Intermittent issue with tailgate

[JimP1992]

Hi all,

I’m plagued with a fairly recent intermittent fault with my tailgate. Occasionally, we cannot access the boot as the handle does not react when pressed. Most of the time, it reacts after 2 attempts.

We were in Wales a few weeks ago and it didn’t work at all over the weekend, and then, one night, the internal mood lighting came on by itself intermittently and the power button wouldn’t switch it off. All is OK r.e. The lighting now and it hasn’t happened since. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that these two issues occurred simultaneously, so I assume it’s an electrical fault? The boot issue occasionally persists.

The van is a T6, still under warranty. Of course, when checked over by VW recently, there appeared to be no fault and it’s working flawlessly. I can’t seem to find anything on the forums about this.

Can anyone shed any light as to what the issue might be?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Perfectos]

I believe it’s a known issue (known by VW )

have a look on the T6 forum, unfortunately as is the way with lots of these issues it looks like it’s dealer dependant And if you can get them to engage (experience)

power latching ?

warranty ?

if no warranty start with checking all electrical connections to the tailgate latch Or replace latch assembly as a starting point

 

[Resfeber]

Hi all,

I’m plagued with a fairly recent intermittent fault with my tailgate. Occasionally, we cannot access the boot as the handle does not react when pressed. Most of the time, it reacts after 2 attempts.

We were in Wales a few weeks ago and it didn’t work at all over the weekend, and then, one night, the internal mood lighting came on by itself intermittently and the power button wouldn’t switch it off. All is OK r.e. The lighting now and it hasn’t happened since. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that these two issues occurred simultaneously, so I assume it’s an electrical fault? The boot issue occasionally persists.

The van is a T6, still under warranty. Of course, when checked over by VW recently, there appeared to be no fault and it’s working flawlessly. I can’t seem to find anything on the forums about this.

Can anyone shed any light as to what the issue might be?

Thanks in advance!

Had something very similar with the tailgate release not responding first time and the power latching not “power” latching every time (although never had to resort to getting into the boot from inside and using the emergency release)

Open rear door from the inside

I hit one of those metal tree protections and somehow the rear door got stuck. With the 2 chairs stowed in place it is very difficult to reach the lock. I did go to a VW dealer here in Portugal, but with very little experience with this model they did not manage to solve the problem. Before they...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Issue was known to VW as “corroded electric connections in the boot lock mechanism”

Problem came to light at 35 months and fixed under warranty 35 months and 28 days (phew) but no details provided to customer on what was actually done although a full record is kept by VW.

All working fine 14 months later fingers x

As Perfectos indicated fix also depends on dealer relationship and expertise

 

[JimP1992]

Good to know, thanks for the replies. It’s going in for some warranty work in 2 weeks. The warranty is due to expire at the end of Sep, so fingers crossed it occurs again whilst there…

 

[Perfectos]

Good to know, thanks for the replies. It’s going in for some warranty work in 2 weeks. The warranty is due to expire at the end of Sep, so fingers crossed it occurs again whilst there…

If it occurs again take a video so you can prove it to the dealer, otherwise “no fault found”

VW dealers do not repair anything, they simply replace broken parts with new, anything involving diagnostic (not carried out by a computer) and good old fashioned fault finding is not considered in their remit .

 

[Resfeber]

Good to know, thanks for the replies. It’s going in for some warranty work in 2 weeks. The warranty is due to expire at the end of Sep, so fingers crossed it occurs again whilst there…

Just an extra point. The problem started as very intermittent ie did I really press the release hard enough to unlock?
Did the power close not work or is the boot too full or something on the boot floor cill?
By week 3 power close was just about not functioning.
Interestingly, the dash van outline image did not light up to show that the tailgate was not fully latched.
This may be a diagnostic help as electrical info needed from lock to inform dash display.
The lock was secure so that the tailgate did not spring open (Lock in position 1) but it did move between full closed position and the first position for the mechanical lock.
You can test the lock and release with a screw driver shaft than repeatedly opening and closing the boot.

Once either lock position active you use release handle on outside to return lock to open position.

