Thread: Lower tailgate manual release

Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

That’s right. FUG500010 is the unit I replaced. I bought from the UK.

Cheers. And the cost in the $120 order of magnitude?

Originally Posted by gavinwibrow

Cheers. And the cost in the $120 order of magnitude?

Actuator - Lock - Rear Door - Upper - Genuine Land Rover FUG500010

I paid £45.93.

Oh, so mine is genuine!

Now I am confused. The two parts with links here look identical other than one is enclosed in plastic and the other is open and it has a different attachment for the cable.. If so why pay $120 for a $25 fix? Also is this the real main problem for the opening of the tailgate or is it the upper window tailgate opening the real issue? I just dont want to have to crawl around the back of my car trying to open the bloody tail gate if things go pear shaped!

I went with the genuine actuator, it was about 90 bucks delivered ex uk. The link i posted is for the genuine one. I left the outer cover off so if needed i could get to the mechanism cable to release it. This is impossible if you leave the cover on and it fails again. Inside the door area is sealed pretty well. The servo motor is still enclosed.

Ive already gone in via the trim removal method when the original did fail its not that hard and with a bit of dexterity the trim comes out and goes back in in one piece.

I believe its the actuator drive that fails, not the cable attachment part.

Originally Posted by dirvine

Now I am confused. The two parts with links here look identical other than one is enclosed in plastic and the other is open and it has a different attachment for the cable.. If so why pay $120 for a $25 fix? Also is this the real main problem for the opening of the tailgate or is it the upper window tailgate opening the real issue? I just dont want to have to crawl around the back of my car trying to open the bloody tail gate if things go pear shaped!

Two faults occur.
1. End snaps.
2. Motor fails/actuator doesn’t move.

The $25 fix only resolves issue 1. The $120 fix resolves both.

Oct 2018 our 12 year old upper tailgate refused to open on a number of occasions on the first try when we were south and east of Alice Springs on dusty corrugated roads. Later in the year when at home it refused to open at all.

As the age of it was a concern I replaced the tailgate latch - LR017470 $105 plus freight from within Aust - and in doing so determined the actuator wasn't actuating. I then replaced it with - FUG500010 $125 plus freight from within Aust.

Needless to say it now operates better than at any time during our ownership. Even at those costs and replacing them every 3 - 5 years I consider it a wise investment in my marriage.

Originally Posted by dirvine

... is this the real main problem for the opening of the tailgate or is it the upper window tailgate opening the real issue?

Opening the upper liftgate (window) is the most common problem.
Its actuation is via a microswitch in the upper liftgate driving an actuator inside the lower tailgate.
Jeff has listed the 2 main failure modes for the actuator but the microswitch inside the upper pushbutton is also known to fail (more common in the UK).

Actuator cable end breaking is more common in older models because the cable connection detail was improved at some point.
Actuator failure can happen to any model but age is the main factor.
The actuator cover is supplied when you buy a new one but is not in place from the factory, at least not for the two I've seen (2010 and 2014)

The risk of actuator failure when on a trip with a cargo barrier in place and possibly a dog in the back led me to install a manual release cable, just in case I didn't get sufficient warning before the actuator fails.
Link to a thread with details below:
Manual tailgate release D3 .. (see post#68 for a how-to guide)

The original post in this thread is for manual opening of the lower tailgate, which may be required if its actuator fails.
However, I haven't noted that as a common failure.

Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

Two faults occur.
1. End snaps.
2. Motor fails/actuator doesn’t move.
The $25 fix only resolves issue 1. The $120 fix resolves both.

Regards,
Scott

> The original post in this thread is for manual opening of the lower tailgate, which may be required if its actuator fails.
> However, I haven't noted that as a common failure.

That's what happened to my 2013 D4. And the threads here on how to replace the actuator saved me $ compared to a service place doing it. And I learnt whats underneath the tailgate trim :-)

Mike