Some time ago I had the misfortune to be hit from behind by a 7.5 ton Mercedes truck while stationary at traffic lights.

The result was that I had to have a new tailgate and bumper fitted, thankfully no-one was injured. The repair job looks fine, but I've always felt that the new tailgate doesn't shut quite as well as the original.

I just put this down to the " they're never the same after a bump" syndrome, and didn't worry about it too much - life is too short.

Anyway, today I was cleaning the car and just thought I'd have a look at the tailgate catch etc - that was fine but i noticed that the rubber stoppers on either side of the tailgate didn't seem to be coming into contact with the plastic buffers on the main body when the tailgate was closed.

Closer examination showed that the buffers are adjustable, and chamfered. The highest part of the chamfer is towards the front of the car. I suspect that these have been fitted the wrong way round.

Could someone look at their car and advise please! (See enclosed image).

Thanks

Looks right to me.

Is the catch adjusted correctly?

Yes, the catch seems to be working perfectly, I'm just puzzled that the inserts on the sides of the tailgate don't seem to have any function, they don't look to contact anything at all.

i'm sure there should be rubber buffers inside the tailgate that rest on those chamfered stops once the tailgate is closed , i would check you've got them fitted to the new tailgate , bodyshops sometimes miss taking parts off damaged panels when they are being stripped for repair

i'm sure there should be rubber buffers inside the tailgate that rest on those chamfered stops once the tailgate is closed , i would check you've got them fitted to the new tailgate , bodyshops sometimes miss taking parts off damaged panels when they are being stripped for repair

Yeah, as ric04vrs says, there should be rubber stops on the sides of the boot lid. Here is mine:

And widest part of the buffers on the car go towards the front so they act like a wedge.

Thanks for your comments - Yes I've got the rubber stops OK, problem is I don't think they're hitting the wedges at all. Perhaps I should adjust the wedges back towards the tailgate?

I also found that the half-round rubber stops at either side of the lower tailgate were not screwed in all the way, which probably meant ( as Lummox suggested) that the latch wasn't latching as easily as it should have been. I adjusted those and can now drop the tailgate from about 6" and it latches every time.

The off-side edge of the tailgate stands quite proud of the main body, as can be seen from the enc. photos. I thought perhaps correct adjustment of the buffers/wedges might pull it into line.

I'll be glad when the Haynes manual is available - hope it will show all these adjustments etc.