Power Liftgate Latching Problem

[moeman600]

Hey Everyone,

The problem I'm having is that the latch motor on our 2008 XC70 won't actuate when the lid is closed. Press the button and it closes all the way, and if you didn't know any different you'd think it closed. However, having heard the motor cycle for several years as the final step, we know its not working right. Lately its also gotten very finicky when trying to open. A few months ago the first issue we noticed was that it would abort the close. I think I diagnosed that one to the handle getting stuck, so sprayed some lube up in there and seemed to go away for a while. Then this motor issue started. I ripped apart a lot of the trim, tried activating the latch with a screwdriver and the motor cycled every time without fail. I'm guessing my problem is

1) Something to do with the sticky handle, and/or
2) The relative positions of the latch and striker have changed so the motor isn't getting the signal to activate
3) Motor/latch mechanism has worn to the point that the activation point has changed

Thanks for your help!

[moeman600]

Ok, so I tore into it today and was able to figure out a fix. Playing around with it, I found that if I very gently closed the liftgate, the latch motor would actuate properly. If I slammed it hard, or let the liftgate motor do the closing then it wouldn't latch properly. My assumption was that it was overshooting the sensor. I loosened the two striker bolts and attempted to move it forward, but there was no adjustment left in the forward direction. So I took the striker off, enlarged the holes in the direction I needed to move, and re-installed. In the end, I moved it about 3mm forward. Works perfect so far.