— A Ford Super Duty power tailgate recall may not have done its job as truck owners report their power tailgates keep falling open even though they were allegedly repaired.
About 300,000 model year 2017-2020 Ford F-250, F-350 and F-450 Super Duty trucks are included in an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The government is investigating a Ford Super Duty power tailgate recall issued after truck owners complained the tailgates opened while the trucks were in motion.
Information from the December 2019 recall said 2017-2019 Ford F-250, F-350 and F-450 Super Dutys had electric tailgate latch-release switches inside the tailgate handles that could get wet and short-circuit. The switches activated and released the tailgate latches when the drivers weren't prepared or aware.
NHTSA opened its original tailgate investigation in October 2018 regarding unintentional openings of tailgates in 2017 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks. One truck owner said the tailgate opened about 17 times and caused damage to his vehicle.
In addition to physical damage, a power tailgate that suddenly opens can allow the cargo to fly out and damage other vehicles or their occupants.
In response to the investigation, Ford issued the Super Duty power tailgate recall for dealerships to add jumper pigtails to isolate the tailgate release control circuits. The trucks also received new tailgate handle release switches.
The U.S. Super Duty recall included more than 232,000 trucks and the automaker added another 30,000 recalled trucks in Canada.
The government closed its power tailgate investigation based on Ford's recall, but now safety regulators are questioning if the recall repairs were what the trucks needed.
NHTSA says it's received several complaints about tailgates that unintentionally opened even though the Super Duty trucks were repaired during the 2019 recall.
Ford has also received a confidential amount of reports of tailgates that opened while driving.
This latest action is what NHTSA calls a "recall query" to determine why the Ford Super Duty power tailgates are still opening when they shouldn't.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the Super Duty power tailgate probe.
