Power Liftgate Not Working

[benreed405]

I have a 2018 MAX XLT with a power liftgate. It was working properly until it opened at an inopportune time. I had a bike rack attached to the trailer hitch and the hands free liftgate got signaled causing the trunk to open up into the bikes. On the way back down it got stuck on a bike pedal. Since then, when I press the fob or the interior liftgate button, the trunk unlatches, but does not lift. I have checked fuses and followed the reset procedures, disconnected the battery and followed the reset procedures, and even replaced both motor liftgate arms thinking those could have been damaged. Any other ideas I should try? Thanks!

 

[harleytrike]

Try openning all the way by hand. Then pres and hold colse button to reset to open all the way.

 

[wakeboarder]

Maybe the truck automatically disabled the power liftgate after the incident. Verify that the power liftgate is enabled in the instrument cluster settings.

 

[benreed405]

Try openning all the way by hand. Then pres and hold colse button to reset to open all the way.

I tried this morning. I got the beep acknowledging that the height was reset, but it did not solve the issue of the liftgate raising and lowering on its own. Thanks for the idea though.

 

[benreed405]

Maybe the truck automatically disabled the power liftgate after the incident. Verify that the power liftgate is enabled in the instrument cluster settings.

I also confirmed that the liftgate is enabled vias the settings in the instrument cluster. Thanks for the idea though. Wish it would have been simple like that.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

I also confirmed that the liftgate is enabled vias the settings in the instrument cluster. Thanks for the idea though. Wish it would have been simple like that.

Perhaps start vehicle and disable the automatic lift gate feature in the settings option?

Shut off vehicle. Restart, and re enable the automatic lift gate feature in the settings option?

 

[John Ferrero]

I had a similar issue, power liftgate not lifting but unlocking, but not from a jam issue it just manifested itself one day. I tried all the resets/height adjustments/pulled fuses/etc. to no effect. Solution that worked, a s/w reload at the dealer ($140ish-OUCH...). The downside to lots of motors/actuators/SW/etc., more failures/issues to address. Has worked since, approx. 1yr/1million lifts later. Good luck!!!

 

[benreed405]

I had a similar issue, power liftgate not lifting but unlocking, but not from a jam issue it just manifested itself one day. I tried all the resets/height adjustments/pulled fuses/etc. to no effect. Solution that worked, a s/w reload at the dealer ($140ish-OUCH...). The downside to lots of motors/actuators/SW/etc., more failures/issues to address. Has worked since, approx. 1yr/1million lifts later. Good luck!!!

Thanks, John. I think that is my next best option.

 

[foggy]

I purchased a 2019 Expedition a few weeks ago knowing the rear power liftgate wasn't functioning as designed. It would do the same - unlatch via remote or instrument panel button, but would not raise or lower automatically.

Tried pulling control module fuse, activating/deactivating power liftgate, and unhooking the battery but was not able to make any headway. I borrowed a OBD2 code reader (XTool D7 diagnostic tool) from a friend, and found trouble codes B144F:79-0A (Motor of Tailgate/Liftgate/Boot/Trunk Driver) and B144E:29-0A (Position Sensor 2 of Tailgate/Liftgate/Boot/Trunk) for the liftgate control module (more codes can be found here for reference.) When I cleared the codes, the lift gate would attempt to raise/lower, but the driver's side would not seem to move as fast as the passenger side. Ordered a lift gate cylinder ($138.84 shipped) and installed. Install was a bit of a pain. Had to remove a good bit of trim as well as the pan in which the tire jack assembly sits.

Once installed, same issue. Would unlatch via remote or instrument panel button, but would not raise or lower automatically. Tried aforementioned remedies, but had to borrow friend's code reader again to clear codes. Once codes were cleared, everything began functioning as designed.

 

[benreed405]

I was able to take it to a local mechanic who had a newer scan tool. Diagnostics showed that the trunk was in “limp mode”. Mechanic reset the code and the issue was resolved! No issues since.

 

[Overtow]

I was able to take it to a local mechanic who had a newer scan tool. Diagnostics showed that the trunk was in “limp mode”. Mechanic reset the code and the issue was resolved! No issues since.

I was working on a deck and had to haul lumber two weeks ago, some of the pieces were 12ft long and the hatch obviously wouldn't close. My kid still decided to press the automatic close button and when the liftgate hit the lumber and could not close, it gave up and went into limp mode - the button on the liftgate, dash, and keyfobs all were completely inoperative. After reading this thread I decided to hook up my ForSCAN to see if there were any DTCs (there were!), here is what I did to fix the problem:

This is what I saw when I first connected/scanned, notice the two codes - one for "RGTM" and one for "BdyCM". I cleared RGTM first, then BdyCM:

(Its been a few days, but I *think* that I tried the buttons after clearing this one code and this solved the problem with the hatch)



Second ForSCAN screenshot, just after clearing RGTM and just before clearing BdyCM:



The liftgate is working fine now, hopefully this thread/post saves someone the $150+ dealer cost to do what literally took me <3 minutes. Good Luck!

 

[diablodelsol12]

I was able to take it to a local mechanic who had a newer scan tool. Diagnostics showed that the trunk was in “limp mode”. Mechanic reset the code and the issue was resolved! No issues since.

Did the mechanic use the Forscan tool? After reading this thread it seems like this may be my next step before replacing parts.