2018 Explorer Platinum Liftgate won't fully raise

[Mike F.]

I have tried to set the power liftgate to open to 100% open and it stops about 12" from opening fully. No matter how many times I try to set the height of the door it never works. It will allow the door to be set at a lower height. The dealership mentioned that Ford may have designed the door to only open partially due to possible complaints.

I'm also experiencing a leak in the cabin from the moon roof while it rains. The dealership mentioned that Sometimes the drain gutter for the moon roof gets clogged, but this is a design feature. I do not believe water should come into the cabin in any case.

Any assistance to hold my dealership accountable would be appreciated.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Mike.
If you can open the 'gate' fully manually then I think it should do the same using the power options. Having it open only partially due to complaints seems to be an odd answer since it can be 'set' to open at different heights. The older Owner's Manuals had a Liftgate Reset procedure which is no longer in the newer manuals.
To reset the power liftgate:
1. Disconnect the battery for 20 seconds then, reconnect the battery.
2. Manually close and fully latch the liftgate.
3. Power open the liftgate by using the transmitter, or the instrument
panel control button.
I'm not sure if this is helpful on the newer Explorers or not.

If the drain tubes from the moonroof are plugged or not connected, you can get water penetration into the cabin. There are a few threads on that already. In one case, a member found that one of the drain tubes had never been connected.
Moonroof Drain hoses c/w diagram
Check to see if the drains are free flowing.

Peter