2008 Volvo XC70 Hatch Latch Issue and Fix

[Steve H]

I have had a problem with my power lift gate latch for a long time on my XC70. You could not open the hatch from the outside using the handle. It would only open with the remote or button on the dash. Today I decided to pull the inside cover. I removed the latch and the side control box. I found the side Marked "L" on the picture I attached to be broken where it mounts to the bracket that should hold the wire sleeve to that bracket. I also found the insert on the side labeled "R" to be lose from the unit and not held in place. What I did to correct is I used stainless steel locking wire to attached the "L" side to the metal colored bracket. On the other side of the wire sleeve, I used 5 minute epoxy to attached the sleeve guide end to the other unit. I reinstalled everything and for the first time since I owned the vehicle, the hatch operated correctly from the outside of the vehicle using the handle latch above the tag. My car has proximity key fob and walking up to the car and using the latch handle will open the hatch and activate the power lift. Walking up to the vehicle locked with no key will not as a test. I thought I would share what I found and how I corrected it. The stainless locking wire worked really well to secure the broken side to the metal bracket and the epoxy should work to hold the guide end of the sleeve to the other unit. That part is over $500 , so I hope this holds for a long while. One other thing I did is I sprayed the entire mechanism with gel lube that sticks really well while I had it off.