Rear tailgate will not open
 

My XC70 2008 rear tailgate will not open. It makes a click but does not release when attempting to open it using the remote or the backdoor handle. I have pulled off the interior trim as far as is possible. It is hard to see the mechanism or to see any sign of a white tag emergency release that has been reported elsewhere on this forum. Please advise. Many thanks

You haven't locked your glovebox by any chance have you??

XC70 Tail gate will not open
 

Thanks but no. It has been open looking for the position of the relays and fuses for the tail gate. Any other ideas?

Mine did that.. For some reason I had to push the handle the opposite way. ie towards the car and then it would open.

Ended up having to replace the entire locking mechanism..

I've gone through two lock mech's over the 120k miles I've owned the car. It's a trouble spot for sure and likely cause of your issues. To be fair I've also had to replace the pot module too...but only once. Hopefully you. An get it open without issue for proper repair. Good luck.

I have an xc60 with a similar problem but I am unsure if it is the same switch as your car but I removed the rubber cover of the switch and I could push the contact and it worked fine. It was with the rubber cover back on that it played up but I have found that if it doesnt open straight away I push the rubber cover in different places and it opens.

If it doesn't open with the remote or the button on the dash, then its unlikely to be the switch in the tailgate handle. Sounds more like a mechanical issue.

Mine never opens from the remote. I just figured that was for fully automated tailgates?
When I first bought my car mine would stick every now and again and not respond. I found there was a lot of debris in the catch so I cleaned that out and then greased the lock and the catch. Been fine ever since (well until one time when I locked the glovebox and couldn't figure out why I couldn't open the boot! hahaha turns out locking the glove box locks the tailgate too!)

XC70 2008 Tailgate unable to open
 

Thanks for the advice. Tried everything but the tailgate remained solidly closed.
In the end we had to destroy the lock to get it open. Came to the conclusion it was a defective lock.
Worked from inside. Unscrewed 2 screws that retained trim grab recess. Pulled carpet trim away from door (it is held at the top by 2 screws that are inaccessible when tailgate closed). Had to work in confined space when trim partly pulled away, both underneath and over the top. Nothing obviously defective. Both the mechanical linkage and the solenoid one were slack and no amount of tugging would make it release the door. Disconnected the electrical plug at the top of the lock. There was no obvious mechanical release mechanism on the outside of the lock. The only option was to destroy the plastic cover over the lock. Removed motors etc. and then got to the bottom metal plate and able with a struggle to rotate the locking pin to release the door.
Got the impression that it was poor engineering. No possibility of releasing mechanically when we did get to the lock and far too much electronics to go wrong.
On the other hand the electrical cable at the hinge has been modified so that it does not tend to fracture on the more recent models.
Lock part number: 31253450 or 40508120 underneath 00308 VOLVO.
Hope others do not have this trouble.

Hi Kastellos. I recently had that same issue with the tailgate on my 2004 (04) V70 D5 SE Geartronic.
The car is a relativly small mileage example 111,000miles albeit now nearly 13yrs old.
It suddenley and quite mysteriously decided to function again and after thorough cleaning and lubricationg of the relavent parts - it was fine - for a while.
Then again after some 5weeks and very very little mileage it refused to open again and again it decided to open.
The previously applied lubricant was still present and the parts were as clean as I had previously left them.

It smacks of Gremlins or a pending major failure.