General: 70: When Your Boot Won't Open.......How too.

[Paul240480]

Recently had this problem on my ph1 V70. With thanks to Volvo Again on here I was directed to a thread from sometime back covering this issue. The method in that thread was to simply pull the top of the interior trim on the tailgate away from the top which will allow you to get your hand in to manually release the gate.... But will it?
Well if you have trim like this, yes:

This type of trim will 'flex' enough to allow access, though you will most likely bust some of the retaining clips, requiring one of those repair kits from PFV or the like.

However, if you have trim like mine:

Then its going to break big time if you try the 'pull it' method.

So reading through the thread kindly linked to by Volvo Again, I stumbled across a post by Patstan (thanks Pat) offering a method of drilling a hole to get to the mechanism. He offered measurements of where to drill & advise by email if required, fab!

I contacted him & he kindly sent me the measurements :

This ^^^pic is one of Patstan's.

This is mine ready following Pats instructions:


Then after drilling out, I used a 60mm hole saw by the way.


Once you get this far, you can open the tailgate by using a pair of plumbers pliers. In the last pic, look into the hole & to the left, you can see a vertical metal 'rod'. Clamp your pliers onto this rod and move it downwards to release the tailgate. Now you can remove the trim & fix whatevers gone wrong - which could be the electric wires in the tailgate or roof hinges, or like in my case the rod seems to have detached from the release 'lever'.....

When you have solved your problem, before refitting the trim, on the inside stick a few runs of Duck Tape over the hole you have cut out. Then simply stick the round disc you have cut , back in place. You should have a virtually invisible 'repair'.

Hope this helps if you end up in this situation.
Also feel free to add to this if you have any other 'pointers' that may help.

Thanks.

[Paul240480]

My original thread : https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=299753

[volvo again]

Thanks for posting this, you never know when fellow members may need it.
As you say, once the cut out portion is replaced, an almost invisible repair.
Why can't Volvo designers think like this...

[DaveNP]

If you had a spare centre cap from an alloy wheel, cut the hole the appropriate size and call it a design feature, only question is do you put the cap in the right way up when viewed from the inside or upside down so it looks right when you look up at the open tailgate.
But seriously, thanks for the update Paul, as volvo again says, you never know when one of us may need it.

[turboboy]

Originally Posted by DaveNP

If you had a spare centre cap from an alloy wheel, cut the hole the appropriate size and call it a design feature,

I was thinking of those black plastic cap type plugs that go in the end of the cardboard postage tubes used for rolled up documents etc. but a wheel centre cap is a good call.

[Paul240480]

Finally after a weeks solid rain I’ve had a look to see what’s busted.
Didn’t take pics, sorry. But had to remove the rear wiper mechanism to get to the bolts , well one of them to remove the release lever, or so I thought..... once I’d got the two 10mm nuts of it still would’nt budge...
So I then removed 2 more 10mm bolts that hold the whole trim piece with the number plate lamps and the boot release lever.... and removed the whole blummin’ thing...

This bit, a right royal pita!
Looking at the lever itself, it is plastic and it has snapped

Look dead centre , just left of the spring you can see where it’s snapped.
The lever mechanism itself is still solidly in place, not worked out how to separate it from that trim piece for now, so not sure if I need the whole blummin’ thing to sort this.
Defo’ a Friday afternoon car this one.....