Tailgate lock... why ?

The power locking tailgate wasn't added at the factory. Either at port or at the dealership.

 

Don't know for sure but would assume that is right. It did not reference anything on my window sticker. Toyota has some weird stuff. I tried to research the alarm system on my truck and thought it might be something special until I figured out it's just an alarm if the door is opened without hitting unlock on the fob! The same damn thing that is stock on every Ford I have owned.

 

Just locked mine.

 

None of the trucks come standard with the power locking tail gate. All are key locks. You can get the lock for the stealership for 259.00 or you can look up pop and lock on here or Google and get it for about 100 bucks and run the wire yourself. My understanding is that pop and lock is having some quality issue with a plastic piece in the lock. Breaks at about 2 years. Also it should be hooked up to the passenger doors to make it unlock on the second push to prevent over use.

 

Or you can wire up your own power lock for about $20 or less. There are some threads on here that detail how to do it. I already had the parts needed, just takes about 1/2hr or so.

 

I'm glad I saw this... I need to go lock my tailgate!!!

 

xd

 

Rely heavily on my locking tailgate in combination w/ my locking TCU tonneau so I can keep all my gear out of site and locked. Plus I can hide my key REALLY well in my gear in the bed of the truck and keep hide a spare to the tonneau on the truck. Way I look at it, if they find my hiding spot for the tonneau key, unless they have a TON of time to rummage through every little thing, they won't be using a key to get into my cab.

(NOTE: My rule, being a whitewater dude is that I normally do NOT keep a key on me in case I end up with a long day in a canyon w/o my buds and they need to know how to get in my truck to come rescue me. I hope this never happens and I have to worry about it, but precautions are just that - preventing cautions!!!

 

Hey yall! In regards to the quality issue, just over a year ago we made some major improvements to the plastic blend and overall structural integrity. We moved from an ABS plastic to a glass filled nylon which has been very successful. The "common" issue that you might read about with a tab breaking was addressed and was due to batch of bad handles that had run a few years back. All improvements to date have been very sound Hope that helps with any questions!

 

Also, as mentioned by someone else, tailgate theft has gotten increasingly worse every year across the country. Top states are CA, Arizona, TX, and FL. With new tailgates having backup tech and cameras, once stolen it could cost anywhere between $1500-$8000 depending on the truck and trim level to replace. Basically, there is a black market for these tailgates. You can find tailgates being sold all over craigslist and ebay but what most people don't know is that they are stolen tailgates. So watch out! It's important to lock your tailgate so that nothing gets stolen from inside the bed but also so that no one can steel the actual tailgate...it takes literally 15 seconds!

 

My Pop&Lock just broke the other day. Contacted them today and they offered me 1/2 off a replacement. It's better than nothing, but after reading about the known "bad batch of handles", shouldn't a reputable company own up to a defective product and offer free replacement????

 

P&L has been known to give free replacements to those slightly out of warranty.

But it's probably not realistic to have a company offer free replacements to all who purchased the bad batches, unless the company wants to end up in bankruptcy like the Takata air bag company who was forced to give free replacements.

 

Thieves are opportunists. Unlocked tailgates are the Ttops of this decade. I knew a guy that caught a thief trynig to load his Goldwing in to his pickup by himself. Why the idiot ever thought he could push that heavy Goldwing up a ramp in to his truck is beyond me. Of course thieves are not known for their brains

 

I'm not saying to everyone that bought one, but they should replace the ones that break when they know it is defective. And really, if companies that sell defective products go out of business, is that a bad thing??

 

To each his own. I appreciate that mine doesn't auto lock - we use our trucks differently.

I park at entry points/trailheads, etc. A lot. Knowing my windows being broken can happen it's good to know my tailgate stays locked. I store my gear under a shelf unit that is bolted down under my topper.

 

They could make it a setting you could adjust for extra points.

 

True. It's Toyota being cheap - just worked out for me

 

My pop-a-lock lasted about 2 months on my first gen. I pulled it and put it in the trash.

 

We are sorry to hear that you had this experience. Unfortunately, we do have to follow Warranty policy but because of this issue we wanted to be able to compromise when a product is out of warranty and offer a discount. We hope your new lock will work out much better!