There are plenty of threads in the forums about electronic liftgate problems (and one fascinating story about an electronic liftgate, a wild animal park, and a family with small animals - er, kids - loose inside the car, and an unexpected "Beep! Beep! Beep!" in the midst of the savannah... 😅)

.. but what I'm curious about, as I failed to find it here in the forums or in a more general search online, is:

Which, of electronic or manual liftgates, tends to be the more reliable over time?

Every "we sell liftgate components" webpage, and every "review" page, that I found, had the same generic comments about electronic liftgates being more complex, and having more expensive-to-repair components. Sure, that's clear.

But. Anything manual has to deal with the irregularity of humans, inconsistent force, etc. Whereas the electronic liftgates (assuming proper maintenance and nobody ever trying to use it while anything would be blocking it) should not suffer the same irregular stresses that a manual liftgate will experience every. single. time it is used by one of us mere, imperfect, irregular humans.

So. Over a long period of time, which type of liftgate - mechanical, or electronic - tends to be more reliable, all other things about (good) use being equal?

Thanks for your thoughts. (Love the electronic liftgift on my last-of-the-2019s/ mfr in April 2020 Octavia III facelift Scout! And the button on the console, and on the Kessy remote...)

Had mine from new since July 2016 and still works fine (electronic). The thing does occasionally have a hissy fit and beeps to say it's not closed properly, but this tends to occur when it coincides with one of the main car doors also being closed, which obviously causes a pressure change just at the wrong moment.

On 15/10/2025 at 18:06, JayLibove said:

But. Anything manual has to deal with the irregularity of humans, inconsistent force, etc.

How true..... I remember with my previous Octavia, I was away for a few days on Wales Rally GB with a mate of mine who dropped the tailgate onto some equipment we were using and the glass shattered. Fortunately it was a company car but I did have a bit of explaining to do.......

Ouch! I hope that the strength and flexibility of the glass is stronger than the amount of force that the closing motors will put on the glass trying to close onto a most inopportunely positioned obstruction before the force/current-overload sensors on the motors detect the obstruction!!

Was it a slow-motion oooohhhh-**** moment, or a sudden surprise?

22 hours ago, SwallownAmazon said:

How true..... I remember with my previous Octavia, I was away for a few days on Wales Rally GB with a mate of mine who dropped the tailgate onto some equipment we were using and the glass shattered. Fortunately it was a company car but I did have a bit of explaining to do.......

Someone who didn't respect company property and treated it like ****. Didn't take him again...

Edited 10 January10 Jan by SwallownAmazon
Spullin