tail gate latch failure (2nd time)

[toddjb122]

About a year ago to the day I was 400 miles from my dealer, truck loaded up with people and gear and the rear hatch wouldn't open. It turned out that a cable inside the tailgate had come loose and the only fix was for the dealer to dismantle the tailgate from the inside so the mechanism could be released, and I suppose the cable replaced. I was told this was a known problem where, over time, the cable pulls out of the latch mechanism. ...or something like that. Point is, you can't open the lift glass so your rear is stuck closed. It is pretty inconvenient.

Happened again yesterday. Had a couple bikes loaded in the back, went to open it up and no dice. You can hear the electronic latch moving inside but it doesn't trigger anything.

So, I called my dealer and will bring it in next week.

I'm sure it will get fixed, but am concerned that this is a design defect that will pop up once a year for me. It is never convenient, but at least this time I was close to home. And when my extended warranty expires it'll be even worse.

Does anyone have any suggestions for when I talk to my dealer next week? I wasn't sure if there is a TSB for this or if they'll just plug a new cable back in and the same thing is likely to happen. I don't know if it is worth having them grease the linkage and cable more than usual so everything slides with less friction. Or, is there another part of the system which may not move freely (salt air corrosion from beach trips?) that I should pay attention too. The latch looks pretty clean externally, anyway.

Appreciate any tips and to know if this has happened to anyone else.

Thanks!

 

[mustbeaudi]

Any other dealers nearby? You never know . . .

 

[toddjb122]

Hmmmm, no other replies. So I guess this has only happened to me (on this forum).

That's good, I suppose. I'd rather them be able to sort it out on my vehicle than have it be a design flaw!

Dropping it off today, so if you do have any insight, let me know and I'll pass it on!

 

[phx5o]

Yep the same exact thing happened to me. Took it to the dealer and they said the same thing. They had to replace the cable. I was at Home Depot and was unloading my cart, and it wouldn’t open.
So will see how long that last. My manufactures warrant over in March. I have a 05 LR3 SE V8. Now I have to take it back to the dealer to get the windshield sprayer fixed, that quit working and is leaking.

 

[toddjb122]

It was the latch actuator...or something like that. Basically replaced the same latch mechanism they did a year ago. I'm a bit concerned that there is something uniquely forceful in my cabling that will cause this to fail in another year (and eventually be outside the year parts warranty or factory extended warranty). I can't figure the labor to take apart my tailgate from the inside is cheap.

 

[toddjb122]

For what its worth (just picked up my truck)...

I am concerned that this will break again since it has already broken twice and the repair is the same both times (replace the latch). I had asked if there is any maintenance I can do to relieve the stress on the latch and was told there isn't. I also asked (as I have in this post) if there is anything that can be done to other parts of the system (grease the linkage?) to reduce the stress as it seems that mine fails when others don't....the reply from my SA was that he has to break into a lot of LR3s. So, for him it is a pretty common problem. He is not sure how or if LR is addressing it.

Anyway, it seemed odd that only one person reported the same issue here.

He also said that it is very difficult to break into the hatch from the inside of the vehicle. Particularly if you have the rear seats as they block access. In some cases they have had to destroy parts to get in there. So, it doesn't sound like something I can easily do myself. The shop techs have experience and if it still a pain for them to do, it isn't anything I want to figure out on my own.

From the outside, it looks the the latch that was replaced is the one that holds the glass to the tailgate. That plastic seems to be new.

 

[trm2]

The same thing happened to me two summers ago (2005 SE7). It happened during a vacation with the truck fully loaded up. LR had to break into the rear hatch; they replaced the latch and the plastic around the latch. It happened approx 1 week after I loaded a very heavy grill into the back of my truck and it rested on the tailgate for a few seconds. I have been very careful since about putting anything (or anyone) heavy on the open tailgate.

 

[toddjb122]

Thanks for the feedback. I can't see how this would be related to resting something heavy on the tailgate unless you hit the latch mechanism, which is pretty protected...you would have had to bang it with a corner or something. The fault seems to be a design issue - the cable which actuates the latch gets pulled out of the latch mechanism. No way a heavy object on the tailgate could cause this unless you actually bent the tailgate clean off the vehicle and this caused cable strain!

I hope mine doesn't break again. Even if it is covered, it is just a pain in the butt to deal with.

 

[toddjb122]

After I posted this thread, somebody posted a detailed (with photos) process to permanently fix this. I believe it may have been a link to another forum. They basically changed the way the cable was affixed to the actuator.

I've searched all over but can't turn up the thread. If you recall the thread, please repost the link.

THANKS!!!

 

[drzjoint]

http://landroverforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15226
I beleve this had pictures n such