Tailgate won't open

[sierraman]

Hi

I have a P2 2001 V70 5 seater and I am currently unable to open the tailgate/boot

In the last 6 months the boot appeared to unlock by itself and I would sometimes get the boot open light on the dash, then when i tried to lock it, sometimes it would lock and sometimes not (But i could hear the locking mech)

However it now won't unlock at all and I can't hear the locking mech either and I now have to load the boot with the back seats down which is a real p.i.t.a

When I search the web, it could be one of three things, Wiring harness/ lock mech/ or the spring in the handle. Every video I see shows someone doing a repair with the tailgate open, so my questions are

1) Is it possible to open the locked boot from the inside without damaging the doorcard/trim or from the outside without marking the tailgate or bumper?

2) Does anyone have a link that shows how to get the boot open with minimum damage?

3) If i was to buy a used handle section and the lock off the 7 seater version, would this be a straight forward repair (so i can use a key if the boot plays up again) ?

I am amazed this could happen on a car that is designed to be a load lugger. A lightweight fibreglass tailgate (or similar) Plastic locking parts and no key option, what were volvo thinking? My previous P1 V70 didn't drive as well as my P2 (but easier to park) and came with a steel/metal tailgate and a separate lock and never gave any trouble in 19 years of ownership. I dread to think what they may have done to the P3 if the P2 is like this!

Anyway any sensible advice and links to parts and or sorting this out would be appreciated.

Thank you

[Korchoi]

Did you get sorted out ? I’m surprised nobody came to help you out.


It doesn’t take much of a slipped boot mat to jam the tailgate. I use a piece of cut down yoga mat to sit on while I’m donning fishing waders, I’ve lost count of the times it’s slipped under the tailgate as I’ve closed it. Impossible to open from the outside, and only opens after I’ve clambered into the boot and pulled the mat out.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by sierraman

Hi

I have a P2 2001 V70 5 seater and I am currently unable to open the tailgate/boot

In the last 6 months the boot appeared to unlock by itself and I would sometimes get the boot open light on the dash, then when i tried to lock it, sometimes it would lock and sometimes not (But i could hear the locking mech)

However it now won't unlock at all and I can't hear the locking mech either and I now have to load the boot with the back seats down which is a real p.i.t.a

When I search the web, it could be one of three things, Wiring harness/ lock mech/ or the spring in the handle. Every video I see shows someone doing a repair with the tailgate open, so my questions are

1) Is it possible to open the locked boot from the inside without damaging the doorcard/trim or from the outside without marking the tailgate or bumper?

2) Does anyone have a link that shows how to get the boot open with minimum damage?

3) If i was to buy a used handle section and the lock off the 7 seater version, would this be a straight forward repair (so i can use a key if the boot plays up again) ?

I am amazed this could happen on a car that is designed to be a load lugger. A lightweight fibreglass tailgate (or similar) Plastic locking parts and no key option, what were volvo thinking? My previous P1 V70 didn't drive as well as my P2 (but easier to park) and came with a steel/metal tailgate and a separate lock and never gave any trouble in 19 years of ownership. I dread to think what they may have done to the P3 if the P2 is like this!

Anyway any sensible advice and links to parts and or sorting this out would be appreciated.

Thank you

Its a 23 year old car... locks will fail. Imagine how many times that boot has been opened and locked in 23 years...

There's a panel underneath the back window that you need to remove to access the lock. You have to climb into the boot from the rear of the car and remove the plastic panel to open the lock.

This video is from an XC90 with the same issue, but yours should be similar.

+ YouTube Video

[sierraman]

Originally Posted by Korchoi

Did you get sorted out ? I’m surprised nobody came to help you out.


It doesn’t take much of a slipped boot mat to jam the tailgate. I use a piece of cut down yoga mat to sit on while I’m donning fishing waders, I’ve lost count of the times it’s slipped under the tailgate as I’ve closed it. Impossible to open from the outside, and only opens after I’ve clambered into the boot and pulled the mat out.

