Tailgate on teh 2001 Chevy Siverado will not open,

Open the tailgate and remove the screws You will find on the tailgate side of each lens, in other words, the left lens screws are on the right side of the lens and the right lens screws are on the left side of that lens. You just cant see them until You lower the tailgate... Slick! I hope that helps You and FYI You can get complete lens sets with bulbs from Rockauto online. They have the best prices I've ever seen for older vehicles.

You can try taking the handle out and fishing the rods up to the opening. Other than that, its a tough job.

I had a clip break when I tried to open my tailgate. I had to remove my inside hatch panel and find my way to the handle assembly. A little plastic clip (shaped like a T) had finally worn out, which wouldn't hold the locking arms, and I had to go to a Ford dealership for a $3 part; tailgate has worked fine since then!

remove the handle and pull linkage by hand

on the handle there is a clip holding the rod one each side could have come off. or the hole where it goes is broke. u can get aftermarket any parts store

it is probably the plastick clip on the tailgate rod.. it probably fell off... i had to take the tailgate apart and replace the clip on mine.. but if your lucky you can pull the cover off right by the handle,, look inside and fish the rod up and replace clip

go to the chevy dealership for the handle and clips comes to appx. 40 dollars

there are little metal rods that connect to the handle of the tailgate, just like the rods that connect your door handles to the door hinges and lock mechanism. just pop off the plastic cover over the tailgate handle and check and see if the rods are still connected to the handle.

Try checking that the handle in the tailgate returns to the 'open' postion. Once in a while, usually during/after the winter, the tailgate handle gets stuck in the 'pressed in' postion. I have to use WD-40 or some other lubricant to get the handle working again, which allows me to unlock and open the tailgate.

Sounds like one of the control rods has come off in side the tailgate that pulls on the latches to release the tailgate. Here is what you need to do to fix this. Look on the inside of the tailgate and you will see a rectangular plate that you can remove. Take this plate off and it will give you access to the inside of the tailgate. Then you will see which rod has dropped out of it's retaining hole. You may need to get a new plastic clip from Ford to keep the rod in place. Don't worry though. These plastic clips are cheap and easy to replace. Good luck. This plastic part will only be available from Ford.