4x4Hank

I can relate. It’s incredibly frustrating. I had a 2022 2500 in which the dealer replaced at least a half dozen switches. I had more inner switches fail than outer switches. I siliconed the drain holes in the top grab handle but still had a couple of switches fail after that. In the two years that I owned the truck the tailgate was broken longer than it was working properly. I got rid of the truck and bought a 24 Denali. I’ve only had it a month but the first thing that I did was to fill the entire top grab handle indentation with black silicone caulk. Plugging the holes keeps the water out but then the indentation fills with water/ice so I caulked it flush to eliminate that. So far so good. Hopefully, GM has a better batch of switches now.

Has anyone ordered any safes from Lock’er Down? I ordered a console safe on July 1st and have yet to receive it. They did tell me on 7/11 that they were backed up. I have tried to contact them since but they have not answered my last two email inquiries regarding the current status. Typically when items are back ordered businesses usually don’t charge you until it’s back in stock and/or shipped. They charged me $481.06 in July 2nd. I have purchased their products before and I have found that their quality is better and thicker gauge than the console safes from GM but I never had to wait this long. thanks, Hank

As someone that had two GM vehicles with the dreaded A8 shudder, yes! It sounds very similar indeed.

It sounds very similar to the very problematic GM 8spd transmission symptoms.

I didn’t spend a whole lot of time searching in my electronic owners manual but I found wireless CarPlay referred to a few times.

Maybe the GMC’s are different than the Chevy’s with respect to the Infotainment System.

My 2022 does.

“Wireless CarPlay works fine most startups, then just won’t on others” I have this happen occasionally on my 2022. I haven’t kept track but maybe once every 100 startups so I haven’t considered it a terrible nuisance although it can be irritating.

I’m not sure what I think the cause is. My fob started acting up sporadically (and yes, I tried new batteries). Both on locking/unlocking and with the ignition. I took it in today thinking that maybe the BCM was also the cause of that (in addition to a previous BCM problem with the tailgate). Diagnosis was faulty fob and they ordered me a new one. I did silicone (a couple of neat inconspicuous dabs-no slathering) my tailgate grab handle drain holes long ago. It didn’t help. I’ve posted that I lost track of how many switches I have had replaced, mostly inner tailgate. The recall does not have a remedy as of 2/9/24 but I read that there is a stop order on all new sales so I suspect that a fix shouldn’t be too far off since GM no doubt doesn’t like to see zero sales of a high profit vehicle. Hank

Hopefully

On the way to the dealership this morning I was sitting parked inside the truck and the flashers would blink 3 times real fast and stop. 10 seconds later it would do it again. This simulates the 3 fast blinks on the taillights that happens when the inner tailgate lockout is activated. When I got to the dealer the inner tailgate switch was working! The dealer checked the Body Control Module and evidently it threw a code. They reprogrammed the BCM. So far so good.

Yes, I’m aware of the lockout feature for the inner tailgate. Actually I thought that it was 5 seconds but either way it’s not that. I’ve used that before when I had a bumper pull trailer last year but I switched to a fifth wheel this year so I haven’t had to lock out that feature. It could be another wiring issue however when at the dealer they replace the switch and it will then work for a while anyway. If it’s a wiring issue shorting out the switch wouldn’t it blow a fuse first? It doesn’t seem coincidental that after I hosed out the bed of the truck and the tailgate that I had the switch go bad the very next morning. I have an appointment tomorrow so I’ll ask the technician if he thinks that the problem could be up the line and not the switch itself. The entire problem doesn’t make sense however there is a TSB on the switches getting wet.

Well, chalk up another inner tailgate switch. I started to head out this morning and my dash said “Inner Tailgate Open.” So I checked and it wasn’t open nor was it even unlatched. I tried to open it but the switch was not working. The main tailgate switch worked fine. Whenever I tried the inner tailgate the taillights would blink three times. I started the truck up and the flashers would blink three times, stop, and then blink again. I opened and closed the main tailgate several times to see if that would clear it but it didn’t help. The lights quit flashing eventually and they also quit flashing when I pressed the inner tailgate switch. But the switch never worked again, not that I expected it to after that. Truthfully I have lost count now as to how many switches have been replaced. I do know that most of them have been the inner tailgate switch. Late yesterday, I had the truck bed loaded with firewood so when I was done unloading I hosed the bed out. I’m even more certain than before that water intrusion is the culprit. Why water doesn’t have that same effect on everyone’s truck I have no idea. Back to the GMC dealer on Monday. This is getting real old!

