My 2010s tailgate sticks on the way down and pops on the way up. I took it off and the drivers side stud is rusted and just looks like garbage. Anyone hear of this happening?

 

there are a couple threads about it if you search. i think there is a spring inside there. Mine did the same thing once it got cold, people report that lubing it up makes it good like new again, though its so damn cold here I havent done it yet.

 

Dang its a 2010 with rust u from up north

 

it doesnt take much to rust, go look at your drive shaft, I guarantee it looks rusty, haha!

 

Yea I'm upstate ny. I have 31k on her already too.

 

Mine did the same thing today. Stuck half way down and then a loud "pop". I looked at both hinges and the driver side hinge has what appears to be a plastic collar that surrounds the pin. The plastic is all mangled and a piece of it broke off.

 

ive gotten used to mine sticking and actually kinda like it. Easy to open when your hands are full, it doesnt come slamming down, haha! I cant wait till it warms up to inspect it more closely, hopefully nothing is broke and it just needs lube, but at any rate its under warranty so im not too worried about it.

 

My 07 I used to own did the same thing. Turns out the torsion bar inside that controls the up assist broke loose.
The dealer had to disassemble the gate and re weld it. Of course after the weld, it had to be painted too.
As far as liking the gate jamming to keep from slamming down, consider getting a 'tailgate assist' shock (Google it), to slow the drop. It installs very easy using existing factory holes.
I have the one that I bought for my 08 on the 10 now.
I found mine on Amazon for about $50, but think they can be found a bit cheaper now.
Money well spent. I walk up with my arms full, give the handle a pull and slowly it drops.

 

Another possibility is the torsion bar is fine but the plastic component at the end of the torsion bar, in the hinge, has cracked. As it rotates, up or down, depending on the location/direction of the crack, it binds and with the pressure applied by the torsion bar it eventually releases with a loud snap. That's the issue I have with my 07.

Take off the tailgate and look carefully for cracks in that plastic peice.

If you're still under warranty, go let the dealer fix it.

 

I've got less than 5k left on my warranty so it's going in asap