The Electric Tailgate Strut Fault Thread

[Nick_H]

OK... Looking at our Mk3 Octavia comrades it looks like a fair few are having problems with their struts failing.

 

Will ours be the same part of have the same design flaw I wonder ....

[Gizmo]

I had them on my MKII Superb and they were still working perfectly after 3 ½ years when I sold it.

 

Hopefully with the Octavia being over two years old now the teething troubles will all be sorted before the Superbs run out of warranty... I will be getting the 5 yr warranty anyway.

[Nick_H]

Yeah I went for 5 years :-) Hopefully intend to keep it until worth pennies though...

[Gizmo]

Andy has just mentioned his replacement struts have a revised part No. 

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/331337-electric-boot-struts/?p=4359124

[Nick_H]

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/331337-electric-boot-struts/page-3

Looks like they may still be having probs though :-(

[Nick_H]

OK Hope I haven't jinxed myself here ! I'm not having much luck at the moment with 'creaking' noises....

 

Just arrived home from work and the drivers side strut is 'creaking' when in operation. Happens both ways.

 

Closed and opened half a dozen times and noise didn't change. 

[unclerichy]

Had both mine replaced a few weeks ago. One (or both) sounded gritty when opening/closing and I spotted fluid on the outer sleeve which I couldn't attribute to rain running off the glass.

[Nick_H]

I'll mention it when she goes in :-)

[Nick_H]

Not doing it this morning. Heat related ? Will update for developments.

[Coops]

56 minutes ago, Nick_H said:

Not doing it this morning. Heat related ? Will update for developments.

 

Could be, interior temperatures will have been quite high this week?

 

(Touch wood) Mine has been ok.

 

 

[Nick_H]

Yeah it was hot yesterday.... Still only one side doing it.... Spider Sense is tingling .... I have the 5 year warranty so want as much stuff to fail as possible lol ! 

[BillyJim]

Car had been sat in the sun today and when I opened the electric hatch there was nothing untoward but when I closed it there was what I could best describe as a none-too-healthy groaning as it closed. Drove about 10 miles with air-con on full blast and when I later opened/closed the hatch everything was normal again. In that respect it seems to support the heat-related theory.

Personally, I blame @Nick_H and this thread he created.  Either it wasn't an issue before or I just wasn't aware of it - until I read about it.

[Nick_H]

Going to start a thread about catastrophic engine failures  when I get home ......

 

[Coops]

15 minutes ago, Nick_H said:

Going to start a thread about catastrophic engine failures  when I get home ......

 

 

I'm blocking your posts from now on.................. 

[Svend]

I noticed a little 'straining' from one of the motors last week (more so the left side). 

Seemed to happen from all the way open to about a third/half the way down. 

It's been okay this week but the boot gets used on ours several times a day for shopping, wheelchairs, etc... 

Fingers crossed she doesn't have to go in. 

[Yorkie6947]

Long time since the last post.

Having a problem with a noisy Electric Strut on Tailgate on my 2016 Superb. Astronomical cost of replacement part! Couldn't quite afford cost of the £450 parts and labour at Dealer as well as £280 Diagnositcs, Parts and Labour for what turned out to be a defective Engine Flap (Kit 5Q0253692B), so deferred Strut replacement for now.

This all came as a shock when I realised that I hadn't the extended warranty that I thought I had!

Any leads to where I can get a cheaper Strut - new or decent pre-used in good nick?

 

[Nick_H]

Hi ! Forgotten all bout this thread ! Sorry I never had a problem it was kind of just in case thread. Mine closes and opens at least 4 times a day. I'm still in warranty till October 2020 so hopefully they will both break before then !!

 

The only thing I have noticed with them is they creak but only when the weather is really hot unlike myself .... I seem to creak all the time now !

Edited 31 July, 2019 by Nick_H

[GeorgeSuperb]

2 hours ago, Yorkie6947 said:

Long time since the last post.

Having a problem with a noisy Electric Strut on Tailgate on my 2016 Superb. Astronomical cost of replacement part! Couldn't quite afford cost of the £450 parts and labour at Dealer as well as £280 Diagnositcs, Parts and Labour for what turned out to be a defective Engine Flap (Kit 5Q0253692B), so deferred Strut replacement for now.

This all came as a shock when I realised that I hadn't the extended warranty that I thought I had!

Any leads to where I can get a cheaper Strut - new or decent pre-used in good nick?

 

Just a small possible piece of advice. I had mine replaced a couple of months ago (under warranty) but before and work was done the technician manually lifted the boot all the way up and down saying that it would cause a reset which is known to fix certain problems.

 

Worth a shot?

[Yorkie6947]

Having tried the procedure of manual lift and close a couple of times, the noisy strut is perceptibly quieter, uness my brain and imagination are playing tricks on me!

 

Thanks for the tip.

[xman]

On 31/07/2019 at 12:18, GeorgeSuperb said:

Just a small possible piece of advice. I had mine replaced a couple of months ago (under warranty) but before and work was done the technician manually lifted the boot all the way up and down saying that it would cause a reset which is known to fix certain problems.

 

Worth a shot?

 

6 minutes ago, Yorkie6947 said:

Having tried the procedure of manual lift and close a couple of times, the noisy strut is perceptibly quieter, uness my brain and imagination are playing tricks on me!

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

How exactly do you do a manual lift? If you open the boot, the electric struts start up straight away and if you start to pull the tailgate down, dont the struts start up again?

 

Was told in the showroom never to force the tailgate as it would damage the struts, but then that was just a salesman 

[Yorkie6947]

Yes, exaclty right!

However let the electrics do their thing on the first opening after initial unlock, then pull down relatively s-l-o-w-l-y, don't let Tailgate latch - raise to full height - pull down, etc. 

When you think that you are happy, just one more, latch and check in normal operation. 

I don't exactly understand the connection between the complexities of the system and this reset mentioned by the technician and the (apparent) mechanical noise from the strut, but does to seem to work. I wonder how he found out! Certainly nobody in VAG would tell him and it's not likely to be a Dealergiving good customer service and saving money!

Yes, I don't like any kind of sales person myself, but in this case I guess they are just being safe and toeing the VAG line.

[digifish]

The manual does instruct you to manually move the tailgate for setting custom heights. For example to reset to maximum after having set a value less than maximum (hold the button until it beeps)

 

So some manual opening is expected by the manufactirer.

Edited 2 August, 2019 by digifish

[Yorkie6947]

Thanks!

I admit to not having read the manual in that much detail, to be honest!

Good information.

 

Definitely quieter now - still confused as to connection between noisy strut and manual lift is, but at least I got some peace of mind and time to check manuals and whatever.

[digifish]

Here's some references to manual operation of the tailgate ...

[Eo66]

Hi Folks 

2017 Superb recently developed a tailgate strut issue, wouldn’t operate up or down leaving me to manually operate for 2 weeks (Private Hire car vehicle doing lots of airport transfers so tailgate been opened and closed constantly) As I manually opens and closed it just made several beeping noises, decided to investigate further, removed the n/s struct and found that a little thin brown wire had snapped, stripped it and bound together, electrical taped it up and hey presto a perfect working strut and tailgate. 
 

PS my local VAG trade centre wanted £504 per strut !!! 
 

I have purchased these as they seemed a bargain