Pop n' Lock broken and tailgate won't open

Does anyone know if pop n lock has beefed up the design in newer models??

 

I had a newer model.

 

sadly they havent. Mine broke 2 months ago (one month after the one year warranty expired). Contacted customer support and they were awesome and sent me out a new one under warranty.

I got the new handle and sadly, its the same design. The plastic might be marginally stronger but definitely not much. I have a feeling it will fail at the same part eventually. until then, I'll just make sure to reapply grease on that metal tab every so often and hopefully that will get it to last longer this time around.

 

mine is only about 6 months old. I wont be asking for a replacement though, because it is useless when it breaks again.

 

true but if you get a replacement you could just sell it off and get most of your money back

 

I tried to call them, sent emails nothing. WTF
EDIT: I emailed them. Apparently they tried to send me a new one but it never got it. Never emailed me and notified me. Any who I got a new one at the house waiting to get installed.

 

This is exactly why I retained the factory handle and only installed the electric lock.

 

If the problem is poor plastic reinforcement, have you considered reinforcing the plastic with putty or something like Plastic Steel Epoxy? Granted, it's a bad design but if Pop n Lock won't fix it maybe some creative solutions will work.

 

Mine broke yesterday afternoon, and as I have a RackIt lumber rack, shell and the ATO tailgate reinforcement, there was pretty much no way I was going to be able to get the back panels off the tailgate without breaking it. So I cut the pivot bar on the PL54000 lever handle, removed the broken lever, then cut through the back of the handle to access the mechanism. It easily released with a screwdriver and I was able to reinstall the OEM handle for now. Not sure I want to reinstall the

$94 PL5400 Black Manual Tailgate Lock with Bolt Codeable Technology for Toyota Tacoma

PL5400 even if Pop and Lock replaces it, the design is not very robust.

 

There's gotta be a better way to lock these tailgates other than this crap product. There's no competitor out there, really???

 

I believe there's an OEM one from the 2015's

 

?? You mean the 3rd gens? They come from the factory with them but I don't think they will fit on our 2nd gens.... I installed a pop n lock a few months ago and it's still holding up for now but of course only time will tell. From what's being reported on these forums, seems like they will all probably go at some point. I wish there was a higher quality, more durable solution. I wouldn't mind spending more for a product that will last. Maybe a member on here will come up with something.

 

I got a new one in the mail. Im going to take it to my buddy who works in a machine shop and maybe he can make me a metal tang. Maybe a metal tail gate handle. Maybe reinforce it somehow.

 

You guys got me worried now. I installed my Pop N Lock early on probably at less than 2,000 miles. I have over 72k mi now, almost 3 years, and so far it seems to be working ok. Not sure if there was an updated model or not, but I am going to tear it apart tomorrow and check it for wear and tear. Hopefully everything looks alright and just needs some cleaning and lubing.

 

Like others in this thread, the flimsy tab on the inside handle lever sheared off on my p&l, mid-pull. I found that the easiest way to drop the tailgate in order to remove the tailgate panel with the torx bolts was to use a phillips head screw driver to jimmy the mechanism. If you push the driver through the hole left by the broken part of the mechanism, you can easily push down the tailgate release. This way seemed easier than removing the trim at the top of the tailgate. Hope that tip helps any future victims.

 

WOW this sucks I just got one and installed it the other day, and saw that lever but was excited to install it now reading all of these post that sucks. I'm going to take it apart and try to come up with a metal or aluminum sleeve or something and some epoxy to hold it on something easy so everyone can make one at home. I'll post pics asap. I like bacon!!!

 

I drilled a hole through where the tab was all the way through to the exterior. I slipped a double ended machine screw. Much stronger than the original. Only issue is that the screw head sticks out a bit and the rest of what's left is plastic so that might go at some point too.
I think if they had done proper product testing, they would see all those pins/tabs break off.
This is all Toyota's fault for not putting a lock in to begin with. LOL!

 

Same thing happened to me. Handle lasted about 3 years. Anyone come up with a good solution to reattach the broken plastic piece? I JB welded it but it just broke again a few days later. Was thinking of doing what other guy said and putting a screw in it.

 

I ran a safety wire up the tailgate to the unlatch mechanism. If the Pop-n-Lock handle breaks I can open tailgate. The safety wire does not unlatch the tailgate while the tail gate is locked.