issue Tailgate cables different lengths

SF Silverado · June 5, 2014

Just checked mine and the passenger side has a slight slack to it but as soon as I put a little pressure on my tailgate it tightened right up.

ssv1761982 · June 8, 2014

I wasted two hours taking mine back to the dealer to get the cables replaced. The new cables are worse and have the big MADE IN CHINA tags. They also stick out between the tailgate and tail lights.

I wish I would have searched here first.

Did anybody notice the tail gate does not go down flush with the bed?

Jon A · June 8, 2014

It's not just the cables, if you swap the cables side to side, if it was loose on the left side and tight on the right it may still be loose on the left and tight on the right. This indicates the mounting points are to blame even more than the cable length.

The design of this tailgate makes for very short cables. Very short cables mean any tiny variation in length/mounting point distance will cause this condition much more noticably than prior designs. Build variation vehicle to vehicle simply isn't going to allow both cables to fit the same on every vehicle.

If you want the problem fixed, take a few minutes with a die grinder and lengthen the slots on the "short" cable very slightly. It only takes a tiny bit to even them out. You can have the dealer replace cables until the end of time and it won't likely ever fix the problem.

Also, as noted above, the tailgate doesn't sit parallel with the bed, even once you've evened out the cables. I really wish they made the cables slightly longer but they don't. Hopefully they'll change that soon. Anyway, I took a little material off both of mine to lower the tailgate as it interfered with my Cargo Glide. People will need to individually evaluate how much material they'd need to take off on their individual truck and decide for themselves, but as I said just a little bit of material removed can make a noticeable improvement.

GMC-AT · June 8, 2014

good insight... but in the end there is no way I'm taking a die grinder to my new 45K truck....for anything.

M1Tanker · June 9, 2014

It is not the cables.

The dealer took mine off and checked that they are the same length...then proceeded to put them on the wrong sides from what they were labelled. When they do this, the cables stick out the sides of the gate when closed.

I took another look at mine this weekend and all of the mounting points seem to measure out the same, but when you step back a good 50 feet and look at the tailgate when closed, it appears that the bottom left of the tailgate is a little bit lower than the right, thus creating the slack. The funny thing is, the top of the tailgate appears to be level to the naked eye...go figure.

Anyhow, mine has quite a bit of slack, enough that you cannot tighten it up with weight.

hicountry · June 9, 2014

This is deja vu, guys. Read my link in the post # 11 on this page. These posts go back to 2004 when this problem surfaced. About 4 million GM trucks were recalled for this problem back then. Apparently GM did not take any steps to prevent reoccurrence.

BTW, this is a safety issue as the single cable holding the weight of the tailgate plus the load can fail under heavy load such as moving an ATV over the tailgate, then the load is transferred to the slack cable, which is then shock loaded and can fail. This can have ugly consequences and result in damage to the tailgate, personal injury, or worse. Do not ignore this issue. There is no excuse for this.

I remember a recall for these cables on a 2000 Siverado I had, but I don't remember it being for uneven lengths, as I recall then it was just that the cables were deteriorating and subject to breaking under any kind of load. Seems to me the originals were made in Mexico, I remember the "Made in China" tag on the new ones.

Jon A · June 11, 2014

good insight... but in the end there is no way I'm taking a die grinder to my new 45K truck....for anything.

I do understand that sentiment. However, many times in life if you want something "done right" your only option is to ____________. It become a question of, "do you want the problem fixed or not?"

And of course the cables are only about a $35 part.

Silverado-Hareek · June 11, 2014

Noticed yesterday when I made a trash run to the dump that I have a ton of slack in the cable on my driver side. When I stood on the tailgate, it tightened a little but still had tiny bit of slack meaning the cable on the passenger side is carrying all of the load on the tailgate.

j-ten-ner · June 11, 2014

I've had the same problem on my F350 work truck.

Depending on the load and whether the truck was sitting on a level surface the cables were tight or sluggish on either side.

There is no reason to fabricate two different lengths of those cables. I mean we live in the 21 century...

But even the stiffest frame or truck bed will twist just a little.

And that's enough to make one of the cables appear lose.

Remember a worn out drive belt. It seems like the new one has to be at least 1" shorter to fit.

In reality it is only 1/4 or 1/2 of an inch to sit tight again.

so long

j-ten-ner

mdmischief · June 12, 2014

This is nothing new. My 2005 Canyon has this. And I've seen trucks from the 90's with the same.

M1Tanker · June 20, 2014

Soo...no fix in sight then?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

M1Tanker · June 24, 2014

I just noticed there is indeed a bulletin on this today. It indicates it is normal for only one side to be tensioned with no load on the gate due to normal build variance. It did indicate they should both have tension with a load on the gate. Sounds like the OP had one a bit further out than what is normal.

Can you please post or pm me the bulletin number. Mine do not both have tension with a load on the gate.

1kwik72 · June 24, 2014

Can you please post or pm me the bulletin number. Mine do not both have tension with a load on the gate.

#PIT3227J: Tailgate Cable Slack - (Jan 28, 2014)

Subject: Tailgate Cable Slack

Models: 2002 - 2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT 2002 - 2013 Chevrolet Avalanche 1998 - 2000 Chevrolet C/K Classic 2004 - 2012 Chevrolet Colorado 1999 - 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Classic 2007 - 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1998 - 2004 Chevrolet S10 1999 - 2007 GMC Sierra Classic 1998 - 2000 GMC C/K Classic 2007 - 2015 GMC Sierra 1998 - 2004 GMC Sonoma 2004 - 2012 GMC Canyon

This PI was superseded to update model years. Please discard PIT3227H.

The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.

Condition/Concern

Some customers may comment that with the tailgate down, one of the tailgate cables may have slack in it.

Recommendation/Instructions

No repair attempts should be made - as this is normal due to build variation. In most cases, when weight is put on the tailgate the slack comes out of the cable

Don't shoot the messenger LOL

Craig

M1Tanker · June 25, 2014

Thanks fella...good start for me.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Spurshot · June 25, 2014

good insight... but in the end there is no way I'm taking a die grinder to my new 45K truck....for anything.

He's talking about removing the cable from the truck and lengthening the slot on the Chinexico cable end. I had to do this with both cables on my 2008 to allow my tailgate to drop far enough to allow the bed drawers I have for my guns, to open. A tiny amount goes a long way.