Intermittent Liftgate Problem

I have a 2021 CX-9 GT. I have an aftermarket tow hitch installed that was put in by the dealer. Ever since I purchased the vehicle, the liftgate will intermittently go up and stop about 6" before reaching the top. It beeps three times when it stops and just stays there. I would say it happens a couple times per week. I thought that maybe it was due to the kayaks I have hanging in my garage above the car or the yakima roof box I had on it all winter. Now, I have just a bike rack installed on the hitch.

Does anyone have an idea what is causing this? I have taken it to the dealership twice and they basically threw their hands up when they could not reproduce it.

Would this be due to a radar sensor detecting something above the tailgate or the tailgate meeting physical resistance and stopping?

Edit: the liftgate never goes up on its own. It's always me pushing the button. The intermittent part is the stopping 6" short and beeping.
 
Last edited:
After some reading in the manual, it appears that the conditions required to create this are that the tailgate meets resistance. It's not a radar sensor. Now, I guess I need to wait for this to get worse to the point that the issue can happen in front of the dealer or I have to live with it.
 
Upvote 0
I could see this happening if the liftgate struts were defective or sticking as well. Does the liftgate open smoothly every time, at a consistent rate of speed?
 
Upvote 0
I have a 2020 GT and my gate also stops lifting about 60% of the time now. I also have a dealer installed hitch which is already making the hands free control hard to use. They replaced the module that was draining the battery in the last recall, but this had no effect on the lift gate problem. I'll be taking it back there soon to see what they can do.

I'm not sure I get three beeps though. The gate just consistently stops after creating a 1 foot tall opening.
 
Upvote 0
Out of curiosity, try to reprogram the lift height to different positions. Does it open partially every time? Or only when it’s programmed to fully open.

To reprogram, lower the lift gate by hand to a position. Press and hold the close button in the lift gate until it beeps. Close and open it a few times.
 
Upvote 0
Update on this issue. 15k miles and a year old and it still does this to me intermittently. I brought it in for the oil change and it finally reproduced with the service tech watching. They are reprogramming the liftgate module to see if that resolves the issue. If not, they said they'd spend some more time troubleshooting it. At least I have it documented now for future warranty consideration.
 
Upvote 0
Or the sensor that detects excess resistance might be doing its job. The problem might be a bad strut or bad hinge. Keep on them until they get it fixed.
 
Upvote 0
The latest update is that the original dealer did not disable certain features when they installed my aftermarket tow hitch. Something was interfering with the lift gate functioning. The dealer closer to my house that did the warranty work said this should solve the problem.
 
Upvote 0
The latest update is that the original dealer did not disable certain features when they installed my aftermarket tow hitch. Something was interfering with the lift gate functioning. The dealer closer to my house that did the warranty work said this should solve the problem.
Has the problem gone away? I still have this issue on mine and would love for the gate to finally start working properly.
 
Upvote 0
Do you have any specific details that I could pass on to my dealer about exactly what the issue is? They were struggling to figure it out.

Many many thanks!
I don't know what they did but it was North End Mazda in Lunenburg, MA that solved the issue. Maybe have the service manager call them and ask about the specific case. They will probably remember, it.
 
Upvote 0
Back