So my other vehicle is a 2008 Chrysler Aspen, which is basically the same as a Durango Limited (which is why I am posting this question here). The rear lift gate seems to not be able to unlock. Here's what happened that brought about this problem.

We where driving along and realized we needed something out of the back. I pulled over to the side of the road. I put the Aspen in park, left it running, and pressed the button on the overhead console to open the rear gate. It opened fine. My wife ran out and grabbed something out of the back. When she got back in, I wasn't really paying any attention to what she had done, I thought she had just closed it by hand. I put it in drive to go. She reminded me that the rear was still open. So I put it back in park, pressed the overhead button again. The rear hatch closed like it usually does no problem. Then we drove on to our destination. When we got there, I parked, shut the Aspen off. I got out and tried to then open the rear gate by hand, Nothing. I tried using the button on the key fob. Nothing. Tried the button on the overhead console inside. Nothing. Nothing I did would make it open. It just beeps one time and does nothing else. When I hit the unlock button, it doesn't sound like the rear gate is unlocking at all. So I think it is stuck locked. Any ideas? I tried driving around some more, and made sure it was in park before trying to open it.

Also, is there a way to open it from the inside by hand (like an emergency exit thing)?

 

There is an panel on the bottom of the door that can be opened. My manual claims there is a crank inside that compartment, but I never opened it to verify. Did the Aspen come with a manual? Dodge's website has a downloadable PDF under Vehicle Information on the left:

https://www.dodge.com/hostb/crossbrand/owners/en/

FF

 

Ya, it has a manual, but I didn't see anything about that in it. I'll look again. Thanks for the link.

 

So I ended up taking it to the dealership. What they found is that it had a computer issue that they have documented in a TSB (I didn't get the number). There was nothing wrong with the latch or lock mechanisms. Basically, under certain conditions the computer thinks there is a problem when there is not (a false positive), and it locks it out. They reflash that parameter to prevent this programming error from happening again. That took care of it. All they charged me for was the diagnostic time.

 

I had a problem opening mine since I got it. This might not be related to yours but it eventually wouldn't open at all. I took it to the dealer and since I had complained about it since before the warranty was up they replaced the lock mechanism for free.