Symptom explainer · every vehicle on the site
Tailgate or liftgate will not open or close
Most reported: 2018 Ford F-150 with 48 reports. Across the 95 model years on this site with at least five, owners filed 1,056.
- 1,056owner reports
- 95model years affected
- 33,000median miles
- 13involved a crash
- 5involved a fire
Two different problems share this sheet. Pickup owners report tailgates that drop open on their own, sometimes at speed with cargo in the bed. SUV and minivan owners report liftgates that won't latch, won't stay up, or come down on someone.
Which cars report it most · By model · When it happens · What it is and what to do
The 25 vehicles with the most reports
Each row is one model year. The bar is its count of tailgate or liftgate failure reports; the share is how much of that car's complaint file this problem takes up. Bigger sellers draw more reports, so read the share alongside the count. Red dots mark crashes and fires in these reports; amber marks a recall on the same system.
- 12018 Ford F-1501 crashrecall482% of its complaints28k mi
- 22017 Ford F-350 Super Duty1 crashrecall397% of its complaints25k mi
- 3394% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 42017 Ford F-250 Super Duty1 firerecall333% of its complaints33k mi
- 5264% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 6263% of its complaints45k mi
- 7253% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 8253% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 92010% of its complaints30k mi
- 10204% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 112015 Jeep Cherokee1 firerecall191% of its complaints31k mi
- 12191% of its complaints43k mi
- 13181% of its complaints32k mi
- 142019 Ford F-350 Super Duty2 crashesrecall184% of its complaints18k mi
- 15183% of its complaints45k mi
- 162015 Ram 1500recall171% of its complaints54k mi
- 172016 Ram 1500recall171% of its complaints51k mi
- 182017 Ford Explorerrecall161% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 19163% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 202022 GMC Sierra 15001 crashrecall163% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 212014 Jeep Cherokee1 firerecall151% of its complaints23k mi
- 222017 Ram 15001 crashrecall152% of its complaints27k mi
- 231411% of its complaints55k mi
- 242016 Ford Explorerrecall141% of its complaints18k mi
- 25141% of its complaints16k mi
Where it dominates the complaint file
Model years with at least 25 reports, ranked by the share of all their complaints that describe tailgate or liftgate failure. That takes most of the sales-volume effect out (small sellers still swing more).
- 12017 Ford F-350 Super Duty1 crashrecall397% of its complaints25k mi
- 2264% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 3394% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 4263% of its complaints45k mi
- 52017 Ford F-250 Super Duty1 firerecall333% of its complaints33k mi
- 6253% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 7253% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 82018 Ford F-1501 crashrecall482% of its complaints28k mi
By model, every year together
The 12 models with the most reports. Each chip is a model year; the darker chip is its worst year.
- Ram 150095
When it happens
570 of the 1,056 reports state a mileage. The middle half fall between 11,000 and 55,000 miles; the median is 33,000. Each column is a 20,000-mile band.
Reports by model year
Every report of tailgate or liftgate failure, grouped by the model year of the car. 13 involved a crash and 5 a fire. 66 people were hurt.
What owners describe
Share of the 1,056 reports that use each phrase. One report can use several.
What got replaced
Reports that name the part, across every vehicle.
What it is and what to do
It's a small group, about 1,050 complaints across the vehicles on this site, and only eight vehicle years have enough for a sheet of their own. A third of the reports mention the gate opening on its own or while driving, and one in five mentions the latch or a gate that won't stay shut. A quarter mention a recall. Owners give a median of about 32,000 miles, and 66 of them describe an injury.
Tailgates that open on their own run through the recall files. Ford's 19V-864 covered some 2017 to 2019 Super Duty trucks where water could get into the wiring of the electric release switch in the handle and short it, opening the gate. After owners kept reporting openings that happened even after that repair, NHTSA opened a recall query, RQ21-001, and Ford went on to run a customer satisfaction program on 2017 to 2022 Super Duty trucks. Ram trucks had their own run: 18V-486 for an actuator tab that could fracture, 19V-347 for power locking tailgate latches, and 22V-904 for strikers that were out of alignment.
Liftgates fail the other way. In NHTSA's 2011 investigation PE11-034, the power liftgate struts on some 2008 and 2009 Honda Odysseys were wearing out early and the gate could close unexpectedly, which led to recall 12V-062. Mazda's 16V-644 replaced liftgate supports that could let the gate fall and hit the person using it, and Nissan's 16V-219 did the same for corroding support stays on some Rogues.
The recall remedies show what a dealer checks: the latch and the striker it closes onto, the switch and wiring for an electric release, and the struts or supports on a liftgate. Mention whether the vehicle has a power gate, since the fault may be electrical rather than mechanical.
Until it's fixed, don't carry loose cargo in a bed whose tailgate has opened by itself. The recalls describe cargo falling out as a road hazard for the cars behind you. For a liftgate that sags or drops, prop it or keep people clear rather than trusting it to stay up.
Tell the service desk when it happened (driving, parked, after rain or a car wash) and whether it has happened more than once. Run the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup, because recall repairs are free. If nothing applies, report it during the warranty and get a repair order; the FTC says a defect reported then must be fixed even if the warranty runs out first.
Sources
- NHTSA recall 19V-864, Ford Super Duty tailgate release switch
- NHTSA recall query RQ21-001, power tailgate release systems, Ford Super Duty (NHTSA investigation file)
- NHTSA recall 18V-486, Ram tailgate actuator
- NHTSA recall 19V-347, Ram power locking tailgate latch
- NHTSA recall 22V-904, Ram tailgate strikers
- NHTSA investigation PE11-034, unexpected closing of power liftgate, Honda Odyssey (NHTSA investigation file)
- NHTSA recall 16V-644, Mazda liftgate supports
- NHTSA recall 16V-219, Nissan Rogue liftgate support stays
- Warranties, FTC Consumer Advice
- Complaint counts, mileages and phrase shares: NHTSA complaint files as tallied on this site
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints on the 1,040 vehicle model years that have a page here, grouped by the word patterns described on the method page. A vehicle needs five matching reports to be counted in this ranking. Checked Sep 27, 2026. All problem explainers.