Tail gate won't stay closed
 

Anyone ever have problems with their tailgate opening while you were driving? I think it may have something to do with the rubber bump stops near the latches.

I posted this question as well...

My tail gate auto ejects... I'm going to spray down the inside latchs on the side with wd 40, with my tailgate I don't think the inside latchs are fully catching the the side pins..

No matter how hard or soft I close my tailgate, it opens at will...

Same here. Once or twice a week.

sounds like something is wrong or loose with your latch take it a part and make sure all the bolts are tight . had this problem a long time ago and it was just some loose stuff in the latch system.

if it is cold then the rubber stops will get hard and it takes some gusto to get the tailgate to latch so just try to limited tailgate use in the winter or just give it a good hard close and it will be fine. no need to hit it with another truck but you also cant be trying to close it while holding your purse. just give it a hefty push and you will be all good

hey bananahammock,
it is hard to close the tailgate while I am holding my purse. In all seriousness though, I am slamming it 5 or 6 times to get it just to catch. When i do slam it, I am afraid I am denting the sheet metal and when it doesn't latch, it bounces off.

I had this same problem with my 2000 Silverado. I had to take off the latch mechanism and work in some Anti-sieze into the joints as they were getting bound up. The springs just weren't strong enough to pull on the levers when they became all gunked up. It took about 10 minutes for each side of the lever working it back and forth before it became free of bind. Never had one problem after that and I owned the truck for almost 4years afterwards. I bet you guys are experiencing the same problem. That latch isn't releasing the rods to catch the locks enough. Taking it apart wasn't hard at all, just pop the plactic cap off the front, unscrew the 2 backside screws and there were clips that hold the rods to the lever.

I had the same problem as dirtydog with my Dakota. After a few years, the tailgate wouldn't always latch properly. I know it was something to do with the inner mechanics of the tailgate and they needed to be lubed, but I never took it apart to do so. I just dealt with it and slammed it 3 or 4 times to get it to catch.

I had the original post on this, I fixed the problem today. I took the access panel off the inside of the tail gate, about 10 torx screws. Then I sprayed WD_40 on the springs on the latches on the outside edges while i worked the rods back and forth, did this for about a minute on each side, put it back together and ....fix complete. Total time on this, about 10 minutes. The springs were just gunked up and wouldn't release back. Hope this helps.