Vehicle tailgate material shield assembly

A vehicle assembly, comprising:

• a striker of a tailgate assembly, the striker mounted to a frame subassembly of the tailgate assembly;
• a door subassembly of the tailgate assembly, the door subassembly having a latch configured to engage the striker to hold the door subassembly in a door closed position, the door subassembly having a notched area that receives the striker when the door subassembly is pivoted from a door open position to a door closed position, wherein the door subassembly is hinged to the frame subassembly and configured to pivot relative to the frame subassembly about a vertically extending axis, wherein the door subassembly is incorporated into the tailgate assembly along two split lines;
• a material shield extending into the notched area when the door subassembly is in the door closed position, wherein the material shield extends horizontally from the frame subassembly into the notched area when the door subassembly is in the door closed position;
• and
• seal flaps attached to the tailgate assembly at the split lines to block material from entering the split lines, wherein the seal flaps do not extend to overlap the notched area.