I tried this after reading Huklbery's post about getting trapped inside his JK in a ditch. Having an emergency release for the tailgate door would have given him an easy way out. I've thought for a while that the back door needed a release from the inside, so I decided to try to figure one out. It's actually quite easy to do, and all you need is some extra cord. I used what I had laying around the house, which makes for good pictures, but doesn't look all that great. Using black cord would look much better, and is something I'll change on it one of these days. This was a quick effort just to see if it could be done. I'm sure there will be thoughts on how to improve it, and I look forward to anyones ideas on it. I locked and unlocked the door a bunch of times, and opened it and closed it a bunch of times after I did this. This mod didn't interfere with anything.

Keep in mind I put this here as an emergency release, not for daily use.

By the way... I have manual locks. I have no idea how the power lock system differs, so this may or may not work for some of you.


First, open the tailgate and remove the inside grate that is close to the rear door latch. Also remove the top rubber grommet of the two that are to the right of the grate. Both grommets are removed in this pic, but you only need to take off the top one.


Look inside to get an idea how everything works. Use the key to lock and unlock the door a few times, and push on the button a few times and watch what parts move when you do this.


When you lock and unlock the door, you will see that the mechanism that moves has a plastic part that moves horizontally. This plastic part has a hole in it. Thread a piece of cord through the hole.


When you push the button on the handle, you will see that there is a metal lever at the top that the button pushes. Thread a piece of cord through the top grommet hole, through the loop on the lever, and back through the hole. Make sure you thread it under the wiring harness that connects to the door sensor.


What you should see from the outside at this point.


You will need to cut a hole in the rubber grommet that you removed. Also, you will have to cut a notch in the side of the grommet. If you don't cut the notch, the latch will not return to it's original position after opening the door.


Pop the grommet back into place and place the grate back on, with the two ends of the cord coming out of different slots in the grate.
Tie both of them into a loop. The one around the grate can be tied very close to the grate, just make sure to leave enough slack that the locking mechanism can move freely. The loop can then be rotated so that the knot is on the inside.
For the string through the grommet, make sure to leave enough cord that you can get a good hold on it, as it's not a light pull to open the door. The knot can be placed inside on this one as well, but I didn't do that since I'm going to change to black cord soon.


To unlock, you just pull the loop on the grate to the left. To open the door, just tug on the loop through the grommet, and push on the door.

 

YOU ARE THE MAN GOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!! That is why you are an area leader. LOL. Good work on that though. Guys like you make life simper sometimes. Thanks for that write-up.
Andrew

 

Thanks for showing that! Unfortuneatly, it also proves how unsecure that back tub and gate is. I am really glad you did this though! I should be able to find a black cord with a finger loop in the end. That would be perfect.

 

Yeah... I realized how un-secure it is indeed. It would take 30 seconds to pop that gate even with-out the cords there. I was able to get in with my bare hands, unlock, and open the gate with no problem. This just makes it a little easier. Of course, I'll have a soft top on much of the time, so security is out the window anyway.

 

Yup... I just checked mine. Even with electric locks it is still the same. I am actually pretty pissed off at Chrysler. This is something they have based some advertisement on. SECURE STORAGE MY ASS. I have been out... with the top down and decided that the tub was the best spot to secure my gun while we step into a place for a quick bite to eat or what have you. Seeing that it would take less than 10 seconds to get the back gate open makes me sick. What a joke. Hell it is so damn easy that I did not even put a cord there. I would like to note that part of the electric lock blocks that upper grommet, but you can still get a cord through there (I did, but decided to leave it off). I love my Jeep... but DAMN! Come on... I hate being mislead.

 

That's scarry! That would make me pretty pissed off too.
I'm not familier with the storage tub set-up at all. Mine doesn't have it and I don't think I looked at any JKs that did.
Kinda makes me wonder if I should delete this thread so people don't see how easy it is to open that tailgate.

 

Yeah. It's every bit as secure as the center console. The safe spot to keep your gun is in a holster on your person. Since the thief is unlucking the tailgate from inside the vehicle, doesn't seem like much of a security breech. I'm pretty sure a wonder bar on the hinge side will open the storage tub.

 

Dude, since it was that easy for you to figure out I am sure it is just as easy for some criminals to figure out (If they have not already). Leave the post up. I would do it myself however I leave my top off quite a bit and lock the back just to secure my not so valuable stuff in the "trunk". If you have the cord and it can be seen someone will be smart enough to figure out why.
BTW Goose this was not meant to slam your inteligence but to point out a lot of crooks are as smart as the rest of us.

 

Great idea, but I guess that I'd still be locked in by my swing out tire carrier.

 

does the JK tail gate unlock when you press unlock on the power locks like most new cars, or does it still need a key like the TJ?

Has anyone added a power lock / unlock to the tailgate? it looks from the outside like the same setup as the doors, so since we are jeep guy, someone making a power one can't be too far off...

Unlocking from the inside should be a safety issue, its law on cars isn't it?

at the 08 auto show I was at in Jan, a ton of cars had them, actually glow in the dark pull tabs with graphincs 'pull' and 'escape' on them..