Tail gate latch fail

[Riviot]

FWIW

Correction/Remedy:
- Tailgate (Adjust)
- Latch, Tailgate, LH (Remove and Replace)
- Latch, Tailgate, RH (Remove and Replace)

Parts: Quantity: Price:
E_RELEASE_TAILGATE_LATCH Part# PT00162182-C 1 $0.00

E_RELEASE_TAILGATE_LATCH Part# PT00162182-C 1 $0.00

(Same part # listed for both sides.)

And that's was just last month? Very strange, that's an older part#, they must've had some extra laying around.

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[BCondrey]

Whatever you do, don't try the entrapment button in the bed. If there is a problem with the tailgate opening, the alarm will drive you batty. Ask me how I know.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Continuous problems with R1T tailgate latch and finally this morning just completely failed. No response or hint of latching. Hard reset did nothing. 4th time over about 2 years the latch malfunction. Anyone else have this? Love the truck but this keeps happening - frustrating.

Going into shop. Suggestions welcome!

Ours had an issue fitting this description, and it was a known hardware failure. Fixed now.

Best wishes!

 

[TyeeMike]

during first year i had the tailgate showing as open when it was closed, and repaired by mobile service. a year later the latch would not hold at all and tailgate was not closing, so until i got a service at the depot in vancouver (richmond) i had duct taped the TG closed.

they replaced the latch assembly and for the past 2 weeks all good. fingers crossed.

 

[wolfsbane]

Had one tailgate latch fail while it was closed with tonneu cover on a few months after delivery last year. Couldn't access anything in the bed until mobile service came to replace the right tailgate latch. Crazy they have to jack up the vehicle and remove a rear wheel to access the manual tailgate release just to open it and do the work.

 

[Riviot]

Had one tailgate latch fail while it was closed with tonneu cover on a few months after delivery last year. Couldn't access anything in the bed until mobile service came to replace the right tailgate latch. Crazy they have to jack up the vehicle and remove a rear wheel to access the manual tailgate release just to open it and do the work.

... I'm assuming the manual tonneau? If you retract automatic tonneau, you can pull enough bolts off the side to reach in and yank the manual release line. Ask me how I know...

 

[wolfsbane]

... I'm assuming the manual tonneau?

yes; both the powered and the manual covers were unavailable when I bought my rivian. bought a manual one later when they finally came back out, and of course, if a tailgate latch fails while closed with that manual tonneau cover on, it's quite a process to get that tailgate open in order to replace the latch.

 

[gordonrands]

I've had problems with the tailgate failing to open several times. The truck has to live in our driveway and the problem seems to crop up after a freeze or snow. Sometimes it goes away after it warms up and sometimes it doesn't.

Mobile service tech came in early February '25 and found a bent left striker, which was prventing it from opening after being closed. He surmised it was due to an inadequate repair after a rear end accident (in December 2023 out in California that was repaired by an authorized collision center in Las Vegas) and was that a repair might not be covered. Took it to Normal IL service center on 3/10. Told them what the mobile service tech said. They replaced the 12 volt battery, adjusted (but did not replace) the latches and strikers, at no charge and it did open and close ... for a week.

On 3/17 we had to drive out of town so I wanted to put in the manual tonneau to help increase efficiency. But it had gotten cold overnight and there was frost on the tailgate button, and it didn't open. I put the tonneau cover in the backseat in case. By that afternoon it had warmed up and the tailgate opened, so I installed the tonneau cover and we drove home.

Today I figured I should report this problem which doesn't befit an "adventure truck" to the service center, went out to double check -- and it wouldn't open, and not because of any moisture issue. And now I have a tonneau cover on. Called service to report it, and while on the phone did a hard system reset and then checked and it still didn't open. So I scheduled another visit to the service center for next week. An hour later the service center called and said they had determined it was due to the accident so they couldn't service it, and I needed to have the collision center repair it. I pointed out that I live 2+ days away from Las Vegas. She replied "I understand your situation." I pointed out that I would be out west in July but until then would be driving a pickup without an accessible bed. "I understand your situation." I pointed out that I put the tonneau cover on because they said it was fixed. "I understand your situation." I was proud that I managed to get off the phone without yelling at her.

