Hopefully the dealership was able to tell you that on page 737 of your Owners Manual there are instructions on how to open the tailgate manually. Or at least show/do it for you. I've attached a picture and PDF of the page.
Tailgate Won't Open
Yesterday morning the tailgate on our 2020 Odyssey refused to open. Neither the inside switch nor the outside switch does anything. I crawled in the back and checked the fuses and both are good.
Took it to the dealer in Florence, Alabama and they weren't able to find the fault with a cursory check and a reboot of whatever computer system is applicable. They said they need to keep it for at least a half day and "really tear into it."
i tried today to find the motor that operates the tailgate, but I had trouble removing all the plastic back there. I'm thinking that I just don't know the magic sequence of removing those parts. I also get the feeling that the entire headliner may have to come down.
Does anyone have experience with this or with removing all that plastic trim? Will it involve the side airbag back there for the third row seats? Is there a way to open the tailgate from the inside?
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
Took it to the dealer in Florence, Alabama and they weren't able to find the fault with a cursory check and a reboot of whatever computer system is applicable. They said they need to keep it for at least a half day and "really tear into it."
i tried today to find the motor that operates the tailgate, but I had trouble removing all the plastic back there. I'm thinking that I just don't know the magic sequence of removing those parts. I also get the feeling that the entire headliner may have to come down.
Does anyone have experience with this or with removing all that plastic trim? Will it involve the side airbag back there for the third row seats? Is there a way to open the tailgate from the inside?
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
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Hopefully the dealership was able to tell you that on page 737 of your Owners Manual there are instructions on how to open the tailgate manually. Or at least show/do it for you. I've attached a picture and PDF of the page.
Thanks for responding. The dealer service rep agreed with me that there was no way (none I'd found) to open the tailgate from the inside. I had removed the access piece and could see part of the latch mechanism, but couldn't open the latch. Our owner's manual doesn't have 737 pages. I'll be trying again tomorrow based on what you sent.
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At owners.honda.com you can download a copy, and shows: 2020 Odyssey Owner's Manual (Revised 03/09/2020). This revised manual has 764 pages.
Please send a picture of the open access piece and we can show which lever to pull to open the latch. After you get it open, I would highly suggest suspicion of your dealer service rep. These access pieces and latches have been in Hondas for over two decades.
It's taken a few days to respond, I'm dealing with sciatica and it isn't easy crawling into the back of the van.
I've continued trying to open the tailgate using the dashboard button, the exterior button, and the key fob button, all without success. I've tried poking and prying on everything in the access opening without success. Only one thing in that latch area moves, but it doesn't do anything.
Below are the photos you suggested. The gray lever at the left in the top photo is what moves, but it only goes as far as the white electrical connector.
When using the button on the fob, I sometimes get the lights to flash as they should and I hear a sound like the door unlocking (or locking) but can't open the tailgate. I know the battery in the fob is good because all other functions work.
Thanks for any and all help and suggestions.
Rick
When you get the gray lever on the left to move towards the white electrical connector, try applying force towards the rear of the van to push the tailgate open. Simply moving the gray lever to the right won’t open the tailgate, it disengages the latch and then it’s up to you to push the tailgate open.
I would also recommend disconnecting and reconnecting your battery just once and see if there’s a change in behavior. In a problem I had, my latch tried to disassemble itself inside of the tailgate and would only open once after a battery disconnect and wouldn’t do anything further. You might have a similar issue. Are you the first owner by chance?
Here‘s a thread that may help:
Tailgate Mystery NEED YOU PEEPS *SOLVED (Latch Issue)*
Good afternoon, I am having a bizarre issue with my tailgate. 1. It will not open automatically AT ALL unless: 2. It will only open automatically ONCE AND ONLY ONCE if the battery is disconnected and reconnected. At which point it will go back to problem #1. 3. The tailgate close door button...
www.odyclub.com
Here’s the latch removed:
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