Tailgate requires to much force to completely close.

Got my 18 TRD OR in March, it always required a lot of force to close the tail gate completely. If you don't use a lot of force or provide a lot of momentum.

It ends up like this and pushing on it doesn't close it all the way. I originally thought this was normally and maybe it needed to break in. Went to get my 5k service yesterday and played with a 2018 on the floor and saw that a toddler could close the tailgate. So this morning I brought it back and the service guy came out to look at it, he had to push it super hard to get it close which I couldn't do previously. Maybe because I'm babying and he doesn't give AF. Is this common? even the new tundra on the floor close easier than my Tacoma. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Here's a video of what I'm talking about.



Side note: I was using cruise control on a long drive, cruise control set to 80 but car slowed down to 70. Then when the radar thought it could accelerate again it dropped a gear or two, but while accelerating I decided to cancel with the control stick and truck made a loud clunk, almost as if it was a bad shift in a MT, and slowed down a bit. Did I mess up the cruise control or my transmission. I just assume I canceled it in the middle of shift but freaked me out a bit because I was going 75mph, and it clunked pretty hard. My girlfriend who was a sleep noticed it.

 

may the tonneau cover is in the way? did you try closing it without the cover closeD?

 

You should be able to adjust the striker latches. By moving them outward, the tailgate will full close with less force. Just loosen two bolts per side and retighten after adjusting. The resistance you’re feeling is the rubber bumpers on the bed body. They’re meant to limit and rattle between both panels.

 

Huh? Never had a issue closing my tailgate, but never gave it any thought either .

Time for

 

Id bet on the cover needing to be adjusted. Mine closes with one finger

 

Yeah, it did this before I put the cover on.

oh ok hopefully they adjust it. I should of just asked here first and done it myself but since I was already there yesterday, I asked and they talked about latches being covered under warranty.

 

Here’s a photo of mine:
(2nd gen but I don’t think they changed much)

 

Circled in red are the latch bolts. You can loosen them and the striker can be adjusted fore or aft which will then cause the tailgate latch to engage sooner. Pay attention to this adjustment because if you move it too far out, it changes how flush the tailgate will sit in relation to the bed body/taillights.

Circled in green is the rubber baby buggy bumper. Mine is pretty compressed because of modifications I've made to my tailgate. Without these, the tailgate would rattle. If the adjustment doesn't correct your problem, you may want to look at trimming these down a bit. I'd save that as a last resort though.

 

Thanks for the info, appreciate it.

 

Mine is super easy to close. Almost zero resistance other than the raw weight of the tailgate obviously.

 

check tonneau cover and bed floor matt.

 

And debris between tailgate and bed.

 

to me 2018 very new debris not really build up. make sure bed floor matt not to touch the tailgate or tonneau cover.

 

Mine is like this on my 2017. I thought it couldn't close all of the way because of the force it initially took to close it. Checked a few others at the dealer and they are easy as can be.

It just takes a little more force to close all of the way. Downside to adjusting the latches is that the body line could be off when its closed. On the plus side if it closes tight it can't rattle.

 

Mine is the same way, only on the left side. Have to close harder and toward the left side to get it to close all the way.

 

Got my truck back. They shaved the rubber stoppers and adjusted the strikes. I’m a little disappointed that use some of angle grinder or something powered to cut it as they scratched my bed bar thing that holds the stopper. Wasn’t bad just upset because I could just done it all myself. Other than that closes super easy now, so I got that going for me. I got to drive a new Camry in Houston traffic for a bit and that was kind of fun.

 

Mine has always been just like your video shows. I've just always given it the same amount of force you used to close it properly.

Figured it was normal.

 

My 2017 tailgate closes easily but it does not close completely against the truck body. Probably sticks out 1/8" on both sides. Did not try and adjust or check bumpers.

 

I have had to push mine harder a few times, but not a big deal since I lift weights and its a truck...lol

 

Picture?

If they messed the paint up, they should fix that. it could cause corrosion.