Boss has a 2019 F-350 he bought used. When you stop and put the truck in park, get out, and go back to open the tailgate, it is locked. I have been through the settings and can't find anything to change to auto-unlock without turning the truck off.
Checked with the local dealer and he wants $125 to hook up the computer and won't guarantee he can change anything but will "look around and see what he can do". Anyone have any experience with this issue and can point me in the right direction? Thanks from a new member!

 

Is the truck doors unlocked when this happens, does he have the remote in hand when he tries to open the tailgate, does the vehicle have the tailgate release button where the handle would be, does the vehicle have the taligate open button on the remote and if so does it work.

 

No, the other three doors are locked, as well as the tailgate. The remote has the key in it so it is in the ignition. Tailgate has the regular handle and no button. And the remote does not have a tailgate open button on it. This is a lower trim level "contractor" style truck.

 

So does it have a manual lock cylinder or a electronic locking tailgate.

 

It is an electronic locking tailgate. The lock works when you hit the unlock button on the driver's or passenger door. None of the other three doors or the tailgate unlock when you put the truck in park and the motor is running. I would like for all doors and the tailgate to unlock when the truck is put in park and the motor is running. As it is now they all unlock only when the ignition is turned off.

 

Straight out the workshop manual description of operation -Power Locking Tailgate

The power locking tailgate feature operates in conjunction with the front passenger power door lock.

When the front passenger door is electronically locked or unlocked, the tailgate is also locked or unlocked


Autolock

The autolock feature locks all of the doors after all of the following have occurred:

• All the doors are closed.
• The ignition is on.
• The vehicle is shifted into any gear to put the vehicle in motion.
• The vehicle attains a speed greater than 20 km/h (12.4 mph).

The auto lock feature activates again during the same ignition cycle when all of the following have occurred:

• The vehicle speed is reduced to less than 15 km/h (9.3 mph).
• A door is opened and then closed.
• The vehicle attains a speed greater than 20 km/h (12.4 mph).

The autolock feature can be enabled/disabled using the message center controls, if equipped.


Auto-Unlock

NOTE: The doors do not auto-unlock if the vehicle has been electronically locked before the driver door is unlocked.

The auto-unlock feature unlocks all of the doors when all of the following conditions have been met:

• All the doors are closed and locked.
• The ignition was on.
• The vehicle was shifted out of park and a speed greater than 20 km/h (12.4 mph) was achieved.
• The vehicle has come to a stop.
• The ignition transitions to accessory or off and, within 10 minutes, the driver door is opened.

The auto-unlock feature can be enabled/disabled using the message center controls, if equipped.

 

There are a whole lot of small settings that can be changed using IDS(dealers OBD2 program) but its very very extensive and Ford does not publish a list of what all you can change it personal preferences. It is possible there is a setting that can be changed to achieve what you want.
As far as I can tell if the unlock button is pushed when exiting the vehicle even with the engine running the tailgate should be unlocked.

 

Yes ,Scott, that is what happens, if I remember to push the unlock button when I exit the truck with the motor running. Since I only drive this truck one or two days a month (as does the boss), it is hard to form the habit of pushing the unlock button when getting out. It would be nice to have the tailgate work with the driver's door (duh!) but since the code was written by a guy who never drove a pickup regularly what should you expect. Thanks for your help and attention to detail, but I am still looking for an answer to "is it possible" before I spend the money at the dealer. Perhaps I should try several other dealers in the area and see what they tell me.

 

Happy to help, honestly you can talk to as many dealers as you want but the service advisors arent gonna be able to tell you what the programmable perimeters can or cannot do, the only way to know would be to have a tech hook up the computer and go through all the settings to see if they can make this adjustment, honestly I think its unlikely they will find a option for exactly what you want.
If he bought it used from a ford dealer and I assume are still making payments to that dealer you could ask sales if you guys can leave the truck with them and have service look into this, Ive had a few times where a customer bought the vehicle, wanted to change some setting or whatever strange thing and sales pre-approved and paid an hour of labor for me to screw with it and see if what the customer wants can be done.