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2017 Ford F-250, F-350 under NHTSA investigation for opening tailgates

3K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  mmayna03 
#1 ·
My 2017 Ford F-350DRW tailgate keeps opening when driving or stationary. It has opened at least 10 times in the past year and at least 15 times since purchasing. Trying to convince Ford dealerships that the tailgate was up, and I did not forget to secure or touch the buttons to release the lock. On November 21, 2019, on I-44 in Oklahoma, while towing a 5th wheel RV, the tailgate opened and damaged the tailgate along with the two access doors of the RV. I always check my truck and RV after each service stop. I checked at the previous stop prior in Lawton, Oklahoma and the tailgate was up. I stopped at the last Turnpike service station on I-44 prior to entering Texas and saw the tailgate down and the damage. Until I get my truck repaired, I have had to install black bungie cords to keep the tailgate from falling. Researching the issue online, I found the following. Too bad Ford dealerships are not aware of the information in the article, even after multiple complaints about the tailgate.

"NHTSA announced [in October 2018] that it has opened an investigation into 54,400 examples of the 2017 Ford F-250 and F-350 heavy-duty pickup truck. Thus far, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation has received five consumer complaints about this vehicle, but it has received no reports of injuries or crashes related to those complaints." Source: cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-super-duty-pickup-nhtsa-investigation-tailgates

I filled a complaint with the NTSB and if others have the same issue, recommend filing a complaint too.
 
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#2 ·
that sucks and on such a pricey tailgate
I can not see my tailgate from my rear view mirror
I remember leaving my tailgate down twice and getting away without damage ( whew) but soon after the second time i got proactive I probably had the only 6.0 with a tailgate open light LOL

I thought the new trucks had a tailgate position indicator?
 
#3 ·
I thought the tailgate only opens when the truck’s doors are unlocked when the engine is running. Even if I’ve driven to somewhere and put the vehicle in park but don’t open my door and hit the tailgate button, it doesn’t open unless I unlock the doors first. I’ve had an issue when the fob was in my pocket and the truck was running but the doors unlocked and it opened. I originally thought it was annoying to have to unlock the vehicle to drop the tailgate but it makes sense now.
 
#4 ·
The only time the gate on my '17 has opened unwanted has been when I had the fob in my pocket with other items. It's never done it while in motion.
 
#5 ·
There is a “tailgate ajar” mod that can be done so if the tailgate drops, tailgate ajar appears on the dash. I haven’t done it as it’s a pretty invasive and time consuming mod but I will probably do it next summer. I have not had mine open on me yet 14months and 62,000km.

The only thing I can think of that has the slimmest possibility as to why is I turned my auto lock feature off. My doors don’t lock unless I hit t he lock button while driving. Ya think it would have a better chance of opening with the setting I am running. Lol
 
#6 ·
I had this issue with my 2017 before Ford bought it back for electrical issues. My truck had this issue and Ford acknowledged to me that they knew of the issue. They claimed that it was due to water intrusion into the wiring harness at the trailer hitch. (there's a connector there that was defective. They replaced the harness, but it still did it.
My gate would drop in the garage during the night. It hit the garage door and scratched it. It would also go down while driving down the road. The only way I'd actually know is when I put the truck in reverse and the camera was facing the license plate.
My buy back wasn't due to this problem, but a more severe electrical safety issue. My driver's seat would go into the easy entry/exit mode while riding down the highway. When this happened the steering wheel would go forward and up and the seat all the way back, then they went dead for hours. This was a load of fun driving home from vacation. They attempted to fix it 5 times and told me it was 100% fixed. My wife was driving in Walmart's parking lot when it happened to her. She couldn't reach the pedals to stop. Fortunately, she didn't hit anything or anyone. They bought it back after that episode. Back to the tailgate. I did see the tech's shop notes regarding the tailgate issue. Ford knew about this in early 2017, as that's when I saw the TSB.
 
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#7 ·
Could very well be the electrical connectors for the trailer wiring or the other 2 harnesses by the spare tire. I added dielectric grease to those connectors within a couple weeks of buying the truck to be proactive for these know ford electrical gremlins. Unbelievable that they have known about these issues since the 2015 f150s came out and haven’t done a damn thing to correct their mistakes at the production stage.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Not complaining or unhappy, but I also have 2 recalls, plus a FSA(field service action) on my 2019.

19S48- UNINTENDED TAILGATE OPENING

19C10- DAYTIME RUNNING LAMP FUNCTION

Field Service Action: 19B27- UNSECURED POWER STEERING HOSES

I am NOT going to have them work on the daytime running lights. I like my lights the way they are and the recall mentions about "potentially blinding oncoming motorists"...nah, Im good:umno:

The unsecured power steering hoses and the tailgate issues are a little concerning. I have yet to experience either condition but I'm going to have to make a sleep sacrifice to get them addressed since I work nights:censored:

Hopefully these will be the only ones...that's quite a few for a 2019.
 
#9 ·
Now that the recall is official, will you try and talk to the dealership to reimburse any money you are out? I would link the recall article but not sure on how to do so.
 
#12 ·
Called dealer asking if I the tailgate will be repaired or replaced. Answer = "NO". My insurance company says they will not take care of it because of the recall. Going to visit with the dealership owner on Wednesday. Oh yeah, service manager I talked to on the phone says they have not been notified of a recall on the tailgate. :doh::doh::doh::doh::doh:
 
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