[dr bob]

The button on the driver's door, as well as the button on the fob, only open the power tailgate on cars equipped with the power tailgate. On trim levels without that power tailgate, the buttons release the glass.

From your description, the buttons are working exactly as designed.

Operation of the tailgate is described in my 2013 Owner's Manual starting on page 110. Following that in the manual, starting on page 116, the description says that the glass can be opened from the glass release button on the key fob, the glass release button on the driver's door, or the glass release button on the outside of the hatch. Buried in the text there are a couple red asterisks, pointing to a footnote that says * Not available on all models. The models that it doesn't apply to are the ones that have the power tailgate. There's no doubt that the footnote could have been included in the text, with the critical detail that the buttons on power liftgate cars don't operate the glass. I don't write their manuals. Owners would need a trailer or at least heavy-duty springs for the manuals if I was doing them.

I downloaded a searchable PDF copy of the owners manual from the owner portal on Honda's website. The PDF is indexed, has embedded links plus text search available. It's way more convenient for me. I grabbed a copy and put it on my travel tablet, and used it as a cure for insomnia on some longer plane rides soon after we got the car.

 

[dr bob]

The activation of the rear release is managed by a control module in the left rear quarter forward of the trailer tow relay area. The connection to the button is via wire that passes out of the door to the floor harness that runs inside the sill rail on the left side. It's rare that the wiring gets damaged there, so the checking might start at the button itself and work your way back.

The power actuator has some interlocks, including the door detected closed and the glass position. If your key fob button opens the power hatch, those interlocks are obviously satisfied.

There's a programmable option that allows the rear hatch to be opened with the doors still locked. Else, all the doors need to be unlocked to allow the power hatch to open.