Tailgate won’t close completely

[ExVolt]

Sometimes when we use the foot gesture to open the tailgate, it only opens about 2 inches and then stops. Today this happened to my partner and rather than physically lifting the tailgate the rest of the way, he tried to re-close it. It didn’t close completely. Now, the car senses the tailgate is still open because there is about a 5 mm gap between a completely closed tailgate and where it is now.

This has happened a few times and we’ve always been able to muscle it open by pushing the tailgate release button on the rear of the car and then lifting it manually. Today our muscles were not sufficient and our tailgate is 5 mm open. We can neither close it or open it.

The symptoms are:
- Tailgate is very slightly open (5mm).
- None of the buttons (key, screens, arm rest) will open or close it now. So it is resting in the slightly open state.
- Because of this, the warning in tube c on the instrument cluster is constant and the beeping is loud as it detects the tailgate is open. See below for image.
- we cannot lock the car as it thinks the tailgate is open

We were close to our Porsche dealership when this last happened (today) so we decided to drive by and see if they could help us. I thought there must be an emergency latch release panel in the trunk, but I couldn’t find it and there’s nothing in the manual. The Saturday technicians couldn’t find it either, and they were not able to help us.

If anyone has a suggestion, we are all ears. We will be taking it back to the dealer on Monday if we can’t figure it out before then.

 

[dgkhn]

This is probably just a dumb suggestion, but no harm done if so: have you tried just holding the hatch release button in for several seconds--this happened to be the solution when my Subaru Forester hatch suddenly decided to stop operating (in that case I believe it was 10 seconds).

 

[krissrock]

I would also try simply disconnecting the 12v for a min

 

[ExVolt]

This is probably just a dumb suggestion, but no harm done if so: have you tried just holding the hatch release button in for several seconds--this happened to be the solution when my Subaru Forester hatch suddenly decided to stop operating (in that case I believe it was 10 seconds).

I tried, but didn’t help. It actually tries to open as I can hear the mechanism engage, I can also feel it trying to lift if I put my hand on the trunk. But it sounds like something catches in the locking mechanism and it gives up. And the trunk is still ever so slightly open (may 2 mm). Here’s a photo showing how minor it is opened:

 

[ExVolt]

I would also try simply disconnecting the 12v for a min

I’m nervous to try this. But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[shawn]

Sometimes when we use the foot gesture to open the tailgate, it only opens about 2 inches and then stops. Today this happened to my partner and rather than physically lifting the tailgate the rest of the way, he tried to re-close it. It didn’t close completely. Now, the car senses the tailgate is still open because there is about a 5 mm gap between a completely closed tailgate and where it is now.

This has happened a few times and we’ve always been able to muscle it open by pushing the tailgate release button on the rear of the car and then lifting it manually. Today our muscles were not sufficient and our tailgate is 5 mm open. We can neither close it or open it.

The symptoms are:
- Tailgate is very slightly open (5mm).
- None of the buttons (key, screens, arm rest) will open or close it now. So it is resting in the slightly open state.
- Because of this, the warning in tube c on the instrument cluster is constant and the beeping is loud as it detects the tailgate is open. See below for image.
- we cannot lock the car as it thinks the tailgate is open

We were close to our Porsche dealership when this last happened (today) so we decided to drive by and see if they could help us. I thought there must be an emergency latch release panel in the trunk, but I couldn’t find it and there’s nothing in the manual. The Saturday technicians couldn’t find it either, and they were not able to help us.

If anyone has a suggestion, we are all ears. We will be taking it back to the dealer on Monday if we can’t figure it out before then.

Think the dealer will figure it out quickly. You could have a mechanical issue ( perhaps a mechanical range limit switch is out of adjustment). If you don’t hear any mechanical binding or grinding then it might be a calibration issue usually caused by something that has shifted out of place. Just wondering what happens if you manually lift the trunk open to a preferred height and then long press the trunk switch’s? That will reset the height limiter. Does it beep to signify a lift height change? If it does then go in the car and press and hold the trunk button until it fully closes from that preset position (hopefully)or stops at some unclosed and unlocked position in which case that reset did nothing to help.

