Estate electric tailgate operators

[TerryJP]

I have a 2013 l & K estate with an electric tailgate operator. Today it decided not to work, and it seems one [hopefully] of the struts is faulty. Has anyone experienced this problem before, if so what is the solution and what is the cost.

 

Any ideas/sources for a replacement?

[DEL80Y]

Lots of info on this thread  👍

[TerryJP]

Thanks for that info, I should have looked a little more before posting.

 

How ever the work involved in changing to gas struts  looks more complex than the cost of replacing the electric ones.

 

Should get a quote to replace today, will post the result as soon as I recover from the shock!

[DEL80Y]

@Lawlesstce

The gas strut replacements are only about £30 delivered

And very easy to do yourself

Electric struts are a fortune and will fail again

Edited 20 May, 2020 by DEL80Y

[TerryJP]

Is there not a problem with the locking mechanism? If you remove the electric struts does the rear door not lock, or have I mis read some of the related posts?

I do appreciate your thoughts on this topic. My local dealer wants roughly £370 for the part and £200 to fit it. It seems excessive, I can get the part from Skoda Parts for about £340 inc postage.

There is a You Tube video on how to fit it , not sure if that's worth £200,

Again am I missing something, the garage says that the new part needs to be coded to the car?? I don't know what to do

 

[Lutz]

Most of the electric tailgate problems are caused by electric struts, meaning water and moisture will damage electric motor brushes springs and they get rusty and brake. This repair is totally doable at your garage as DIY.

Electric strut cost is insanely high - 400€ per piece and therefore it´s worth of effort to fix them. Also there is no need for any coding, when you are changing electric strut from some other car - just plug and play.

[Mykul]

It could be the struts but it could be the control module for the struts. There isn't any way to test the BCM apparently.

I've been down this path before, with much grief...

If you're changing to gas, no dramas, but if you're going to replace the electrics, i'd suggest doing the BCM first and or as well.

I know Skoda has done them on MkIII's out here under warranty and they replace the struts and BCM.

The BCM cost around $400 ozzie pesos from memory, the struts around $1000 each.

We replaced the struts with no luck and then did the control module. Recode and success!

 

Yeah, go with the gas.

[TerryJP]

Thanks to everyone for their contributions to this topic.

 

Everyone says go gas struts, and It seems the sensible thing to do. 

 

Still trying to decide, and £30 compared to £500 is a major consideration [even for us gadget nerds] !

[DEL80Y]

@Lawlesstce

Being a gadget nerd🤓

I wanted the electric struts but at that price even buying from a breakers yard      "they knew the prices"

I got Febi Bilstiens for mine when there was a massive reduction on price during a flash sale (Wish I got 2 pair now)

Fitted a cheap set to my mates car but they were no where near the same eject force as mines

[TerryJP]

Where did you buy them from? I think I have decided to change them to the plain gas struts, but there does seem to be quite a choice.

[Lutz]

I say once again, if you have place (garage, workbench etc) and basic home tools, then you can repair your broken electric strut by yourself. Once you have done it, then most likely they will not fail anymore. 
I have repaired three of them so far and they work very well. I planned to make “How to” video tutorial for my Youtube channel, but in lockdown and full-time home with small kids I haven’t had time to compress it to the normal size. 
 

Here you can find raw video footages on how to repair it by yourself. If I have compressed version, then I add proper Youtube link.

 

Link to the videos: https://1drv.ms/u/s!ArqD60L2Xvsykm6rJxxGXR4XU6HQ?e=PbUyCt

 

Edited 21 May, 2020 by Lutz

[tuningmania]

To @Lutz - You are Number One! Thank You. For now, my electric struts are OK but this is one of the scariest future Problem for me and because of this I make plans, when to use this very handy extra and a lot of times I put some goods on the floor in front of seats. Now I Download all Your Photos and Videos and will Back Up them offline. Thank You very much and Greetings from Bulgaria. Reverence!

[TerryJP]

Lutz.

 

Where do I start?

 

Firstly thank you for taking the time to help me with my problem, secondly what great videos and pictures and thirdly what a tidy workshop you have..

 

I think I now know why the part costs so much, and despite your obvious skill, just how complex is the repair, certainly beyond my ability but thanks.

 

It's gas struts for me, certainly in the short term with the possibility of replacing the faulty strut when I can justify the cost [???]. My car is 7 years old later  this year and has done 137,000 miles the cost of repair compared to the value of the car is questionable. The real problem is that I love the car, the gadgets and the way it drives. I keep it in good condition and always look forward to any excuse to drive it. 

However, common sense may have finally arrived and it's only taken 72 years!😄😄

 

But it has been an interesting exercise and I am grateful for all the help and advice from you all.

 

Many thanks

 

 

Edited 21 May, 2020 by Lawlesstce
To name the previous author

[TerryJP]

5 hours ago, Lawlesstce said:

Where did you buy them from? I think I have decided to change them to the plain gas struts, but there does seem to be quite a choice.

Just noticed the link to Auto Doc. 

Sadly the price is now £60+, for  Febi Bilstiens  so I've ordered  MAGNETI MARELLI for £31.42 inc delivery, Fingers crossed.

 

Thanks for the link,

[TerryJP]

On 21/05/2020 at 11:05, DEL80Y said:

@Lawlesstce

Being a gadget nerd🤓

I wanted the electric struts but at that price even buying from a breakers yard      "they knew the prices"

I got Febi Bilstiens for mine when there was a massive reduction on price during a flash sale (Wish I got 2 pair now)

Fitted a cheap set to my mates car but they were no where near the same eject force as mines

Hi there Delboy

 

Did you have an issue with the locking mechanism? If so how did you resolve it?

[TerryJP]

The deed is done!

 

Today I removed the electric struts. and fitted the gas struts. The boot lock works fine and the boot cover retracts as before, even the remote on the key and the switch on the dash releases the lock.

 

The only problem was removing the cover to access the wiring connections, tried it on the one side but just cut through the wires on the other. I left the wiring grommets in place to keep the water out. All seems fine so far, no warning lights , fingers crossed 🤞 .

Thanks to everyone for their ideas and support.

[Lutz]

I finally manage to compose tutorial on how to repair Skoda Superb II electric tailgate struts. In this video you can find how to open electric motor, clean all rust, fabricate new springs and glue all back together.