2012 Expedition XLT lift gate latch jammed, gate is closed

brandonmoreland · Jun 29, 2018

New to the site, there is some great information on here!

I have 2012 Expedition XLT. The manual lift gate is closed, when I press the button on the back of the handle to open it you can hear the lock cycle and the door will open maybe an inch, but the latch won't release all the way keeping the lift gate form opening.

Is there manual way to get the latch to release? I have pulled the rear panel and played with the latch mechanism with no success.

Thanks in advance for the help!

bobmbx · Jun 29, 2018

Can you get some WD 40 into the mechanism? It may just be in need of lube. If it releases with the WD40, you'll need to apply some real lube. WD won't work for long (its not a lubricant)

stamp11127 · Jun 30, 2018

Find another 2012 to look at the latch mechanism operation on how it latches to the striker. There may be something else holding it since it moves an inch.

Plati · Jun 30, 2018

I had something like that on my clamshell snowmobile trailer. It wasn't the latch at all. It was another area completely keeping door from opening.

1997SCEBFEX · Jun 30, 2018

my hunch would be cable not fully releasing. if it's partially opening & you've removed the inside cover, suggest closing like normal, then try to release the latch mechanism. that's how my '97 got opened so I could replace the cables. newer models probably have a different setup?

report back.

Menard LaDouche · Jun 30, 2018

My 2011 had a problem with the latch (hard to close after the dog ate the plastic pull-down handle, which got stuck in the latch probably). Pulled the latch apart, used some WD40, etc., still a problem. Left it alone; it didn't fix itself. Later I went after it hard with WD40 and it works normal. There is nothing to stick except the cable, unless your actual trigger mechanism is bent, which is really doubtful.

It is hard to load the cable tube with WD40 since the tube is pointed upward. Either turn your car upside down for good oil penetration, or get a little messy, like I did.

brandonmoreland · Jul 1, 2018

Thanks for the replies. There actually isn’t a cable for the latch. It’s is electronic triggered by the switch on the outside handle.

I’ll take a look at another 2012 and see what I can learn. While I am figuring that out I’ll try get some additional liquid wrench or WD 40.

I’ll update later. Thanks!

brandonmoreland · Jul 4, 2018

No luck on this at all. I got to the point last night of trying to remove the tork bolts that secure the catch to the bottom of the car. I can't even get those to budge, even after heating them. Seems like the only option is to try and start cutting the lock out and replacing it.

Plati · Jul 4, 2018

Can you get the door open at all? Seems like you must be able to if you are going after those two torx on the latch pin.

On mine (2014). I press button once and can open door. If I close door ... lightly ... not all the way flush ... it latches in but only part way. At that point I can open door about an inch. I have to press pretty hard to get it to fully latch. In that intermediate position ... if I click button then I can open door. Does your door ever latch fully closed?

brandonmoreland · Jul 17, 2018

This sage is finally over. With the lock mechanism exposed by removing the panel on the inside I took a Dremel with a small cut off wheel and cut off the top section first (section that goes up towards the glass). Then I made a three cuts on the silver metal piece that runs across the top of the mechanism as you are looking down at it (see red lines on the picture below for where I cut). Once that was complete a little brute force to start getting the internal pieces out. Once I started getting those out the door opened and I was able to remove the remaining pieces of the old latch mechanism and install the new one. The prat number form Ford is 7843150 and was $107 from the dealer.

2012 Expedition XLT lift gate latch jammed, gate is closed

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