Hands Free Liftgate Operation – 2015-2017 Cadillac Chevrolet GMC

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Bulletin No.: PIT5472A
Date: Dec-2016

This PI was superseded to add the 2017 Model Years and Condition/Recommendation. Please discard PIT5472.

The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.

In some cases, customers may experience problems with the activation of the liftgate hands free operation.

Note: This feature may be temporarily disabled under some conditions, example after several hands free opening and closing events in a row. If the liftgate does not respond to the kick, open and close the liftgate by another method (button on overhead console, RKE fob button, etc) or start the vehicle and the feature will be re-enabled.

• Here are a few operating tips to help better understand how to best operate the hands free liftgate feature:

1. The RKE Fob must be within the detection area, which is 3 ft (1 m) of the rear bumper.
2. Best operation will occur when the foot kick is conducted at the direct center of the kick zone. See photo below for the kick zone.

3. To operate, kick your foot straight up in one swift motion under the center of the rear bumper, then pull it back. There are two antenna’s located in the rear bumper fascia which both must be triggered for the system to detect a kick. During the kick, your foot and shin must come within 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) of the rear fascia for both antenna’s to be triggered and detect the kick, as shown below (1).

• – Here are a few tips to avoid to ensure best operation of the feature:
  1. Do NOT sweep your foot from side to side.
  2. Do NOT keep your foot under the bumper, the liftgate will not operate.
  3. Do NOT touch the liftgate until it stops moving.

Caution: The liftgate may open or close if: cleaning or working near the rear bumper, splashing water, stepping into the liftgate opening, etc. To avoid this keep the RKE fob away from the rear bumper detection area or turn the liftgate mode switch to Off.

Note: If a customer of a 2015/2016 Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban has a complaint of the hands free liftgate feature being too sensitive or activates too easily, see the latest version of PIT5531 for an updated calibrations.

Please follow this diagnostic or repair process thoroughly and complete each step. If the condition exhibited is resolved without completing every step, the remaining steps do not need to be performed.

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