Possessed Tailgate, resolved with service details

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I guess this is my first actual failure since July ‘23 delivery. Since new the tailgate has misbehaved a few times, but it has always “fixed” itself with a squirt of lube on the latches. Not this time. Yesterday and most of today I was able to drive with only a malfunction warning in the mobile app. Now, it’s full-on unhappy. Loose objects/animal warning in driver display, as shown, along with continuous audio warning, until shut off/lock. Tailgate is up and stays up, though passenger side has visibly more give when I push on that end. Miraculously, I was able to secure appointment at Lake Forest SC this Friday. Think it will be same day repair?

PS— mobile app shows tailgate dropping perpetually.

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[Dark-Fx]

Totalled. I haven't seen this message in probably 3 years. It could be a result of your egress button acting up.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Totalled. I haven't seen this message in probably 3 years. I think it's a result of your egress button acting up.

Could be! Ha

 

[COdogman]

I find it suspicious they narrowed down the potential causes to those 3 specific options, but left out other more likely possibilities

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

The devil like it warm? This afternoon, just minutes after taking call from Rivian SC, the tailgate decided it was warm enough to be nice (66° ambient). No warning of loose creatures in the back. No perpetually dropping tailgate in app. The red tailgate icon in driver display is also gone. And while on the phone with SC I decided to try my luck and ask if I could come in sooner and they said "sure, any time tomorrow!" I'll be extra shocked if they actually start work tomorrow, or be done before the week is over.

One interesting thing... They said my T was flagged to have hub bolts re-torqued. I informed them it was done this past January. After some research, they said the torque spec has changed again since. If you've had this service bulletin done in the past, you might want to check in with your SC.

 

[Cycliste]

Well, I see little green men on the side of the road all the time. Never had one hop in the bed of the truck though. They just stand there.

I have never gotten a warning with a bicycle in the bed, around 1,000 times so far. It isn’t a "loose" bicycle.

 

[VSG]

In the early days there were a few reports of a very similar problem with the gear tunnel doors, with the vehicle warning that there was a person, animal, or loose cargo in the gear tunnel.

The common fix I remember was that the emergency exit button on the inside of the gear tunnel wasn't snapped into the trim completely, and was wiggling around.

So I suspect, like @Dark-Fx said, that the emergency exit button in your bed is the source of the problem here. It's that big white button above the outlets inside your bed on the passenger side rear. Perhaps it got banged up and damaged or dislodged. I think everyone has this button, even those poor unfortunate souls who don't have an automatic tonneau cover.

If that's the case, it should be an easy fix for the service center or mobile tech.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Neither gear tunnel emergency release buttons were dislodged or pressed against.

Update today from SC:
“tech discovered tailgate is not receiving proper voltage, will resolve and replace both latches (as preventative measure).”

Meanwhile, the Enterprise Chevy Equinox (gasser) and its Google powered nav thinks I’m plowing through neighborhoods 2 miles away from the roads I’m actually on. And the overly sensitive radar is constantly vibrating the driver seat (and my colon). Cannot recommend, unless you’re into that.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Just picked up. Another stellar experience at Lake Forest, CA SC.

Tailgate portion of invoice:

They retighten hub bolts to new specs. I also had a squeaky driver door latch (interior), which I thought they’d just lube. But they replaced the whole assembly.

And, back in January they said dash rattle was not present, so they couldn’t do anything. At drop off Wednesday I casually mentioned it to staff, who is also a T owner, and she knew exactly what I was talking about. It got fixed!

PS—They had to uninstall my Builtright molle panels in order to remove the bed trims (to get to tailgate latches) and they did not charge me labor; though they could have. They left it uninstalled once done, which is what they told me beforehand. Totally understandable.

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