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First problem: Power Tailgate Won't Latch

15483 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  matthewhyap
I've had my car since mid-July. I do use the power tailgate fairly often, at least once every couple days, because I put my dog in the back. This week the power tailgate stopped closing the hatch all the way. It closes, but doesn't latch tight, so I have to manually give it a push once the motor has stopped. I have an appointment scheduled at the dealer on Tuesday. I'm a Care by Volvo subscriber and this will be my first-ever experience with a Volvo dealer other than picking up the XC40, so I'll be interested to see how this goes.
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Jezza, please keep us posted on your experience with using the Care by Volvo subscriber servicing features. I pray it's a smooth process for you so others in the program will have an idea what they will have to deal with/go through in the near future. Thanks in advance.
This week the power tailgate stopped closing the hatch all the way. It closes, but doesn't latch tight, so I have to manually give it a push once the motor has stopped.
This happened to my XC40 from the day I picked it up. Rather than wait around for service, I decided to take it home and schedule service later. After about 10 or so closing attempts over about a week, it finally started fully latching on it's own. I chalked it up to being stuck idle in port for 4 months, it loosened up a bit...
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Dealer treated the service appointment just like any other. I don't even think the service department was aware of the Subscription program; there was certainly no mention of it. Of course the problem wouldn't replicate itself while I was there, so they said to drive straight back if it happened again. It did later that day, only for it to latch beautifully once I got to the dealer. I'm going to hope that, like swhall experienced, this issue will get better and not worse.
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Update: The problem got worse to the point that it would never latch by itself. The dealer ordered a new lock motor and, after a several week wait for it to arrive, installed it today. Seems to have solved the problem.
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Isn't that always the case when you bring in a car with an intermittent problem. Glad to hear that they finally replaced something for you and that it sounds like the issue should be resolved. They need to improve part availability on this car.
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Dealer treated the service appointment just like any other. I don't even think the service department was aware of the Subscription program; there was certainly no mention of it. Of course the problem wouldn't replicate itself while I was there, so they said to drive straight back if it happened again. It did later that day, only for it to latch beautifully once I got to the dealer. I'm going to hope that, like swhall experienced, this issue will get better and not worse.
Its been my belief that the traditional dealership model is broken and creates too many opportunities for error, instead more automation needs to be done. Very few dealerships get it right from the start and keep it that way.
Tough truth is it comes down to man power and good management, without that these dealerships fall apart, at least with high volume selling ones.
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Power Tailgate Broken

I just had my power tailgate handle break. First, the left screw housing broke and the next day the right housing broke I am holding this piece in place with Velcro for now until the dealership opens for service on Monday. This is definitely a manufacturing defect and I believe can easily be fixed by Volvo if (1) the base of the plastic housing was thicker or reinforced with metal, and/or (2) the torque used to secure the screw was adjusted. I typically use the opener on the fob, and I am not considered a superman, so this is not due to negligence.
hbatt- There is another thread about this specific issue. Seems there are quite a few people reporting it. Someone mentioned Volvo has changed the design so hopefully you'll get that when you get it replaced.
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I had the same issue. Dealer replaced the locking mechanism so hopefully won’t happen again.
My 2019 XC40's tailgate couldn't close properly, hydraulics were working but I always need to push for it to lock.



Our (Philippine) Volvo service diagnosed that I needed to replace my 2 working hydraulic tailgate closers for a whopping 1,500 USD to solve the problem.



I had it checked by outside mechanics and found that the lock mechanism on both top (on the tailgate) and bottom latch (near the rear bumper) need to be realigned, and that the locking motor on the right had to be repaired. Only spent less than 180 usd and its now working great.



Hope this helps those who encountered this problem I read in Volvo forums. I'm so disappointed why the service center gave such a wrong (and costly) diagnosis.



Posted this in Volvo FB group
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