It's a couple of weeks I think (not sure as I don't use the car daily lately) that moving my foot below the virtual pedal sensor has stopped opening or closing the boot.

This had happened once in the winter when the car was quite dirty and muddy but now it's been washed a few times since I first noticed and it still doesn't work.

Ideas what to look for before taking it in? (if i can even bother)

There is a definite “knack” to using the pedal. Move your foot too slow and it doesn’t work. Don’t get your foot in quite the right place and it doesn’t work. I find it has to be directly beneath the boot badge and your foot as to quickly travel under the bumper and back out. Now, I tried opening it today and it didn’t work... again and again I tried.... but I then realised I wasn’t quite in the right place so I moved my foot over about 2cm and up it popped. 

Edited 25 June, 20205 yr by numskull

1 hour ago, numskull said:

There is a definite “knack” to using the pedal. Move your foot too slow and it doesn’t work. Don’t get your foot in quite the right place and it doesn’t work. I find it has to be directly beneath the boot badge and your foot as to quickly travel under the bumper and back out. Now, I tried opening it today and it didn’t work... again and again I tried.... but I then realised I wasn’t quite in the right place so I moved my foot over about 2cm and up it popped. 

I know but it's 18 months of ownership and after the first week i got the hang of it and have never failed to operate it successfully ever since. The one or two occasions that I did, I succeeded after only a second try.

This has been going on for the last two weeks every time I try it the same old way that had been working so far so I'm thinking it must be something else.

Unless, my rare usage of the system (and the car) nowadays made me forget the exact way I need to move my feet?! Hmm... I need to go out and vary my movements to make sure it's not something as dumb as that.

Also, I have confirmed "Easy Open" is checked in the menu.

You're not alone. I have the same problem and was at the dealership a few months ago for the DSG service so had one of the tech guys take a quick look to ensure it was not something I'd done.

After confirming for himself that it wasn't working he had a grope under the rear to confirm the antenna wasn't damaged or missing and reckoned it had most likely gone out of calibration and a software reset would probably cure it.

As it wasn't a priority for me I said I'd leave it until it's back in for the 5th year service in August.

4 hours ago, BillyJim said:

You're not alone. I have the same problem and was at the dealership a few months ago for the DSG service so had one of the tech guys take a quick look to ensure it was not something I'd done.

After confirming for himself that it wasn't working he had a grope under the rear to confirm the antenna wasn't damaged or missing and reckoned it had most likely gone out of calibration and a software reset would probably cure it.

As it wasn't a priority for me I said I'd leave it until it's back in for the 5th year service in August.

Software reset? I wonder if there is something like that available via VCDS... I will try my foot luck again today just in case, i'd really like to avoid taking it in for something like this.

Unlikely to b it, but check the wiring and/or the actual sensor strip located behind the rear diffusor.

 

If correctly fixed, it looks like this, using "x-ray vision".

 

 

 

How the actual strip looks, not fixed in position though.

Just to wrap this up, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the sensors or wiring and after a limbo of like 3-4 weeks, the system magically became fully operational again a few days ago.

It's funny but I actually needed the feature of virtual pedal opening twice during that time while stupidly opting to carry a few boxes of groceries on my hands instead of taking a trolley (thanks COVID19 OCD...)  and ended up cursing a lot when it wasn't working.

It works now though, let's see if it comes back...

I think it's down to the actual "kick".......how fast or slow you move the foot.

19 minutes ago, k.young said:

I think it's down to the actual "kick".......how fast or slow you move the foot.

I know it sounds like "you idiot, you're just not doing it right!"    but I assure you it's not.

I had got the hang of it fine since I got the car as I realized exactly which sort of foot movement works and which doesn't, then suddenly after 1.5 year it stopped working no matter when/how/who tried it, so chances were slim everybody just forgot how to operate it at the same time.

Then it got back on its own after a few weeks, well...