Well the good news is that they didn’t have to order a switch, they had one. They claim to have tested the wiring and they don’t think that’s the issue. The tailgate would open fine from the fob and the dash button. I had a new service manager this time that I hadn’t dealt with before and he shared his theory that it’s water from the drain holes. I told him that I plugged the holes. He didn’t have an answer after that. Even though it’s a PIA running to the dealer every few months for a switch replacement at least it’s covered under warranty. I’m concerned what will happen once my truck is out of warranty.

Well I had another tailgate switch go bad. This time the main tailgate switch. I’m sitting at the dealership right now waiting for a diagnosis but it’s not my first tailgate rodeo so I’m pretty sure that I know the drill. They will come get me in the waiting room and say that they have to order a switch. I’m kind of losing count at this point however I think that this will be the second main tailgate switch replacement. There has also been two inner tailgate switch replacements. I siliconed the holes on the top of the tailgate after the last inner switch replacement so I’m not sure what could have caused another failure other than maybe the damage was already done before I sealed the drain holes. Whatever is causing the failures it’s very irritating!

I think that it’s fairly obvious that the holes are for draining the water out of the indentation/grasping handle. That indentation seems to be a little useless to me since the tailgate opens quite easily without having to pull on it. That being said I suppose a good amount of water could run through those holes particularly if you have a tonneau cover and either driving in the rain or parked with the back of the truck lower while it’s raining. I haven’t had the tailgate apart to see what the inside looks like so all I have to go by is what the GMC technician told me, and he said that that the water that drains from those holes runs right over the switches. He may be right or he might be all wet (pun intended), regardless, I can’t see that it does any good to allow extra water to run inside the tailgate when two simple dabs of silicone (not lathered) in the holes prevents it. I have yet to have anyone see my truck and exclaim: “Yikes, why is your tailgate all lathered with silicone?” I also highly suspect that you are correct and that they are cheap Asian switches.

Well it’s not really “smearing.” It’s just a couple dabs of silicone in the two holes that really can’t be seen. I used clear because that’s what I had. But if I had to buy some special I would have bought black and that might better than clear. Knock on wood, I haven’t had a switch go bad since I plugged the holes.

Well once the switches are replaced the tailgate operates fine and doesn’t malfunction. Also, when my inner tailgate switch goes bad the inner tailgate just flat out doesn’t work. It won’t open. Once the switch is replaced then it will open. Key fob/software coincidence? The GMC technician/mechanic apparently thinks that it’s a legitimate problem. If it was software, swapping out the switch would not remedy the problem. Just because you haven’t had the issue doesn’t necessarily mean that other people can’t have the problem. As a for instance, many people have had the GM 8 speed transmission shuddering/hesitation problems. But not everyone. GM came out with their remedy for the different trans fluid and the triple flush. So were the people that were experiencing the problems imagining it because not everyone was having a problem? Some people get flat tires and others don’t! Trust me, I have much better things to do with my time then sitting at a GMC dealer waiting for a tailgate switch to be removed, then waiting for a new switch to get shipped to the dealer and then go back again to have that switch installed if I thought that there was another cause to the problem. I’m sorry that you find a problem that you are fortunate enough to not have “hard to believe.”

I’m curious as to if anyone with a 24 with the MultiPro tailgate can tell me if it still has the indentation with the drain holes in the top of the tailgate or if GMC/Chevy got smart and decided not to let water enter the tailgate and run down inside onto the electronics. I’m asking because I am in my third inner tailgate switch (I have now siliconed the holes on my 22 as recommended by the GMC technician). thanx Hank

I don’t see a link

Was there any diagnosis on your problem? It sounds scary!

He said to silicone them

I brought my truck to the dealer for turn signal and brake light errors. As luck would have it my inner tailgate switch that was on back order FOR A MONTH arrived while my truck was there so the mechanic installed it right away. The mechanic said that it’s not a sealed waterproof switch. The mechanic also said the my light problem was probably because of the tailgate switch shorting out since it’s all connected back there. The lights needed to be reprogrammed. After I got home I immediately siliconed the two holes on the top of the tailgate. I don’t want to have to go through this faulty tailgate switch every few months or problems with the lights because of the switch problems. I love the features of the MultiPro Tailgate but there is definitely a design flaw with the switches since so many are failing. The service department says that there has not been a TSB issued with regards to the failing switches.

Agreed.

So, I assume that the drain holes are there to keep the indentation/pull handle from filling up with water and ice. I'm not sure if the drain holes are the culprit with the faulty switches but if they are the cause that is pretty pi$$ poor engineering! Hank