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T3 2011 power lift gate not working. Suggestions?

9513 Views 16 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  VWBob
My power liftgate recently stopped working. The motor seems to be working but the motor will only move the gate a ltittle bit, then beep and stop.
It does this regardless of which buttons I push or manually move the gate. I have no issues with the lock function.
I can't seem to find out where the sensors are as I want to try fixing those first.

Any suggestions? Thanks.
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Check the Manual for information about establishing upper limit of rear gate opening. The issue might be as simple as recalibration of this limit. Worst case scenario is faulty gate control computer module or mechanical failure of one of the components.
The lift gate struts are a problem on these models. Mine started to make noise and I had it replaced under warranty. I can't for the other one to give up the ship..
thanks for the replies

@consumer: are you talking about setting the height by holding/pressing the open/close button? tried that first with no luck

@tadpole: what was the issue with your strut? too much resistance?

where is the actual motor and sensor for the hatch? in the roof?
Agree with tadpole. I had both linear motors (aka struts) replaced after they failed and problem solved. They seem underengineered/too weak/short lifetime.
Agree with tadpole. I had both linear motors (aka struts) replaced after they failed and problem solved. They seem underengineered/too weak/short lifetime.

just so i'm clear, you guys are talking about the struts on either side of the hatch? #8 in figure below?

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Possibly. What is the name/description of #8? I am talking about the 2 units that power the tailgate open and closed, without which there would be no powered operation of the lift gate.
Where it stops on opening. Manually lift to the height you want. Then press the close remote button. Then see if will open all the way using the open remote button.
I had the same thing happen to my 2011, took one off and found which one was bad.

Replaced with a standard gas strut and now manually help my gate up.

Will eventually replace it but didn't feel like paying $350+ for a replacement.
The rear lift gate on our 2011 has been grumbling for a while and over the weekend it appears the sensor to tell the lift gate something is in the way is stopping the power lift gate from moving.

I think the failure is one of the struts or possibly problems in both, has anyone replaced these themselves ?
Is there a lubricant that can be used on the struts, maybe something that is teflon based, that can alleviate some of the friction?
Is there a lubricant that can be used on the struts, maybe something that is teflon based, that can alleviate some of the friction?
I have no experience with a lubricant for this situation.

These struts are a known weakness and have a high rate of failure. In my view the options are to replace with new units, or as mentioned in an earlier post, replace with gas struts and forego the electric/power feature.
They are probably not serviceable unfortunately, just going to have to bite the bullet and buy new ones if we want the auto up/down feature

From what I have found the replacement unit is N/A for 2011 online, will have to stop over at local VW Dealer to see what options I have
https://www.vwpartsvortex.com/oem-p...1YXJlZyZ5PTIwMTEmdD12cjYmZT0zLTZsLXY2LWdhcw==
Dealer confirmed the motorized struts are shot, new ones are $531 each.

The strut for the 2011/12 are no longer available (7P6827851E-IIT) so it goes to (7P6827851D) for 2013 - 2015 models at $531 each

Starting in 2016/17 the replacement strut is P/N (7P6827851F-IIT) and are only $318 each, without having them in hand my part guy at VW can't tell me what is different, he says they change the letter when a part is revised but 2011 to 2017 Touaregs have same tailgate.

Anyone know if new struts will fit the pre 2016 Touareg's ?
UPDATE: VW Customer Care stepped up and is splitting this repair with me to replace the lift gate motorized struts 50/50 which I conceded was fair in that the car has 94K and is just over 6 years old.

It is reassuring that the relationship I have built with my local VW Dealer and being a loyal VW owner for many, many years means something to VW, this is our 1st Toaureg and thoroughly enjoy every aspect of this vehicle and disappointed that this is the last year but that is a topic for another thread..........

On my first call to VW Customer Care the person asked me if this was my first VW, my answer was no my 1st VW was a 1972 Beattle I bought used and have been driving VW's since then and currently have 5 VW's in the family, I think that got the ball rolling !
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UPDATE: VW Customer Care stepped up and is splitting this repair with me to replace the lift gate motorized struts 50/50 which I conceded was fair in that the car has 94K and is just over 6 years old.

It is reassuring that the relationship I have built with my local VW Dealer and being a loyal VW owner for many, many years means something to VW, this is our 1st Toaureg and thoroughly enjoy every aspect of this vehicle and disappointed that this is the last year but that is a topic for another thread..........

On my first call to VW Customer Care the person asked me if this was my first VW, my answer was no my 1st VW was a 1972 Beattle I bought used and have been driving VW's since then and currently have 5 VW's in the family, I think that got the ball rolling !
What version did they install? I'm curious about the 2016-2017 version....
Pretty sure it will be the current P/N for this model year but I will check the RO and post back if it is different P/N
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