Tailgate opens in transit and allows contents of bed to fall out of vehicle causing issues for drivers behind truck

- Lake Havasu City, AZ, USA

Tailgate opens unexpectedly while vehicle is in motion. This has happened repeatedly over the past 12 months. After confirming that the tailgate was not inadvertently left open or opened while the vehicle was moving, we realized that the problem was internal. We could not find a cause of the problem with the tailgate opening. It caused damage to the tailgate and the towed fifth wheel. Cargo items stored in the truck bed (under the tonneau cover) have fallen out onto the road when the tailgate opens unexpectedly. This could have caused a major accident or death. I believe this truck has an electric tailgate latch release switch in the tailgate handle and I'm not sure whether this is a possible cause. We took the truck to the Ford dealer who advised that the tailgate was not covered by any recall or warranty other than the extended warranty we purchased, for which we had to pay a deductible. The Ford dealer is also denying any responsibility for damage to the tailgate itself, damage to the fifth wheel, or damage from and loss of loose cargo falling out. We paid for the fix to the defective tailgate mechanism but feel strongly that this should be recalled due to the high risk of death or injury when the tailgate opens unexpectedly. Below date is only the most recent occurrence; as stated above, this has occurred multiple times including approximately June 12, 2021, April 20, 2021, September 24, 2020, September 30, 2020, August 9, 2020, and November 24, 2019.

- Butte, MT, USA

Tailgate to truck has opened 3 times while driving between September and November 2019. I am not sure at the exact time and conditions that the tailgate opened but weather was raining mid-day on two of the occasions, the third was early morning. One of the times the tailgate opened was while towing a cargo trailer which resulted in damage to the top of the tailgate as it fell on the trailer tongue jack handle. As a newly retired navy Pilot I 'pre-flight' my truck and trailer before every drive checking safety chains, locks, tires and lights.

- New Braunfels, TX, USA

I have a 2017 Ford Super Duty F450 platinum. Multiple time the tailgate has dropped O its own while im driving the truck. Keys are resting in console not touching release button and drops on its own. Have checked and doubled checked closing firmly. Still opens intermittently. I have had multiple witnesses watch it happen. It has now happened when towing and destroyed the tailgate and could of caused and accident.

- Fulton, CA, USA

Brought my truck into the Ford dealership because the door was not latching closed at all. The truck is still under warranty and has less than 20K miles. Later that day the dealership called and told me the truck was fixed and ready to be picked up. Less than 48 hours later the latch again would not work. I drove the truck back to the dealership while holding the door closed with one hand so it wouldn't fly open in traffic. They again said it would be fixed and they told me I was giving them 'attitude' because I was upset that it didn't get fixed the first time. Once I got home I called another dealership and they informed me that there was actually a recall for this exact issue. My biggest gripe is that the first dealership never informed me of a known safety issue with my vehicle after bringing it in two times within a three day period. I found it to be alarming that they would send me back out on the road without fixing or even informing me about this potential hazard recall.

- Somerville, MA, USA