Power tailgate opens unintended

What NHTSA is examining

By letter dated December 4, 2019, Ford Motor Company (Ford) notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of a safety defect that may exist in model years (MY) 2017 through 2019 Ford Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450 vehicles equipped with an electric tailgate. Following the receipt of five consumer complaints alleging unintended tailgate opening without vehicle operator knowledge, while the vehicles were in motion, NHTSA opened this investigation to assess the manufacturer's data including warranty claims, field reports, design changes, etc.In vehicles equipped with an electric tailgate, water can enter the electrical wiring system and may cause a short circuit resulting in the unintended activation and release of the tailgate latch. This could allow unintended opening of the tailgate while the vehicle is in motion.Analysis of the data provided by Ford found that the frequency of a tailgate opening unintended was high in vehicles equipped with electric tailgates. Unintended tailgate opening without vehicle operator knowledge may result in loss of unrestrained cargo, increasing the risk of a crash. In response to this investigation, Ford decided to conduct recall 19V-864.Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford dealer to modify the tailgate/frame wiring harnesses by adding jumper pigtails to isolate the tailgate release control circuits, and will install a new tailgate handle release switch. With recall action 19V-864 taken by Ford…

Vehicles under investigation