I have a 2016 Explorer that is having issues with the liftgate and electrical system. It seemed to get triggered by the car alarm going off randomly one morning. The liftgate is now seen as if it’s in the open position but it’s really not open. This causes all kinds of other issues such as interior lights staying on, etc. Plus the liftgate is stuck in the locked position. My Ford dealer is struggling to find the fix as they think it’s an Electrical issue but they can find the cause. I’m wondering if anyone else has seen this kind of sensor/electrical issue causing the rear liftgate to be stuck closed but the system thinks it’s open.

 

Is the liftgate just slightly open? I've had a few tailgate latches go bad which incorporates the ajar switch. Impractical to give you diag steps since the vehicle is at a shop so you can't do diag on it.

 

The liftgate was actually in the closed position and wouldn’t open with any of the controls. It was basically electronically locked but somehow tricked the sensors into thinking it was open. I couldn’t open the liftgate by any means and had to take it to the dealer. With the sensors thinking it was “open” it kept all the interior lights on even after I would shut off the car. The dealer has had it for over a week but can’t find the cause of the electrical issue. They did get the liftgate open and confirmed it wasn’t a mechanics issue with the latch. I just can’t believe it can’t be diagnosed after a week at a Ford dealership.

 

I agree a week is a long time, I will point out a lot of dealers are low on techs and backlogged with work so at some dealers a car will sit for a week before being touched due to first come first served.
That said if they have actually been doing diag on it for a week with no result I think its fair to take it to another dealer.
Obviously I can not see the vehicle and for all I know it has the strangest electrical issue no ones seen before and is being difficult to determine which expensive module is bad.

 

It all started ago back in December when I had to have my water pump replaced to fix my dead heating system. That costs $3,400 to replace on an Explorer. During this total engine removal to replace the water pump, they left something loose which caused a gradual oil leak. When I finally noticed this at home, I brought it back and they agreed they left something loose and took it back in to fix/secure. They very next morning after driving the Explorer home is when the car alarm went off and the liftgate/electrical problems started happening. It seems way to coincidental that this electrical problem happened the very next morning after the worked on the engine area for a 2nd time.

 

Let's face it , if it was that easy to pin down and fix, it would have been fixed already. This is one of those times when patience will pay off.

 

They actually figured out the issue and thought I would share. The keypad entry on the drivers door wound up be there culprit. That piece of electronics had failed and was causing a short every time back to the BCM (sp?) unit. They wound up disconnecting that keypad device and everything works great again. I have never used the keypad anyway so I didn’t go ahead and have it replaced since that would another $350. All good now and the service center learned something as well.

 

Keyless entry keypad causing lifegate issues, thats definitely a new one I would never have thought of.

 

Thanks for the update.

 

II have 2016 police explorer, The issue im having is with the liftgate. you are supposed to hit the unlock button inside and that gives 45sec to go back and open the trunk. However it dose nothing, it dose show that it is unlocked on the dash when pressing the interior button, I found that with the engine running and retesting all wiring am getting 12 to 13v. now with that said i can hear a chirp or almost squeak sound every time i push the button on the liftgate. once the 45sec is up it dose nothing. i am hearing the chirp under the dash by the fuse box i think. witch is just fuses and they are all good. good it be a bad bcm? that is the only issue. I also made some ground with forscan. I was able to turn off the police dark mode, everything works as normal with that. I also made sure to enable or turn on anything to do with liftgate or locks still no luck with the liftgate. its very annoying having to remove the key to open the trunk each time. I am so lost on this! if anyone has any ideas you would be a life safer.