Hi, I gave in on getting a reply so many thanks for being the first to reply. It is definitely not anything to do with boot mats or the floor etc and as i checked that first.

This is such an annoying fault to deal with. I have had to climb into the back of the car and almost break the parcel cover, leaning over it and forcing it against the closed tailgate in order to get it to retract. After removing the cover, I then had to unbolt both sections of the floor in order to retrieve the spare wheel and tools etc. I just couldn't drive around without being able to access the spare wheel in an emergency. So the spare wheel & tools is now on the boot mat in the boot and I had to put everything back as it was, so from the outside no one would be any the wiser.

Unfortunately I am awaiting a Hernia operation and moving around on my knees in a confined space is agony and a real PITA.

The mot is due soon so i just hope that as the spare wheel is accessable by droping the back seats, all will be ok

Thanks

[sierraman]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Its a 23 year old car... locks will fail. Imagine how many times that boot has been opened and locked in 23 years...

There's a panel underneath the back window that you need to remove to access the lock. You have to climb into the boot from the rear of the car and remove the plastic panel to open the lock.

This video is from an XC90 with the same issue, but yours should be similar.

Hi

Yes it's a 23 year old car but the boot hasn't had daily use and this car really should have had an internal tailgate release or a key operated lock for faults like this.

It's not actually an easy repair if you can't open the tailgate either and it's normally an older person who has one of these cars who like myself struggle on their knees in a confined boot space. It appears that it is near on impossible to remove the back panel (or pull it out at the top) enough to access the lock, without breaking the back panel.

Never mind its 23 years old, it's an estate car and the boot is the main selling point of the car and being able to get into the boot is a must. I also never slam the doors and i always carefully close the tailgate so this is penny pinching by volvo as far as i am concerned

Anyway I have a brand new internal lock and I am currently on the look out for an internal tailgate door panel and the handle mech too (as i have been told by another V70 owner that it could be that as well (spring in the handle that pushes the bar down onto the internal lock to open it)

Other than that a garage wanted to use an angle grinder to cut along the plastic trim under the tailgate and cut through the metal loop that the lock hooks on to and the other garage i use didn't want to know.

I also couldn't find any video showing how to access the lock from inside the boot with a locked tailgate. All off the video's show an open tailgate which I can deal with happily, So that is why i put this on here really.

If anybody knows of a video that shows how to get the tailgate open with minimal damage, please let me know.

[sierraman]

Hi

I have just watched the XC90 video and yes it is easy to access the lock so If i had an XC 90 i wouldn't have asked for advice on here.

The P2 V70 has no internal handle or little light on the rear panel to remove It is a one piece panel which has 7 or 8 bolts attaching it to the tailgate and these bolts are hidden when the tailgate is shut. So if you pull the panel away from the rear glass at the top & try to stick my hand inside to access the lock, it looks like it will break of the internal clips and is high likely to crack/break the back panel too.

I could be wrong but that is how it looks to me.

So am I the only person who has the lock fail on their V70 when the tailgate is shut? All the videos show how to remove the trim to access the internal lock with the tailgates open which doesn't really help

Thanks

[4x4]

This explains the assembly for the V70

+ YouTube Video

[stuart bowes]

Double post

[stuart bowes]

It is a pain i know, apparently the 7 seater variants did have an internal handle but the 5 seats like mine as well did not

It's actually a very simple mechanism I'm not sure if this helps, but the lock motor pulls a lever from side to side so that it either aligns with the metal rod, or doesn't. In theory if you know where to poke, you could get a metal rod of some kind and press down in the right place to poke the lever. I e the lock mech doesn't actually 'lock' the door as such it just stops the arm being able to push down in the right place.

Anyway I'm sure if you saw a picture of the black lever you could work out where to aim and only need a fairly small gap at the top to poke through

Personally I would just get the step drill out and make a 12-15mm hole in the internal trim near the bottom in the middle, unlock the door with a screwdriver or something and then put a rubber grommet in, easy access for next time if it happens again

[stuart bowes]

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=315599

The black bit needs to be pressed downwards