Liftgate issue: won't latch
Newbie
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
This worked great on my 2018 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. Thank you so much for posting! Totally saved me a trip to the dealer.
By the way, it took a little longer to take effect on my vehicle. I did the procedure and the lift gate went up and down with both the dash button and interior button in trunk but....the latch still did not latch. Had to abort the mission but to my surprise it worked when I came back to the vehicle about an hour later. It is working fine now!! Whoohoo!!
By the way, it took a little longer to take effect on my vehicle. I did the procedure and the lift gate went up and down with both the dash button and interior button in trunk but....the latch still did not latch. Had to abort the mission but to my surprise it worked when I came back to the vehicle about an hour later. It is working fine now!! Whoohoo!!
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 127
Likes: 2
From: DuPage County, Illinois
Year: 2014
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 3.2-liter V-6
Happy to help. You know, the number of people replying saying this helped them is a bit alarming. Seems to be a very common problem.
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Recurring Problem
sitting here again with a vehicle that won’t lock and an hour late for a work event.
I’m not leaving my vehicle unlocked in the city.The fuse trick is hit and miss for me, and no fun in the dark on a windy -20 winter night in Minnesota. So disappointed Jeep won’t adddress this.
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 4
Likes: 2
From: Cleburne, Texas
Year: 2015
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Engine: V6
Butter Fingers
The fuse trick appeared to have fixed the hatch issue, but when I went to start the car the next day it wouldn't turn over. It went through the motions of starting, all except actually starting. It was demonstrating some other odd behaviors, so I figured it was a software issue. Had to have it towed in, now they say there's a defect in the fuse panel and they have to replace it ($700). At first I thought my messing in the fuse panel created the problem, but now I think it was actually the root cause of the hatch issue to begin with. I'm just glad that it was sitting in my garage and not at an interstate rest stop when it decided not to start.
Also, the photo is different from our fuse panel......but the underside of the cover made finding the fuse easy.
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 90
Likes: 4
Model: Cherokee
This problem comes and goes and comes back again periodically. Another Jeep Software issue - like the many other software issues that continually crop up....pathetic. But thanks for posting this. Better than Jeep Customer Service responses!
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Woo hoo!!! This solved it! Thanks!!
popped the fuse. Stuck it back in. Started the Jeep. Manually closed liftgate. IT LATCHED! Then confirmed the buttons and fob were now working. HUGE SAVE! Thanks!!
I know this isn't a new issue, but I had trouble getting all the information together in one place.
Friday, for no apparent reason, my liftgate refused to close and lock. I could lower it, but (a) the latch wouldn't engage and (b) the dashboard info screen stayed on to let me know the gate was open. No matter what I did, including pushing it firmly, latched the gate closed. I knew this was a software issue, and looking around on the internet confirmed this. There's a fairly known fix for this, but the write up on how to do it was all over the place.
Here's what I did:
Worked for me; hope this works for you if anything like this happens to you. Pushing the lock button on the lift gate immediately screwed the liftgate into place and it's given me no problems whatsoever.
Friday, for no apparent reason, my liftgate refused to close and lock. I could lower it, but (a) the latch wouldn't engage and (b) the dashboard info screen stayed on to let me know the gate was open. No matter what I did, including pushing it firmly, latched the gate closed. I knew this was a software issue, and looking around on the internet confirmed this. There's a fairly known fix for this, but the write up on how to do it was all over the place.
Here's what I did:
- Raise the hood
- Locate the fusebox.
- Remove the cover: it has little pinch-clasps on the long sides. Squeeze them and the cover will pretty much come right off.
- Locate fuse number 50. It's a pink, 30A fuse. If you need help, the fuse layout is printed on the underside of the box cover for your convenience.
The fuse is the one of the two bigger pink rectangles near the center of the picture. See big "office tower" in the center of the photo? The pink ones are just to the right of it. (Ignore the circled red ones: I knicked this graphic from somewhere else.) - Pull out this fuse. (Refer to the diagram under the fusebox cover to ensure you pick the correct one!) Jeep gives you a fuse puller: in the picture above, it's the white blob located just under the two light blue rectangles. Lift it right out, and use it like tweezers to pluck out the fuse. It's not a great fuse puller, but it worked easily enough for me.
- Reinsert the fuse. Refer to the pink fuse next to it in case you forget which way it came out.
- Replace the fuse puller and box cover.
- Close your hood, if you're so inclined.
- Open and close the liftgate manually, or just push the "liftgate lock" button on the handle of the liftgate.
Worked for me; hope this works for you if anything like this happens to you. Pushing the lock button on the lift gate immediately screwed the liftgate into place and it's given me no problems whatsoever.
CF Veteran
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 4,365
Likes: 1,215
Year: 1989
Model: Comanche (MJ)
Engine: 4.0
If you start having other weird errors like the wipers not working or error messages on the dash, suspect the battery or the battery connections. The various computers, such as the body computer, are sensitive to voltage issues. The body computer in particular needs the fuse pulled to get it to reboot.
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Thanks for such a detailed walkthrough. It didn’t work for my 2017 Grand Cherokee though. I even went as far as replacing the auxiliary battery and still nothing. I’m not sure at this point if it’s a software issue and rather a hardware issue.
The locking mechanism is engaging but it’s just not latching. You can feel and hear it engaging. I’m so annoyed at this point as I feel insecure driving with my trunk open.
The locking mechanism is engaging but it’s just not latching. You can feel and hear it engaging. I’m so annoyed at this point as I feel insecure driving with my trunk open.
CF Veteran
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 4,365
Likes: 1,215
Year: 1989
Model: Comanche (MJ)
Engine: 4.0
Thanks for such a detailed walkthrough. It didn’t work for my 2017 Grand Cherokee though. I even went as far as replacing the auxiliary battery and still nothing. I’m not sure at this point if it’s a software issue and rather a hardware issue.
The locking mechanism is engaging but it’s just not latching. You can feel and hear it engaging. I’m so annoyed at this point as I feel insecure driving with my trunk open.
The locking mechanism is engaging but it’s just not latching. You can feel and hear it engaging. I’m so annoyed at this point as I feel insecure driving with my trunk open.
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Twin Cities, MN
Year: 2015
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Engine: 3.2 V6
Just wanted to add that I have this same issue on my 2015 Latitude. It has happened about a dozen times over the years I've owned it (210,000 miles on it), every time but once pulling the fuse fixed it. One time, though, I could not get it to reset no matter how many times I pulled the fuse. I popped the cover off the hatch interior to start digging into the latch mechanism. I unplugged and each connector, sprayed a little electrical connector cleaner on them, reconnected them, put the fuse back in, and it worked. Now that I think about it, it hasn't given me trouble since. So maybe one connection was just a little spotty, and either the act of pulling them apart or cleaning them may have helped. Now that I type this, I'm sure it will act up soon
Kevin
Kevin
