Tailgate Damper Keeps Breaking

fike301 · August 8, 2020

dealer replaced the plastic bushing .... thinking like this is 6 or 7 times now. they cant fix it to last so heres is how Im going to fix the issue. when I get time going to be making call to GM cooperate about this matter. dealer says all parts have been replaced minus the tailgate itself...nothing else to fix! they dont know what else to do to it.....poor design and weak part they claim.

then followed up with comment of, they have seen a few break but Im am the only one with repeated almost monthly issue of it breaking.

https://roninfactory.com/collections/chevy-gmc/products/chevy-tailgate-assist-strut

pacokarp · August 10, 2020

Well my tailgate metal part are the passenger side is bent in the exact same place, bent out towards the rear of the truck. It looks just like the video you posted. So my theory, is it is not the plastic part but something is causing the tailgate mount to bend that is then causing is to break that $40 plastic piece. Not sure how to fix the metal as it is thick and in a weird spot to be able to get a hammer on it and pound it back straight.

sk · September 9, 2020

Mine keeps breaking and my truck is out of warranty. I can change the OEM bushing myself but the best price I found was $35 for the OEM part. I just bought 1 of these, took 10 minutes to install, problem solved!:

https://www.amazon.com/Dee-Zee-DZ43102-Tailgate-Assist/dp/B003TYP48C

(actually got mine at a local AutoZone with 15% off coupon so it only cost me $21)

Marcos09 · March 21

The store swapped the plastic bit many times, like 6 or 7 times. But it keeps breaking. So, here's what I'm gonna do:

When I can, I'll ring up GM to chat about it.
The store changed all the parts except the tailgate itself.
They're stumped. They say it's 'cause the part's no good and it's weak.
They've seen a few break, but I'm the only one with this problem almost every month.

Check this link for GMC Sierra quality products https://www.ecoauto.shop/collections/bullet-antenna

Edited March 21 by Marcos09

PFTX_5.3 · March 21

48 minutes ago, Marcos09 said:

The store swapped the plastic bit many times, like 6 or 7 times. But it keeps breaking. So, here's what I'm gonna do:

When I can, I'll ring up GM to chat about it.
The store changed all the parts except the tailgate itself.
They're stumped. They say it's 'cause the part's no good and it's weak.
They've seen a few break, but I'm the only one with this problem almost every month.

Check this link for GMC Sierra quality products https://www.ecoauto.shop/collections/bullet-antenna

When mine broke, I put a DeeZee dampener on mine and I like it better than the GM

MikeBMW · March 22

3 hours ago, Marcos09 said:

The store swapped the plastic bit many times, like 6 or 7 times. But it keeps breaking. So, here's what I'm gonna do:

When I can, I'll ring up GM to chat about it.
The store changed all the parts except the tailgate itself.
They're stumped. They say it's 'cause the part's no good and it's weak.
They've seen a few break, but I'm the only one with this problem almost every month.

Check this link for GMC Sierra quality products https://www.ecoauto.shop/collections/bullet-antenna

Here is my experience with the tailgate dampener.