Tailgate stuck!

My father and I replaced the rear tailgate latch with a "Pop and Lock" lockable piece. The latch seems to be stuck locked no matter which way I turn the key. Is there a way to safely have access to removing this latch without damaging the gate?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

And we did flip the rod per their instructions. The latch worked perfectly for a few months.

 

I did the install this weekend and am seeing occasions when it will not unlock. I may call PNL and discuss.

Followed all instructions. The install was easy and relatively issue free but I did need to loosen the mech to get it into the opening (as opposed to removing the previous mech).

I used a white out pen today to mark what direction is the unlock direction to make sure I am properly using the mechanism. I also noticed that my brand new gate may require some amount of pushing forward to get it to release when using the latch.

I'm still studying the situation.

 

Not sure if you have fixed it yet but I've read that you can remove the black plastic on the gate even with the gate up which would expose the inside of your tailgate.

 

You will need to take off the tailgate cap. Undo the top row of torx screws. Then you can pry off the tailgate cap. Be careful when doing this not to break any of the plastic clips that hold the tailgate cap to the tailgate. After that you can move the tailgate cover just enough to unlock the tailgate. Pain in the ass.

My Pop and lock would unlock but the handle would not engage the mechanism as it bent up. Was able to bend it back down and has worked fine since.

 

I was able to undo the latch. The locking mechanism on the Pop and Lock was cracked. Back to the stock handle.

Thanks all for you help.

 

OK, I've done many openings since I wrote last and here is what I found:

• After marking the gate for the proper directions, I now always am turning the key in the proper direction to lock or unlock.
  
• My truck has 400 miles on it and the gate appears to be 'tight' and opens easily if I push it in as I'm lifting the lock handle. A couple of times during my testing, I had what I thought were 'stuck' issues - but pushing in the gate and pulling the latch opened the door.
• I believe the issue with the PNL is that it is smaller than the stock handle - I can only get 2 fingers of my 'ham hands' under the part the lifts and unlocks the gate. Also, the amount of travel in the lifting latch is minimal and the lock unlocks at the end of a short arc; if you don't get a good grip and move the rotating handle fully thru its motion - the gate will not open. Pushing on the gate - to compress the rubber bumpers always allowed the gate to open.
• The key mechanism is somewhat 'sticky' when inserting the key. Probably a combination of being brand new and having a key that is brand new with sharp edges. I assume these will wear in a little bit more as time goes on. I have had a couple of instances where I did not fully get the key in and the rotation may have not fully unlocked the mech.

I have a new tonneau cover and have not installed the gate seal yet. I assume this may also bring about the need to push the gate in while operating the latch.

All in all, it is a process of learning some new habits when using my new gate and lock.