XC70: Body Rear tailgate will not open

[Kastellos]

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

[bobsy852]

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

[Kastellos]

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

[vrb]

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..

[pierremcalpine]

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.

[wilbydoughboy]

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.

[StewartG]

Originally Posted by vrb

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..

Mine did that today VRB and your fix worked! Many thanks

[100K+]

Question ....
What if anything can be done to the rear hatch/lock/trim so that access can be obtained to get to the lock so that the rear door can be opened to change a defunct lock?

I'm thinking preventative maintenance.

Could and would a flap cut into the rear door trim panel allow meaningful access, so that the rear door could be opened, to replace the locking mechanism?

It may be possible with the trim removed before the door won't open to make a neat job of such a panel.

It would seem that lock failure and all its problems is an issue with these cars..

Comments/thoughts as usual appreciated..


Cheers
Bob

[Bioly1975]

Originally Posted by vrb

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..

did the same but works so no replacement done so far

[TheRapidRooster]

Originally Posted by Kastellos

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

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.