Tailgate Not Latching Reliably

[RustyH]

Hey all - just wondering if anyone has dealt with this issue or if it's caused by something I'm not thinking of. If I try to swing my tailgate shut and let it close/slam on its own, it seems to hit something and be prevented from latching. It will only reliably latch (and even then, not every time) if I continue to close/slam it all the way through to it actually closing. In other words, I have to keep pressure on the tailgate all the way through the motion of closing it rather than closing it like I would a door, with a solid push but not pushing it all the way through closure.

I have 35s with the factory-installed tailgate reinforcement, fwiw.

Before I stop by a dealership, I thought I'd see if anyone is having a similar experience.

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[Wabujitsu]

Hey all - just wondering if anyone has dealt with this issue or if it's caused by something I'm not thinking of. If I try to swing my tailgate shut and let it close/slam on its own, it seems to hit something and be prevented from latching. It will only reliably latch (and even then, not every time) if I continue to close/slam it all the way through to it actually closing. In other words, I have to keep pressure on the tailgate all the way through the motion of closing it rather than closing it like I would a door, with a solid push but not pushing it all the way through closure.

I have 35s with the factory-installed tailgate reinforcement, fwiw.

Before I stop by a dealership, I thought I'd see if anyone is having a similar experience.

Rusty, unfortunately that sounds like the tailgate is out of alignment. Have you tried closing it slowly, and right at the point where it seems to hit something, have you lifted up on the tailgate and continued to gently close it, to see if upward pressure allows it to clear?

 

[RustyH]

Rusty, unfortunately that sounds like the tailgate is out of alignment. Have you tried closing it slowly, and right at the point where it seems to hit something, have you lifted up on the tailgate and continued to gently close it, to see if upward pressure allows it to clear?

That doesn't seem to make a difference and, in fact, when I maintain pressure on the door through closing it, I don't lift up at all, just straight pressure and it closes solidly. I'll probably just deal with it until my first oil change and ask them about it then...

 

[Opus]

The strike plate on mine needed to be adjusted a little from the factory. It took too much effort to close the tailgate. I repositioned it slightly and it's been fine ever since.

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