 

[Perfectos]

Just an extra point. The problem started as very intermittent ie did I really press the release hard enough to unlock?
Did the power close not work or is the boot too full or something on the boot floor cill?
By week 3 power close was just about not functioning.
Interestingly, the dash van outline image did not light up to show that the tailgate was not fully latched. The lock was secure so that the tailgate did not spring open but it did move between full closed position and the first position for the mechanical lock.
You can test the lock and release with a screw driver shaft than repeatedly opening and closing the boot.
View attachment 97909View attachment 97907View attachment 97908

IMO a new latch is inexpensive and will discount that component if the problem persists.

failure of the latch is a PITA if it fails with a fully loaded van , particularly if you are away.

 

[JimP1992]

If it occurs again take a video so you can prove it to the dealer, otherwise “no fault found”

VW dealers do not repair anything, they simply replace broken parts with new, anything involving diagnostic (not carried out by a computer) and good old fashioned fault finding is not considered in their remit .

Unfortunately I already did this, showed them the video, and they advised that if the issue persists post-warranty then it’s on me for the most part, as they can’t identify the issue without it occurring whilst on site. They advised that they’ll likely be able to make a contribution to the cost of repair.

I’m thinking of taking the 2 year service plan and warranty, as I intend to continue to service it at VW post-manufacturer’s warranty. Although not as comprehensive, I’m advised that the basic warranty covers electrical faults not attributed to wear & tear.

 

[Resfeber]

IMO a new latch is inexpensive and will discount that component if the problem persists.

failure of the latch is a PITA if it fails with a fully loaded van , particularly if you are away.

My take is that the problem is not the mechanical latch part but the electrical micro switches that fail to connect and trigger the electric motor actuators for the mechanical lock

 

[JimP1992]

Just an extra point. The problem started as very intermittent ie did I really press the release hard enough to unlock?
Did the power close not work or is the boot too full or something on the boot floor cill?
By week 3 power close was just about not functioning.
Interestingly, the dash van outline image did not light up to show that the tailgate was not fully latched.
This may be a diagnostic help as electrical info needed from lock to inform dash display.
The lock was secure so that the tailgate did not spring open (Lock in position 1) but it did move between full closed position and the first position for the mechanical lock.
You can test the lock and release with a screw driver shaft than repeatedly opening and closing the boot.

Once either lock position active you use release handle on outside to return lock to open position.
View attachment 97909View attachment 97907View attachment 97908

Yeah, the tailgate occasionally does not react at all when trying to open it (as if the mechanism is dead). Then a few hours, or a couple of days later, it’s fine. Boot isn’t over-full. When I can open it, it closes fine, no issues. It’s weird.

Cool I’ll give this a go, many thanks.

 

[JimP1992]

My take is that the problem is not the mechanical latch part but the electrical micro switches that fail to connect and trigger the electric motor actuators for the mechanical lock

Yep, I reckon it’s an electrical issue.

 

[Resfeber]

Unfortunately I already did this, showed them the video, and they advised that if the issue persists post-warranty then it’s on me for the most part, as they can’t identify the issue without it occurring whilst on site. They advised that they’ll likely be able to make a contribution to the cost of repair.

I’m thinking of taking the 2 year service plan and warranty, as I intend to continue to service it at VW post-manufacturer’s warranty. Although not as comprehensive, I’m advised that the basic warranty covers electrical faults not attributed to wear & tear.

Sounds like a plan unless they try and exclude it as a “known issue”

 

[Perfectos]

My take is that the problem is not the mechanical latch part but the electrical micro switches that fail to connect and trigger the electric motor actuators for the mechanical lock

I would agree 100% that it sounds to be electrical.

the latch is an electro mechanical device, particularly the soft close,
good practice would be to discount the cheapest easiest potential fix option first. I.e. the latch. So this can be discounted in future.

Diagnosing an intermittent electrical fault can be onerous and complex, which I guess is why VW will not entertain a video of the fault

 

[Cali4nia-Dream]

Our issue though slightly different was that when driving along we got a tailgate open warning and occasionally the buzz closing didn't happen. Turned out to be the microswitch by the latch. Quickly diagnosed by the staff. All sorted under warranty