Volvo XC40 Forums

Have the powered tailgate and earlier tonight it wouldn't close. Bit of a double panic as going away for a few days tomorrow, nevermind having it open overnight and parked outside.

It would go about half way down and then go back up again. Tried resetting it but to no avail. Read in the handbook that it could be manually closed but when trying it I met a lot of resistance and didn't want to force it. After one or two tries it stopped at the same place and then beeped which would normally indicate that the safety pinch had activated.

Looking at the struts one of them had faint signs of rust where it slides inside. I've noticed that when washing it and then opening the tailgate that quite a lot of water runs down the strut. It shouldn't be a problem as the opening in the strut is at the bottom when the tailgate is closed so I'm assuming it's getting in at the top?

Anyway, after squirting some silicone spray inside the strut and wiping it over the part that slides inside and then working the tailgate up and down I managed to close it, phew!!

So it looks like at least one new strut. Fortunately it's still a couple of months within warranty.

Yes, it sounds like one of the struts is providing enough resistance to initiate the safety stop. Isn't silicone spray lube good stuff though, I swear by it.

Had a nice couple of days in Cambridge even though we had to load the luggage via the back doors. Had another look at the nearside strut and there is an obvious bulge which is causing the resistance and hence the tailgate to reclose. The water ingress seems to have caused rusting inside the strut and expansion of whatever is inside.

Trip to dealer today, having rung them yesterday, and new struts will be fitted next week.

Car will be shortly out of warranty and we will be buying it outright next year so a little concerned about it happening again. As said, after washing and I guess after rain, when opening the tailgate, quite a lot of water can be seen on the strut and as the tailgate opens further and the strut turns upside down, the water can then run inside.

Shouldn't have to do this, but what I'm going to do when opening the tailgate after washing or rain, is to stop it when partway open and then dry off the struts before fully opening. Hopefully this will prevent premature failure again.

Never seen water on my struts (although I have a manual tailgate), and can't see how water could get to them simply by opening it. Did you check all the seals around the top of the boot?

Good point, I shall have a look before the car goes in. I have noticed that more water runs down the affected, nearside strut. Was wondering if water runs through the gap between the tailgate and roof and then pools there until the tailgate is opened? I shall investigate further. Thanks.

My struts also get a good soaking whenever I wash it, or it rains. When the tailgate is closed, the struts are in a channel between the rear lights and the boot seals so no water gets into the boot itself, but the channel and everything in it gets a good soaking.

I haven't had chance to check yet but that was my thoughts as well as regards where the tailgate seals are positioned and so no protection for the struts.

I assume there must be seals inside the struts to stop water ingress but they can fail. As I said before I will stop the tailgate after partial opening and wipe the struts before fully opening.

New struts fitted this afternoon. My car's a 2020 MY and assume there has been problems with the earlier struts as the new ones have been upgraded - I assume it is this type being fitted to more recent cars?

My original struts were plastic bodied and there was some play between the inner and outer parts through which water could pass. The new ones are metal bodied with plastic end caps and look to be better engineered with there being a precise fit where one part slides inside the other. Interestingly (well to me! ) the struts are now the other way up i.e. the part that slides inside is now at the top, as I've seen on some other cars - bit strange as water can now run over the opening into the strut, when the tailgate is closed, which is most of the time, unless there is a very effective seal . No point in wiping the struts dry now!

I notice that there is a rubber flap in the centre of the roof/tailgate to limit the amount of water running off the roof but at the sides there are channels either side of the roof rails which shoots the water down and over the struts which is why they get so wet - not the best design.

I guess this isn't a problem for folks who change their cars every 3 years or so (as I used to) but I've decided to keep this one for a while longer. Could be a problem for those buying second-hand, well the earlier ones anyway.

That’s good news you e got it sorted out.

You got a picture of the new struts ??

Thanks Andy. Have you got the plastic bodied ones on yours?

Difficult to photograph (well, using my tablet) but my effort attached.

Are the latest models fitted with this type?