|
What Paul is reporting isn't what your problem is. Paul is right about the lower part of the latch mechanism being redesigned to keep the hatch quiet.
Your problem is with the locking actuator assembly, which also is the outside release handle, to open the tailgate, it's all one piece.
Yes, there is a plastic piece which allows the actuator to lock and unlock the latch when you do it electrically. The inside manual sliding knob will still work if the actuator breaks, it's directly attached to the lock, so you would have to really be creative to consider this a safety defect.
The reason it would break, even though you never use the tailgate, is that when you push the unlock button the second time, it unlocks the other 3 doors (other than the drivers door) and the tailgate. Then of couse when you lock the doors, it also locks the tailgate, so the tailgate actually gets locked and unlocked alot, even if the gate is never opened.
We've replace quite a few of these actuators. Not lots and lots, like the window switches, but a fair amount.
With the actuator broke, you can also find the lock and actuator out of phase with each other, and can accidentally set off the anti-theft alarm. Hey, if you have a weak heart, or bad hearing, maybe this is a safety issue! That alarm is pretty loud!
Gilly
|