‘24 Owners Who Removed Tailgate

[Chadx]

New to the forum and following this. I have a 2024 F-350 Lariat Tremor that was built in January, 2024, and am having the exact same issues with the tailgate delete (IE: auto-folding mirrors don't work, tailgate open warnings, backup assist doesn't work, etc). I'm not sure what the bypass harness does other than protect the frame mounted connectors.

Sorry to hear you are having the same issue. It's an issue. Are you going to take it to your dealership? If you do, please firmly insist they open a ticket with Ford (because they won't be able to fix it).

 

[Mister Bevilaqua]

I went ahead and ordered the Gate King locking hinges so I won't be removing my tailgate for feedback like planned.

 

[Chadx]

You mentioned earlier that you manually fold the mirror via remote. How do you do that? I still have my tailgate, but as you know come late September ...

Hey @Chris-DTA
When the 'autofold side mirrors upon locking' option is selected in the onscreen menu, then the mirrors will fold when you lock the truck, be that with the lock button on the door, the keypad, or the fob lock button. However, with the "tailgate ajar" issue, none of those will autofold the mirrors because it thinks something is ajar. Same occurs if the passenger compartment has a door slightly ajar. The truck still locks, but the autofold mirrors don't fold in.
My wording wasn't clear in my original post regarding folding the mirror manually. I meant that I can still manually fold the side mirrors by hitting the mirror fold button inside the truck (on the door); not with the fob.

If you want an example of the impact to autofolding mirrors, turn on the autofolding mirrors via the screen menu and ensure it works by being outside the window and locking it by any method; the mirrors will autofold. When you unlock, they will auto-unfold. Now drop the tailgate, which simulates the tailgate ajar issue, and lock it again. I'd expect the truck to lock but the mirrors to not autofold.

Side note: I decided I don't like autofold anyway day-to-day because when I park in my shop, I want them closed, but I want to be able to get into the truck without them unfolding because then they are in the way when moving about the shop or working on the truck. Auto-fold is nice, however, when parking in public not only to keep them out of others way, but as a clear indicator, from a distance, that your remembered to lock the truck.

I just received my FORScan cable and so will start playing with that soon and one thing that sounds interesting is the Lincoln style autofold mirrors. My understanding is that it will automatically unfold when the driver's door is opened and then (A.) the door is shut while unlocked; or (B.) the ignition is started; whichever occurs first. The benefit of this style is the mirrors do not unfold immediately when unlocked. If you lock the door before closing it, they will not auto-unfold. You can unlock and grab something out the vehicle and relock before closing the door and they won't move. Or, you can hit the lock button before getting and close it and they won't unfold, but once you start the vehicle, then they will auto-unfold.

Of note, no matter what style autofold you have (the stock one or change to the Lincoln Style one), you can override it with the mirror fold button inside the truck. Meaning, if you have autofold option enabled, but manually fold the mirrors with the button inside the truck, you can then lock it (mirrors were already folded in), then later unlock it and the mirrors stay folded in rather than auto-unfolding. That is handy for those that have to have mirrors folded in when driving in and out of a tight garage spot, but still allows the autofold to work around town.

As for the tailgate ajar issue, please test it now rather than waiting until Sept. when your pickup arrives. Keep the tailgate on and just lower it to test all of this. See steps outlined above. When you find it the tailgate removal kit doesn't eliminate the tailgate ajar message and light, you can take it to the local dealership and open a ticket under warranty. (Doesn't matter that you bought at Granger; any dealership will take it and look at it).

 

[Chadx]

I went ahead and ordered the Gate King locking hinges so I won't be removing my tailgate for feedback like planned.

Perhaps your need to remove the tailgate changed, but if your use case is leaving the tailgate on but running with it down for an extended period of time, a functional tailgate removal kit would be still nice as you could plug in the harness even though your tailgate is on and not have to OK away the Tailgate Ajar message for the duration of using it with tailgate down. Or, you can test it just to gather some data if you are curious if it works or not. No need to remove the tailgate. With the tailgate on but lowered, follow the steps/scenarios I posted earlier here: https://www.fordtremor.com/threads/24-owners-who-removed-tailgate.18096/page-2#post-380817.