2008 yukon rear lift gate will not open - electrical handle - how to repair?

OK - i have narrowed the problem down to a lift gate release switch. i have the part but cannot remove the plastic panel from the inside to get to the switch. DOES ANYONE know how to remove the plastic from the inside w/ the hatch CLOSED? I have it almost off but cannot get the lower right side to release; it appears screwed in and you cannot get to the screw w/ the hatch closed? IS THERE ANY GMC MECHANICS OUT THERE?

did anyone ever answer? were you able to remove the plastic from the inside with the door closed? we cannot get past this point! is it a secret? cannot find ANYWHERE on the internet!

how did you get the back open

simple. u have to open manually. remove back tailgate cover panel from inside. then push (or pull) latch mechanism - it may have a chord attached. then the back tailgate lift will open.

am trying to remember how to get the panel off; as i recall you need a 90 deg screw driver to remove final screw.

FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT- had a nice GMC mechanic at a local dealership tell us there is no other way except cutting a hole and they would replace with a plastic cap. We ended up cutting way too much, but didn't care at that point. There are NO SCREWS ON THE INSIDE or the outside of the door on this year model to remove plastic, only once you have the door open because the plastic goes around door to the underside. If you are looking dead center from the inside you need to drill approx 4" up and 4" over to the right and once you do you can unlatch. The great part was, that once we got open and replaced the door lock actuator, the door lift started working again. I have a picture to give u an idea I'll post later

well i can tell you i did not have to cut any hole. i released the top portion of the plastic cover by unsnapping using a putty knife (work from inside, top down). then wedge open plastic (from inside) and get hold of string or latch and pull; the rear door will open. once open you can get to final screw to completely remove plastic panel. glad you got a solution. mine worked w/ no cutting panel. regards.

We have the same problem!!!! So to open the gate we desconect the battery for a few minutes and connect it back and was Avol the reset the computer to open the tailgate !!

If your lift gate won’t open and it’s locked down, there is a way to get it open. You will notice a small little ring on the panel that covers the center lock. It’s slightly offset from center a few inches up from the bottom. You will need to drill a small hole there and then use a tool of similar size inserted through the drilled hole with a slight angle down to push on the manual release mechanism. The picture shows that mechanism so you know what your aiming for. It’s actually very easy to do although you are working blind while doing this. You’ll hear it click and release, it may take two times as you need to be pushing up to get the latch off of the lock ring. I hope this helps. If you need a new one you can easily replace it yourself at this point. Many YouTube videos out there that show the replacement but not how to get the door unlocked when it’s failed closed!

Heres a shot of the panel where you drill through. It already has a little ring marking the spot for you to drill - at least on my 2014 Chevy burb.

All you have to do is go under the hood and feed power to the liftgate release fuse and have sum1 pulling on the hatch...….(if your handle switch is your problem)

Jerry here, Topdog351 on FB. Joe has the best solution I have read. I worked at a Buick dealership for 18 years and up until 2004 has master tech status. I still work on the cars I just have not renewed my test. A friend of mine has a 08 Tahoe with the same problem. I had not read Joe's fix at that time. I took the top of the plastic panel loose to reach down inside. We got to the lever and pushed it to open the tailgate. When we got it open and removed the panel completely everything made since. Joe is totally correct. What I want to add is this. Once we had the tailgate open we took the switch apart and cut and re soldered the wires to fix that, Then I rewired the actuators to make it where the key fob opens the tailgate instead of the glass. Ours was a blue wire. there is a small blue wire going from the wiper motor to the actuator switch. There is a larger blue wire coming off the hatch switch all the way on the bottom . If you cut the wire from the glass switch actuator and unplug it and leave it unplugged, then splice it into the large blue wire, maybe using scotch locks. I just split the wire and inserted the small wire inside the large one and wrapped it around and taped it. Anyway if you do this then the hatch will open from now on with the key fob..I hope this helps you and it should have really been the way it worked anyway. I have a 06 uplander ans it does the same thing, opens the glass so now that I have done this on my friends car I know I can do it on almost everything. Thank you for your time, Jerry topdog351

I did the same thing as GuruDFTPF and reset my battery in my 07 Tahoe because my dash said the rear door was open and it wouldn't open up at all. Reset the battery and the message is gone and my rear door now opens with the switch and my remote. Thanks for the help.

The lift gate lock mechanism to my 08 GMC Yukon had same problem with it not unlocking. I thought the lock mechanism was inop, but it was not the problem. My problem was a 30amp fuse number #71. Fuse #71 notes as a “Power Lift Gate Module” fuse in the owners maual. The fuse is located in the secondary fuse box in the engine compartment. Note, my model does not have a power lift gate installed. It has the pull handle that activates the lock mechanism. It is a manual lift gate. No key access, I have to use a the key FOB or inside door locks. After replacing it, success!

Just did mine, clock time 26 minutes. Climb inside and an inch from bottom almost center u will see a little circle imprint in the door molding. Drill a hole their and stick a flat screwdriver in and push the catch. Door will open right up. Then take the torx screw out of the handle in molding, pop the bottom pops, and pop the two inside ones to reveal the 3 torx screws holding actuator. Take them out, unplug old, plug new, and put back together