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Rear Lift Gate Window Stuck

6K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  josworth 
#1 ·
Ran my 09 Liberty through a carwash last night and all of a sudden the word Gate popped up on my dashboard. My rear window on the lift gate is shut but the word will not clear and my dome lights are stuck on. I have a button on my keyless entry to open the window but it will not open when I use it. I hit my unlock button twice and still nothing. I tried the button on the lift gate and the window will not budge. I tried pulling fuses but same thing. Any ideas on how to fix this before taking it to the dealership and paying an arm and a leg?

Thanks,
 
#2 ·
It sounds like water from the car wash got into the actuator motor or sensor or both and possibly fried them. You can take the inner liner of the tailgate off and try to dry things out. If you have a multimeter you can test whether the window unlock motor is getting power when you press the window unlock button. If it is getting power but doesn't work, then the motor could be fried. If it isn't getting power when you press the button, there is likely a problem upstream, like with the window open/closed sensor. My hunch is it's the sensor, since the word GATE shows up on your dash.
 
#3 ·
The fix is super easy...

To clear the warning yet retain use of the hatch release you will need to pull the rear hatch trim off. There are two hex torx bolts on the bottom. Take them out and then firmly pull down on the trim. The whole thing will come un-clipped. Next, take out the four torx screws out holding in the latch. Remove it and you will see a small white plug on the bottom. It is for the sensor. Unplug it. The warning light will go out but you will loose the dome lights when you open the hatch. Everything else will still work.

With the trim off you will most likely see where the water got in. The rear flipper glass is the most likely culprit. You can go ahead and re-install the rear trim now and let stuff dry out.

There is a new rear window seal design. You will need to order it from a dealer or Mopar site. The rear window seal is super easy to replace on your own. Just pull the old seal off, start from the center of the latch and press on the new seal. You will find that it is longer than needed. Once you get to the end, mark and cut the excess with some snips. Super easy and no more water. By the time you get the seal, your latch should have dried out. Plug in the sensor and all should be good.

My sensor was dead for months but has now come back to life. I dodged the $100.00 latch bill.
 
#5 ·
Search the site, believe almost everyone has run in to this issue including me. Guess I've been lucky so far.....after a few days water leak dries up and "gate" light turns off and everything is back to normal. Will be an issue to fix when it warms up. Till then stay away from the high pressure car washes and power washers!!!
 
#6 ·
It is such an easy fix you really should do it now if your seal is leaking. To do the rear window seal you don't even need to pull the inside trim. Just pop open the window.

Mine would leak just driving in the rain. The vacuum created on the highway was enough to let water in. It is the same reason your back window will get real dirty when it rains. You really don't want water running down the inside of the tailgate.

After I changed the window seal, the glass closes much tighter and I have shot it with high pressure water and absolutely no leaks.
 
#8 ·
josworth said:
It is such an easy fix you really should do it now if your seal is leaking. To do the rear window seal you don't even need to pull the inside trim. Just pop open the window. Mine would leak just driving in the rain. The vacuum created on the highway was enough to let water in. It is the same reason your back window will get real dirty when it rains. You really don't want water running down the inside of the tailgate. After I changed the window seal, the glass closes much tighter and I have shot it with high pressure water and absolutely no leaks.
Where did you order the new seal from?
 
#10 ·
I got it from my local dealer since their price was less than any of the online Mopar sites I use once you added shipping. I think it was right around $50.00.

I also bought the TSB seal for the glass but I have yet to install it since the regular glass seal replacement did the trick.
 
#9 ·
There's a TSB for this. I had the same problem, 3 times. Was repaired under warranty but they wouldn't perform the TSB until the second repair failed. There's a seal that goes at the very top of the flipper glass and a different one for the glass.
 
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