I then proceeded to spend several hours on the phone with my insurance company, the Bloomington IL collision center (who said that in their experience tailgates not dropping is a computer related problem), and the national Rivian Service # trying to get other people to understand my situation, and figure out how to get out of the Catch-22 I was in. Finally I got word that the Normal service center would -- at my expense -- drop the tailgate so I could remove the tonneau cover and take the truck to the Bloomington collision center so they could examine it and write up an estimate for my insurance company who would then authorize a supplement to the original claim. Not great, and no idea of how much them opening the tailgate would cost me, but at least a slight improvement.

Then I looked out and noticed that my door handles were still open several hours after my first phone conversation as I'd forgotten to turn Bluetooth back on in my phone. So I went out, and for the heck of it pushed the tailgate button -- and it dropped. I assume that the system reset worked, but didn't kick in immediately. So I removed the tonneau cover and made an appointment with the Bloomington collision center, and will cancel the appointment with the Normal service center. Presumably they will find out if it is due to damage to the vehicle from the accident or not.

But if not, what the heck is causing it? Cold weather? Moisture? Computer communication problems?

And if it is something more than a slightly out of alignment connection due to the accident, I wonder will Rivian really "understand my situation" and do something to finally fix the problem? The experiences reported by others in this thread doesn't make me very optimistic.

 

[Riviot]

what the heck is causing it? Cold weather? Moisture? Computer communication problems?

I'm back to having a faulty tailgate latch. Once again, it's only the passenger side latch, and it showed signs of failure before completely going out. Since I'm out of warranty, I assume they'll charge me for any repair despite getting it serviced 4 different times for the same issue, so I'm going to try DIY before asking them. And since they didn't figure it out after 4 tries between 3 different techs, I've lost faith in their abilities with this problem.

Facts:
-Latches have 3 positions; open, semi closed, fully closed
-Driver and passenger latches are the same part, just installed upside down from each other

First sign of failure: Passenger side doesn't fully open, goes to semi closed, so I press again and it opens.

Testing results:
-Once it partially failed the first time, I got about 5 more closures and openings before it completely failed
-If I unplug the latch and replug it, it'll actuate normally from either semi or fully closed position to open no more than 5 times; I tested it like 10 times and it was random how long it lasted before failure, but never more than 5
-Once it completely stops opening, if you manually push it closed, it'll read the tailgate as closed
-Tucking the latch away in the body void and using just driver side latch doesn't affect it, and keeps me from having a tailgate down annoyance

The fact it reads as in the closed position tells me the electrical/comms are fine. Power cycling the latch enables it to work a few times, but it always fails, makes me think it's a software issue. Next time I mess with it, I'll swap the passenger and driver latches, that'll tell me if it's an actual part issue or a wiring/software issue.

 

[Riviot]

I'm back to having a faulty tailgate latch. Once again, it's only the passenger side latch, and it showed signs of failure before completely going out. Since I'm out of warranty, I assume they'll charge me for any repair despite getting it serviced 4 different times for the same issue, so I'm going to try DIY before asking them. And since they didn't figure it out after 4 tries between 3 different techs, I've lost faith in their abilities with this problem.

Facts:
-Latches have 3 positions; open, semi closed, fully closed
-Driver and passenger latches are the same part, just installed upside down from each other

First sign of failure: Passenger side doesn't fully open, goes to semi closed, so I press again and it opens.

Testing results:
-Once it partially failed the first time, I got about 5 more closures and openings before it completely failed
-If I unplug the latch and replug it, it'll actuate normally from either semi or fully closed position to open no more than 5 times; I tested it like 10 times and it was random how long it lasted before failure, but never more than 5
-Once it completely stops opening, if you manually push it closed, it'll read the tailgate as closed
-Tucking the latch away in the body void and using just driver side latch doesn't affect it, and keeps me from having a tailgate down annoyance

The fact it reads as in the closed position tells me the electrical/comms are fine. Power cycling the latch enables it to work a few times, but it always fails, makes me think it's a software issue. Next time I mess with it, I'll swap the passenger and driver latches, that'll tell me if it's an actual part issue or a wiring/software issue.

For those suffering from latch madness, check to see if your wires are exposed on the connector pinned into the latch. Apparently those are NOT supposed to be showing, and older harnesses have less give/more tension, resulting in tears, rips, and bends. My first repair was a zip tie holding it tight to the latch, which bent the wire, and has caused these signal problems.

Harness is replaced, hopefully no more problems with this! But I feel validated for diagnosing wiring issue, and I'll likely try DIY fixing any wiring problems myself in the future. The harness itself is only $221, and looks pretty simple to replace.

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