Power rear liftgate closing on its own

caribvolvo1 · Post by **caribvolvo1** » 29 Oct 2019, 07:18

I have a 2010 Volvo XC60 T6. It's a right-hand-drive I had to import from the Asian market, but it's otherwise a stock vehicle for North American standards. She's low milage (60,000). My chief issue is the power liftgate exterior handle has stopped working, and the liftgate falls once it has opened. I took a video of the action at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0iso9cvef799s ... 6.mp4?dl=0

I have replaced the non-powered strut, that doesn't seem to be helping. The keyfob works fine. The motor engages and the door opens fully. Doesn't seem to be struggling. When the door is fully opened, it just starts to slowly close again, until it's about 2 inches from closed. Then it sounds like the motor re-engages as if I pushed the close button, and it slams. Really not sure what is causing it.

My biggest difficulty, I imported to St. Kitts - Tiny Caribbean island without much in the way of services. Basically, I am nowhere near a volvo dealership or authorized mechanic, that I am aware. I have access to parts, if I buy them and ship them in, so the remoteness is my biggest issue. If I knew what the problem was, I could order the parts and get a local mechanic to install them, but I'm at a loss, and nobody I have talked to is familiar enough with Volvos to diagnose.

aaronlife · Post by **aaronlife** » 29 Oct 2019, 16:01

I have a similar issue only mine doesn't open on it's own again. It opens fine, and then slowly closes but doesn't latch. I replaced the strut on the right and it didn't help. If I open it, hold it open, and then press the button, it closes fine. So I assume there is a leak somewhere, losing pressure, air in the system, etc., but at $300 plus for the other parts, not sure what to start with. I'll post a new thread and see if a different title gets a response.

His400 · Post by **His400** » 05 Nov 2019, 07:55

Last winter I had the internal spring bind on the shaft so it wasn't providing support... Scared the crap out of me when it unstuck with a bang. But the tail stayed up after that... Gotta get into it to polish and grease (heaviest you can find...)

caribvolvo1 · Post by **caribvolvo1** » 05 Nov 2019, 07:56

Was that the powered arm, or the supporting one on the other side?

aaronlife · Post by **aaronlife** » 15 Jan 2020, 07:26

Did you fix yours yet? I just replaced the hydraulic lift cylinder ($300 USD) and a bad o-ring on one of the hoses that attaches to the cylinder end, and it still goes right up, and comes back down.

XC60aches · Post by **XC60aches** » 16 Jan 2020, 08:40

That seems like something electrical. As soon as it reaches the top, it’s being told to go down. Possible bad down button?

aaronlife · Post by **aaronlife** » 16 Jan 2020, 08:53

Thanks, I wish, nope, sometimes the motor will kick in and push it back up, but the coming down is slow, like pressure loss. I can press the button and it will go down quickly. Oddly, it seemed to improve yesterday, not resolved, but the falling is slower now, so maybe replacing the hydraulic cylinder helped, or the o-ring helped, so I will try replacing the other o-ring, and see if I can get some more fluid. Maybe if the seals are better now, and I get more fluid in there, the pressure will hold??

aaronlife · Post by **aaronlife** » 29 Feb 2020, 15:24

OK, update liftgate falling issue is fixed, it was the pump, I bought a used one and installed it. Goes up and stays up. I had to close it manually to get the pump to activate. Now the issue is it won't go down when the button is pressed. I have to manually close it. I'm going to leave it alone for awhile and see if it needs to reset.