My 2012 Liberty Sport "Gate" light is on as is the interior lights, but gate is closed. How do I get it turned off before my battery goes dead?

It could the the sensor on the hatch latch shorted to ground or just old and stuck it the position of open. Remove the hatch interior panel and unplug it. If this it the problem then it should no longer indicate that it is open and the lights should turn off

My 2003 liberty as well as my 2012 liberty have same problem with latch/light staying on as well as alarm going off. You think that Jeep would fix the problem.

Ok hello forum world, so I want to start by saying none of the answers to this question I found helped at all. So let me fast forward past the part where ny wife threatened to go trade in her jeep and put us in debt to the part that will it should help you all or at least most of you.. - Open your tail gate - remove plastic cover to see your wires - disconnect the 3 bolts [2010 liberty] to the latch housing - while housing is free you will see 2 plugs one with a green wire and one really small plug down by where it latches.... disconnect the small plug and your problem should be solved. If this does not work look on top of rear dear you will find a big plug like a central plug housing... nothing on your gate will work at all but you won't have the gate or lights problem.

Thanks Buzz4251!

Thanks Buzz4251 , Found contact switch on latch assembly for gate open/ajar signal , cleaned with penetrating oil and contact cleaner . Lubed latch with lithium grease , worked great. This is the only site that pointed me to where the gate sensor was.

Thank you. Unplugged the connector at the latch, and that took care of the problem. Key fob, and window button on hatch work. Thanks again.

Buzz4251, seems the same design is still in place on the 2012 model. Yanked that plug on my wife's Patriot and all is well!!! The only drawback is that the interior lights won't come on when the rear door is opened (as would be expected). Maybe might be a trip to the junkyard for a latch assembly now that I know it seems to be the same piece from at least 2010 - 2012!

where is the fuse for my 2011 jeep liberty rear door ,Alarm and door Ajar light on dashboard lights show s rear Ajar so I sprayed WD-40 on everything in the rear door so it wont turn off the alarm or dsh light Ajar So I had I disconnected the battery . I need to move the jeep but as soon as I shut the motor off the alarm goes on. why cant I just pull he ajar door fuse for now please help Thanks to Anyone. ASAP

I had this issue of rear gate ajar with my 2012 liberty jet at 9300,12200,12500,26500 miles. Went to dealer under warranty each time. They replaced latch, they replaced actuator and latch, they replaced latch and weatherstripping the 3rd time, replaced latch the 4th time... alarm woke me up, could lock the car or alarm would go off.. all had been in cold weather. Now the alarm woke me up and everyone else at 4am in the dead calm cold of the night AGAIN at 52700 miles. Theres a white sensor permantly mounted on the inside of the latch. That sensor is an ENGINEERING MISTAKE. This time im simply disconnecting the 2 wire clip to it and THATS THAT. Not worth replacing part again. Drawbacks are no interior lights when opening hatch, and alarm will not sound if hatch is crowbar'd open. The after time the rolling assembly just doesnt move back far enough to open the circuit when closed. I plan to install a simple push in switch or set of contacts on another part of the door and run the wires to that to make it right FOR GOOD.... when the weather gets warmer! DISCONNECT AND RE ENGINEER!

Just had the same problem on 2012 jet edition. Alarm went off after being parked for two days! Window open button wouldn't open window, finally got it open after heating car. Window wouldn't clise completely. Unlike my 2005 liberty, if you push the latch to lock it with window open, there's no release latch to press! Now it's in my barn, rear window wide open, unlocked. Can't get the window latch to release so i can close the window. Why oh why do i love jeeps????

I just had the same problem with my 2008 liberty...225000 on it..best vehicle I ever owned..original bearings!!

Mine is headed to mechanic tomorrow to have the rear door/window latch and sensor checked, will let you know the results. My 05 liberty is a daily ride for my son now with 170k miles... had to replace steering column and a few other things, but i still love the Liberty's.

2006 Liberty CRD 150k miles - Just had this happen to me. Popped off the back panel and there are 2 plugs. Unplug The smaller one on the right and you're good as new

Thanks a million, Buzz. Just fixed this issue in about 15 minutes on my 2010 liberty. I had the dashboard “gate” light perpetually on, which kept my interior lights on, and would make my car alarm randomly go off. Tailgate wasn’t opening with window button or with key fob button. Unplugged the plug and now not only did the lights go out but the tailgate somehow started responding again. I thought it’d be out of commission for good once I unplugged it but it seems to have done the opposite. No idea how this makes sense but I’m not questioning it. ** For anyone else following his instructions, you first need to remove the entire plastic housing covering the entire inside of your trunk, which is attached by metal trim clips all the way around — you need to yank at them very hard in order to get the whole thing off. Once that’s off, the three bolt Buzz is referring to are torx/star bolts next to the latch hole where the trunk locks in to the base of the car — when you take out those three bolts you’ll be able to pull out the latch assembly, which is how you can access and unplug the small white plug.

I had the same issue with my 2011 Jeep Liberty. I pulled the plug located on the latch assembly and the "Gate Open" went away. You can get a replacement latch assembly on Amazon for $48.00. Not sure if I will replace or not as I do not care if the lights come on when the latch is opened but if I decided I want them to it is a cheap fix.

Did the same thing as Tyler above! Lights and sensor went off and tail gate is responding with Fob! No clue how this happened but ill take it!

I followed the instructions you guys laid out and “fixed” in 10 minutes. Now I just need to order a new part. Thanks!

Can someone please upload pictures of illustrating how to do this? I'm stuck at the first step since I'm not sure how to get to the place that Buzz describes (I.e. to find the housing where the wires are to unplug the small plug). I've just been putting up with the inconvenience of the jeep thinking that the lift gate has been open for the last 2 years.

Devin if you have the plastic off you will see 3 hex bolts holding the lower lock assembly. Remove them and pull out. You will then see a white plug. Disconnect and should resolve but interior lights won’t work.

Buzz and Tyler - Thank You. I am basically as proficient as a kindergardener with fixing my car but between your two posts I was able to fix this issue, in the dark of night with a lighter and some basic tools. I woke up the other morning to my vehicle battery dead because the faulty sensor kept my linterior lights on all night during a snowstorm and I've been freaking out trying to figure out why it happened. I discovered the "gate" warning on my dash this morning and your posts helped this amateur completely solve the issue. Thanks!!

The white sensor that causes all of our problems. Just pulled it on my 2012 Liberty Jet Limited with 60,000 miles on it.

I recently had this same problem. I found that the switch was seized up. It's not separately replaceable so I bought a tilt switch and plugged its leads into the connector I had pulled from the switch. I mounted it on the hatch at the correct angle after some experimenting and now the lights turn on and off as the hatch is opened and closed. The tilt switch cost less than $1. The latch mechanism would have cost about $100.