Automatic liftgate not closing

[Yoonoo]

Still trying to understand the ins & outs of our three-week old Model X. During delivery I tested the automatic liftgate and couldn't get it to close. It would go all the way down, then when it was about to latch it would beep 3 times and fully re-open itself. You could still close the trunk manually.

The delivery specialist assured me this was normal for a new vehicle and that it would fix itself after using the trunk a few times. I was skeptical and didn't think this was normal at all, but figured I could live with it for a few days and have the SC take care of it later if needed.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, the liftgate would work sporadically it got better over time but still wouldn't close consistently. One day I couldn't get it to close automatically while double-parked and because I was in a rush I just slammed it shut while it was re-opening. Trunk made all kinds of beeps but latched properly.

After that, the trunk now closes flawlessly every time, so maybe slamming it shut reset something.

My question though is that originally when trying to close the trunk it would beep three times and re-open completely. Now however, IF there's an obstruction preventing the trunk from closing, it only beeps twice and re-opens slightly. Is this the normal behavior?

 

[Stasla]

Still trying to understand the ins & outs of our three-week old Model X. During delivery I tested the automatic liftgate and couldn't get it to close. It would go all the way down, then when it was about to latch it would beep 3 times and fully re-open itself. You could still close the trunk manually.

The delivery specialist assured me this was normal for a new vehicle and that it would fix itself after using the trunk a few times. I was skeptical and didn't think this was normal at all, but figured I could live with it for a few days and have the SC take care of it later if needed.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, the liftgate would work sporadically it got better over time but still wouldn't close consistently. One day I couldn't get it to close automatically while double-parked and because I was in a rush I just slammed it shut while it was re-opening. Trunk made all kinds of beeps but latched properly.

After that, the trunk now closes flawlessly every time, so maybe slamming it shut reset something.

My question though is that originally when trying to close the trunk it would beep three times and re-open completely. Now however, IF there's an obstruction preventing the trunk from closing, it only beeps twice and re-opens slightly. Is this the normal behavior?

The obstruction sensor is fairly sensitive. I think as the springs on the bottom latch cover plate wear out it becomes less of an issue. My 1yr old X still does the same thing sporadically. If I know that there's nothing in the way I just force it down by hand and it latches.

 

[FarmerDave]

The obstruction sensor is fairly sensitive. I think as the springs on the bottom latch cover plate wear out it becomes less of an issue. My 1yr old X still does the same thing sporadically. If I know that there's nothing in the way I just force it down by hand and it latches.

The lid is probably out of adjustment - that's what happened to mine. There are large black adjusters at the bottom underside of the lid. turn counter clockwise to shorten, clockwise to lengthen.

IDK about the statement from the delivery specialist; that's just unacceptable.

 

[Stasla]

The lid is probably out of adjustment - that's what happened to mine. There are large black adjusters at the bottom underside of the lid. turn counter clockwise to shorten, clockwise to lengthen.

IDK about the statement from the delivery specialist; that's just unacceptable.

Yeah I tried to mess with those adjusters but couldn't get it to work perfectly 100% of the time.

Completely agree with your comment about the delivery specialist.

 

[twinpeaks100d]

Yeah I tried to mess with those adjusters but couldn't get it to work perfectly 100% of the time.

Completely agree with your comment about the delivery specialist.

Stasla, we just got a new 100d two weeks ago and had the same problem, the trunk would sometimes detect an obstruction while closing and reopen. I noticed that it seemed to happen more often in hot weather. When this happened, I could still force the trunk to close.

I took it into the SF service center on Friday and the gentleman there pointed out that between the liftgate and the top of the car is a thick cable wrapped in plastic or rubber (I forget which) - this is part of the electrical from the car to the liftgate. The way the cabling is designed is such that it may expand due to temperature, pop out and get caught between the liftgate and the vehicle when the liftgate is closing. This could be another thing to look into - they're inspecting mine and said they'll realign and replace the cable if it looks like the internal wires have gotten too mangled from being pinched repeatedly.

 

[Yoonoo]

The way the cabling is designed is such that it may expand due to temperature, pop out and get caught between the liftgate and the vehicle when the liftgate is closing.

Looks like my trunk issue is back. Worked fine for a few days but started working sporadically again today. It's been pretty hot in here, so maybe that has something to do with it. I'll pay more attention to the temperature to see if there's any kind of correlation.

 

[Evil.Labrat]

Ours has done this for maybe around 9 months. We haven't bothered to take it in to service yet, but it's pretty annoying and it doesn't matter what the temperature is as it will fail 100% of the time. Adjusting the pads hasn't worked, and it looks like the pinch sensor on the driver side at the top isn't attached well so that's what I suspect it is.