A recall was issued for select 2017-2019 Ford Super Duty pickups back in December of 2019 addressing tailgates that could open unintentionally. In affected trucks, the latch-release switch allowed water to come into contact with the truck’s wiring, which could lead to a short. Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into the matter after it received a number of complaints that Ford’s proposed fix wasn’t working, and now, a Ford Super Duty power tailgate lawsuit has been filed for the very same reason, according to Car Complaints.
The Ford Super Duty power tailgate lawsuit – Cunningham, et al., v. Ford Motor Company – was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and has been expanded to include 2017-2021 model year Super Duty pickups equipped with electronic tailgate latch release switches. It alleges that Ford’s proposed fix – which involved modifying the tailgate frame wiring harness by adding jumper pigtails to isolate the tailgate release control circuits and installing a new tailgate handle release switch – did not fix the problem.
Roughly 300,000 trucks are reportedly affected by the tailgate issue, including 2020 and 2021 model year Super Duty pickups, which Ford has not included in the recall despite complaints that some of those trucks are experiencing the same problem. Ford began incorporating an updated tailgate release switch and wiring harness jumper effective with the 2020 model year beginning on November 4th, 2019.
Additionally, the two plaintiffs who filed the class-action lawsuit allege that in addition to water leaks, the tailgate latch isn’t strong enough to keep it in place, and there may be additional wiring flaws present as well