has a couple of wires that are worn through due to movement. Every time he would touch it, the tailgate would drop. He’sordered both male and female pigtails and will be splicing the new ones on. Can’t say I’m too thrilled with having a harness cut off and a new one spliced on, but that’s the plan. He said he’ll wrap and secure it well.

 

This is why I'm glad I have the older manual release tailgate. Ram and GM have now gone fully electronic from base models on up and I'm sure Ford will follow on the next gen. They should have both like old trunk releases. You could open them manually with the key or electrically with the button. There should always be manual overrides for things that are critical like getting entry into the truck.

 

Funny you should mention that actually. i've got an 18 XLT with manual tailgate and it's popped open on me randomly a few times. Luckily I had a guy wave me down and let me know the first time it happened on the highway. Seems like unless I slam my tailgate hard it doesn't fully latch on the passenger side.

I'll be testing and adjusting it the first chance i get. Until then I have to keep double checking that its latched properly.

 

The manual tailgates aren't damped how did you not hear and feel it open when it slammed down?

 

I have a dampened tailgate.