Latch Fix for Honda Pilot Made Easy

Well, we made it sort of easy.  The locking mechanism on our tailgait seemed to never get a really good latch when closing, and today, it would close, but the open tailgait light came on after trying to close the tailgate door.

The door was loose when we would pull on it.

Oh boy, this means an expensive trip to the dealership…or does it?

The locking mechanism was loose when we opened the tailgate, so we hoped something just needed to be tightened.

We didn’t really find an specific instruction online, but found a few general guidelines that indicated we would need to remove the whole interior rear trim.

But we found another way.  By removing the grab rail and the two small clips and screws by the locking mechanism, we could pull back the plastic trim enough to see the problem.

There are three blots with flat heads that hold the lock in place.  Two of the blots were completely out of their fitting.  The bolts looked so short it seemed like they may have broken and come out but were in tact after we took a better look at it.  There was no rattling from the loose bolts because there is foam padding around the trim.

Three Bolts now in Place & Secured

By pulling back on the trim, we were able to secure the bolts in place.

The tailgate door now latches much better.

Our dealership probably would have charged at least $45-90 to fix it.  Recently we replaced the Main Relay on our Honda Accord by ourselves which saved us a bundle too.