[mightymetro]

Hi all, well after a few months of everything being all sorted today i closed the main tailgate and it wont latch. It has the last 5mm soft close function on my Touareg but when you close the tailgate now it just drops to a dead shut and bounces back up. If i push hard enough i can hear the striker pin try to pull back the tailgate but after the whirring you can just lift the tailgate back up. Ive had the covers off and have jumped in the boot while my wife closes the tailgate and these are my observations.

If i open the tailgate and push the latch mechanism closed with my fingers the striker pin on the boot floor automatically pulls back as if initiating soft closed., so i open the tailgate using the handle and the striker pin releases. If i get in the boot and shut the tailgate the latch starts to go around the striker pin until the boot comes to a dead stop but the striker pin will not pull back and initiate soft close. If my wife pushes hard on the tailgate the striker pin will start to pull the latch back but then bounces back and you can just open the tailgate again.???

It seems the latch in the tailgate mechanism wont click around the striker pin for the striker pin to pull the tailgate closed the last 5mm. Has anyone heard of the latch mechanism failing? There is no adjustment on the latch part, and i have moved the striker pin as close as i can but it makes no difference.

Any help would be great

thank you

 

[mtnride]

If you've removed the lock carrier cover and loosened striker pin bolts, pulled striker pin out towards bumper and retightened striker pin bolts to 25 Nm and lid still doesn't latch, there is a possibility that the lid hinges are loose or have moved. Once again loosen guide wedge and guide pin, loosen hinge bolts (do not unscrew completely) adjust rear lid height evenly corresponding to outer contours, re tighten hinge bolts to 25 Nm and adjust guide wedges and guide pin and re tighten to 25 Nm

 

[mightymetro]

Hi, thanks for the advice. I have now sorted the problem. I checked the alignment and it was all ok. Basically I could not get the boot latch to click in position. I ordered a new one and it did click so swapped it for the old one. One removing the old one from the Touareg and trying it it only went and clicked in place!!!!!. Tried the new one and sure enough it wouldn't click. I had a closer look at how it all worked and the actuator plunger [the White box' was all the way out and would not retract, so it was permenantly in the open position. Changed the actuator and all back working

 

[noobytoogy]

Well done. Thank you for posting the resolution.

 

[Jamesmca]

I'm having a similar problem. When closing the boot, the soft close motor makes a lot of noise, but the striker pin (assuming I'm using the correct term for the hook on the boot floor that the latch on the boot lid attaches to) doesn't move. I have a couple of questions,

1. As the motor is making noise, what are the chances of me finding and fixing the broken part myself?

2. If I replace the striker pin with a fixed pin (Ie lose the soft close functionality for a solid hook that I just need to slam the boot to get it closed). Will that work?

Thanks in advance

 

[mightymetro]

Hi, in answer to your first question, i took the broken part to pieces to see what was wrong and nearly took my eye out with a spring that shot out!!!!!!. I think the hook part locks out electronically so it will not lock out due to the fault so it would not work. Hope that makes sense