V90 CC tailgate mount failure

[SkyeBear]

Hi, I've had, from what I can find online, a fairly rare failure of the mounting point of the nearside electric tailgate strut on my 2019 V90 CC.

Volvo customer services have been useless - this failure occured 5 months out of warranty with 32k on the clock. I didn't think my request for Volvo UK to get involved in helping to rectify was out of line. They said, "not a manufacturing defect, take it up with Motor Ombudsman if you're not satisfied".

It appears the tailgate inner is a single piece of fibreglass and replacing it would involve removal of various electrics. Or removal of the entire tailgate. Neither option is ideal when I'd be working outdoors in Scotland in winter.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to a fix that may work? Epoxy resin to fix the mounting bolt?

Cheers.

[nu11eaf]

Maybe a large washer to cover the hole.

[S90]

Originally Posted by SkyeBear

Hi, I've had, from what I can find online, a fairly rare failure of the mounting point of the nearside electric tailgate strut on my 2019 V90 CC.

Volvo customer services have been useless - this failure occured 5 months out of warranty with 32k on the clock. I didn't think my request for Volvo UK to get involved in helping to rectify was out of line. They said, "not a manufacturing defect, take it up with Motor Ombudsman if you're not satisfied".

It appears the tailgate inner is a single piece of fibreglass and replacing it would involve removal of various electrics. Or removal of the entire tailgate. Neither option is ideal when I'd be working outdoors in Scotland in winter.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to a fix that may work? Epoxy resin to fix the mounting bolt?

Cheers.

Rare as in I cannot find another instance of this. Struts failing yes, but the whole thing coming away no.

I cannot tell from the images what's happened. Has the mounting snapped??

If the mounting has been loose then the resulting fail has ripped the trim then its not a defect. I'd try your local dealer to see if they will help.

[SkyeBear]

Originally Posted by S90

Rare as in I cannot find another instance of this. Struts failing yes, but the whole thing coming away no.

I cannot tell from the images what's happened. Has the mounting snapped??

If the mounting has been loose then the resulting fail has ripped the trim then its not a defect. I'd try your local dealer to see if they will help.

The threaded hole that the mounting bolt screws into is fully moulded into the fibreglass. There's no bracket under the fibreglass. It's failed 180 degrees from the strut so in effect the strut has torqued the fibreglass to failure.

Volvo dealer said it was caused by a bump despite no damage to the tailgate or rear window.

I pushed the button to close tailgate, there was a loud crack and the tailgate wouldn't close.

I thought the dealer or Volvo UK would have been more interested even just from curiosity at a rare failure.

[SkyeBear]

Thanks, I thought of a washer too until I realised the thread itself has moved several degrees as its moulded to the fibreglass during manufacture.

[SkyeBear]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

Maybe a large washer to cover the hole.

Although thinking again maybe a large enough washer would pull the thread back into place... Spread the load over a wider area of the tailgate.

[S90]

So, is the insert that goes into that threaded hole the post that holds the strut??

It looks like there is nothing in that hole, it broken post? Just trying to understand how it could have failed with no visible damage to thread??

My thoughts which may be completely wrong is the post was loose, the fibreglass is not designed to take the load and when going to close the tailgate the post has ripped the fibreglass out?

This would mean the post was loose and not in its thread tightly, meaning not a manufacturing fault as such, although not torqued properly as it's not something you'd ever check for tightness.

I have a V90, so same tailgate. I'll try to get a look.

[S90]

Yeah, so tailgate is metal. Whats happened is the strut post has come loose, and then popped when you've gone to close, ripping into the fibreglass which is the trim.

I'd still be inclined to speak to the dealer. You really shouldn't need to check the tightness of those posts. I assume it also took the rubber grommet and cable away when the post failed?

I think the thread has moved in the tailgate due to it failing and at the same time you closing the tailgate, pushing the post and subsequently the thread out of skew.

[SkyeBear]

Originally Posted by S90

Yeah, so tailgate is metal. Whats happened is the strut post has come loose, and then popped when you've gone to close, ripping into the fibreglass which is the trim.

I'd still be inclined to speak to the dealer. You really shouldn't need to check the tightness of those posts. I assume it also took the rubber grommet and cable away when the post failed?

I think the thread has moved in the tailgate due to it failing and at the same time you closing the tailgate, pushing the post and subsequently the thread out of skew.

The bolt has a ball that goes into the strut socket, and there's a clip on the strut that olds ball in place while allowing it to rotate.

To get the tailgate closed when it failed I had to pry the clip off, removing the strut from tailgate. The bolt was still tight in thread as had to remove with a socket wrench.

I'm thinking the strut partially failed and instead of retracting fully, jammed and pushed against the bolt and the strut was stronger than the fibreglass. Volvo said they tested the strut and it was working ok though.

[S90]

Nightmare!!

I’d still be pushing dealer and VUK for help towards fix. Something has failed, and a part that generally is not user serviceable.