 

[ExVolt]

Think the dealer will figure it out quickly. You could have a mechanical issue ( perhaps a mechanical range limit switch is out of adjustment). If you don’t hear any mechanical binding or grinding then it might be a calibration issue usually caused by something that has shifted out of place. Just wondering what happens if you manually lift the trunk open to a preferred height and then long press the trunk switch’s? That will reset the height limiter. Does it beep to signify a lift height change? If it does then go in the car and press and hold the trunk button until it fully closes from that preset position (hopefully)or stops at some unclosed and unlocked position in which case that reset did nothing to help.

Thanks. When we can move the tailgate again, I’ll try this. Right now we’re in limbo - it won’t close completely, it won’t open so we can’t close it, and the car perceives correctly that it is open so it beeps constantly and won’t allow us to lock.

 

[Diego]

Had the same problem with my RR Evoque: manually opening the tailgate and resetting the position solve the issue. I hope it works for you too.

 

[ExVolt]

Had the same problem with my RR Evoque: manually opening the tailgate and resetting the position solve the issue. I hope it works for you too.

I’ve tried everything I can think of to manually open the tailgate. I was able to muscle it when this happened before, but this time no luck. Is there a secret release latch for the trunk? I’ve searched the forums and the manuals, and there is nothing for our car. The ICE macan had it, but when i crawled into the trunk via the rear seats, that option is not present.

 

[ExVolt]

While we can’t use our car right now due to this problem, we can still do small CostCo runs using our e-bikes. I’m so happy we got big saddle bags as Thanksgiving is approaching and we were short of whipped cream! Hopefully the dealer will give us good news tomorrow when we take it down beeping incessantly.

 

[ExVolt]

A theory popped into my head. I’ve forwarded it onto our service advisor. Here goes:

- Back in October,, our SA told us that our car was “damaged in transit” and that delivery would be delayed. The only detail she was provided was that the damage was to the rear bumper. She said Porsche was shipping a replacement bumper to the facility at the port and that it would be installed at the port before it was released to the dealership.

- I know there are tailgate sensors and calibration points at the back of the car that control many functions. I wonder if the bumper replacement (or whatever else they fixed as she didn’t feel they were super transparent about the damage) might have resulted in some sensor being less than perfectly calibrated.

This theory would explain why there have been no other reports of this problem on the forums. It also explains why things have been wonky with the tailgate since day 1. But then again, could be totally unrelated.

I will take it in tomorrow and post when there is a resolution.

 

[shawn]

That explains a lot. I don’t know about you but I would be demanding an entire new car. You paid good money for a damaged car and now you have to deal with that nonsense.

 

[ExVolt]

Well, 5 days later I have a new tailgate latch so we can open the trunk again. And I can drive without incessant beeping.

However, after this fix, the tailgate still won’t close without a brute force slam. Service explained the tailgate motor was damaged as part of the repairs Porsche made at the port before we received the car. So, we have to return in 10 days after the new motor arrives. They couldn’t say how long this would be.

As you can imagine, knowing we were given a brand new, damaged car that continues to inflict inconvenience is a bit crazy making.

I am going to Write to the GM explaining the situation and ask for compensation. Is this the right thing to do? I need advice as this is my first Porsche.

 

[shawn]

Good service regardless of the brand should offer more. I would ask for a free 2 year extended warranty for peace of mind and of course a free loan vehicle during any repair down time. See what they offer but warranty extensions don’t cost them cash up front. You seem more accepting than I would be but like I said you paid a lot of money for the car so you deserve a respectful and generous response.

Also will any of this show up on a CARFAX report? I hope not as it may impact resale. Just a question.

 

[PanameraFrank]

It will not show up on Carfax.

I'd ask for some compensation but I also thinks it's a 100% fixable problem. A free extended warranty or tire warranty or something would be a good call.

I get it's super frustrating but it's fixable and you should never notice the problem again nor will it effect resale. Cars being damaged somewhat in transit is very common, even in super high end cars like Ferrari and Lamborghini pre-delivery repairs are common.

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