rear tail gate lock

benzgt

New member
Good evening t4r heads!

When I try to open the rear tail gate it will not open 95% of the time. I had it open the other day and pulled the paneling to access the lock/cable pull system and the cable and latch were working good. I cleaned and lubed them and they are it was working even better (with the tail gate open in the air) but when I shut the tail gate it again would not open. So my thought is that maybe its a LOCK issue.

Could the Lock be telling the latch handle that the car is still locked when its really not, and not working properly so therefore its like I'm trying to open the tail gate as if the car is locked? They seems to be little to no resistance on the handle when I pull it as if the car again was locked.

Another issue I'm having is that when I insert the key in the cylinder on the tail gate and turn to the left to put the back window all the way down when I go and turn to the right to make it go back up it will not turn to the rite and the key kinda gets jammed in the lock a little. I have lubed the lock and nothing is getting better.

Could these issues be related or has anyone had issues like I am having here. Thanks in advanced as always for the informative replys.
 
Register to hide this ad
The lock actuator works off of two levers with relays and a motor for the rear window all enclosed inside the rear door. The levers are rods that attach to the lock with plastic bushings.

The common failure here is usually the plastic that the lock cylinder attaches to the bezel with breaks and the lock clylinder becomes loose and doesn't work. Yours may be on it's way to doing that as there are several metal to plastic connections in there prone to fail over time.

Hopefully you bezel is not breaking, mayboen one of your rods may have come disconnected from the lock cylinder which is why it only works in one direction - if I read your thread correctly.

I would be very careful "lubricating" a lock, only use graphite powder, never oil. Oil will gum the lock in time.

Good luck!
 
i'm missing the whole lock cylinder out of the back of my new purchase.

best advice on how to proceed with the fixing of said issue?
 
i'm missing the whole lock cylinder out of the back of my new purchase.

best advice on how to proceed with the fixing of said issue?

locksmith should be able to add a new cylinder to match your key. Dealer can too, but they'll probably just take it to a locksmith and upcharge you
 
locksmith should be able to add a new cylinder to match your key. Dealer can too, but they'll probably just take it to a locksmith and upcharge you

Luckily for me I've known the parts guy at my dealer for 8 years now. The passenger side door lock, the key I got for it will lock but not unlock. It wont even turn in the cylinder.

So once I get the title, registration, and insurance straightened out, I'm going to get him to cut me a set of keys based on the VIN.

Here's a side/note question. If the window is partly down, can you not open the back hatch?


update: pulled the hatch apart. Lock cylinder was there. Plastic tabs holding it to the garnish were busted. Trip to the junkyard yielded me what I needed, luckily.
 
Last edited:
The lock actuator works off of two levers with relays and a motor for the rear window all enclosed inside the rear door. The levers are rods that attach to the lock with plastic bushings.



The common failure here is usually the plastic that the lock cylinder attaches to the bezel with breaks and the lock clylinder becomes loose and doesn't work. Yours may be on it's way to doing that as there are several metal to plastic connections in there prone to fail over time.



Hopefully you bezel is not breaking, mayboen one of your rods may have come disconnected from the lock cylinder which is why it only works in one direction - if I read your thread correctly.



I would be very careful "lubricating" a lock, only use graphite powder, never oil. Oil will gum the lock in time.



Good luck!
I currently have my hatch torn apart to reattach the cylinder. One end of the rod is attached to the cylinder with a red bushing. The other end had a green, what does it attach to?

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
278,308
Messages
3,554,057
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Trending content

Back
Top