F150 tailgate latch

[Shearwater]

I have a question about my 2018 F150 XLT with power tailgate lock but NOT power tailgate opener. When I pull up the latch to open the tailgate, the latch remains in the open (pulled out) position, it doesn't retract like I might expect it to. I have to remember to push the latch closed so the tailgate latches when I slam it shut. I assume that's not normal but I wanted to check. I do have the access panel off on the inside and I'm playing around with the threaded rods but I can't seem to get adjusted to close properly. Any tips?

[Eggscape]

You are correct...that is not normal. Maybe the F150 forum.

[Shearwater]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

You are correct...that is not normal. Maybe the F150 forum.

Already tried there. Don't less this go to anyone's head, but I think people are a little more solution oriented over here.

It's not a big deal, the tailgate closes and locks fine, I just need to remember to bump the latch closed when I slam it shut.

[Eggscape]

You should search Ford F-150 tailgate latch recall.
Here in Canada there is a latch recall I found in this article.
Not exactly your problem but you may find something.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/...da-us-68592671

[JeffinBC]

Not sure when you bought it in ‘18 but would see if you can get it looked at under warranty. It sounds to me like a spring has disconnected in the latch or it’s full of crud. I had crud in the latch on my old GMC and a quick shot of lithium grease loosened it up. The recall installs another harness but if you take it in to get that done, I imagine they’ll just fix your latch, too, depending on the dealer. Good luck.

[Shearwater]

Thanks for the feedback on the latch recall and greasing it. It's a manual release latch so I'm guessing Ford won't cover it under the TSB on the electric latch. I did have the back cover off and looked at the handle mechanism but couldn't see anything obvious. It doesn't look like it's binding and the area is pretty clean (no crud) but it did feel like there wasn't any pull from the handle spring. Maybe it's just that the spring is not connected because the tailgate will latch when I push the handle into place. I'll take it apart again when it warms up here and see if I can spot the problem.

[Shearwater]

I was inspired to go back to Youtube and look a little harder. I found a video of how to replace the tailgate handle which showed enough detail for me to see the spring that pulls the handle closed. The truck in the video even has the built in step like mine and gave a very nice explanation of how to remove the handle, which I will need to do in order to inspect the spring. I bought the truck from a used car dealer, first time I've ever gone that route. No complaints, but the truck is beyond warranty so I'd prefer to fix it myself. A whole new handle is about $70 from Tasca Parts, so that's kind of my worst case. Thanks all for your help, it always feels good to learn how to do a repair myself.

[Ops]

YouTube...a teaching facility by any description. It’d be interesting to determine how much the repair videos have saved consumers since the wide variety of DIY videos have become common place.