Tailgate Closing Issues

[MartyButler]

I have a 2014 Volvo XC60 2.4D AWD and I am having problems with the closing of the power Boot door(Tailgate).
At the moment if you open the boot by the switch on the boot door (by the number plate lights) it will open when you give it a little lift at the same time.
The problem in the last week or two has being when you press the close button the boot will get about half way closed and then stop, it can take a further 2 or 3 presses of the close button to get it to close and this will only happen if you have your hand on the boot door to help it close.
I have scanned the car and the Fault code that is coming up is “POT-C10167 Boot/Trunk Primary switch. Algorithm based failures. Signal Incorrect after event”
Just wondering if you could help me to pinpoint this “switch”.
The “common fault” on the net is the struts but there are also 2 control modules onto the boot door, one were the 2 electro mechanical struts are connected into (Volvo Part Number: 31386707) and the other module is connected to the boot door lock (Volvo Part No:31335116)
The struts seam to be in good enough condition, there doesn’t seam to be lumps or bumps under the plastic covers etc.
The strut part numbers are LHS: “31386705 LH” and RHS “ 31386706 RH”.
I can see why people would think the struts are the main problem, cause if these start to get tighter the switch might sense this and think that something is caught in the door and stops the closing of the door
Finally I have the car now nearly 4 years and the button on the car key fob for opening the boot door never really worked properly you would have to press the button once for it to unlatch the lock and then press it a second time for it to open the boot door.

As I said I have the car for nearly 4 years and going back over previous scans of the car shows me that the following codes have appeared over time but I was able to clear them:
POT-C101767
POT-B118713
POT-B108467
CEM-B111E14

Got a lad with "Autodata" to check and they do list this as a common problem on XC-60 and the cause is said to be unsatisfactory design of the tailgate opening-closing motor. The remedy for this is to Replace both tailgate opening-closing motors with modified version, and then to re-program tailgate control module with upgraded software.
The control module is located in the tailgate and the sensor for the lock is integrated into the boot lock assembly. This is the switch referred to in the explanation of the code.

Just wondering if anyone else has come across this problem and more importantly has anyone being able to fix this "switch" without the need for replacing parts.

Thanks in advance.

[MartyButler]

I have ordered the tailgate lock module (Volvo Part No:31335116) from my local Volvo dealer.
The lads in the Parts Dept. there have told me that this module is a plug and play item so programming does not have to be done to it when I get it.
As this is where I can hear all the clicking coming from when the boot stops closing I feel this is where the switch is that is causing all the problems.
I will update this thread after fitting to let you know ether way.

[MartyButler]

Update:
Have fitted the new module and while the closing of the boot is definitely better it is still not right.
For example; I opened and closed the boot 13 times one day and the boot failed to close properly only once.
Interestingly enough the same fault code is coming up "POT- C10167" so this switch must live in the other module.
I'll update again when I do more....

[Whyman]

I had exactly the same problem you have described.

Cured by two new struts at £300 each.

[MartyButler]

Update:
I fitted 2 new struts a few days ago and I'm happy to report that the boot door is operating the best that it ever has in the 4 years of my ownership. It is now operating perfectly no matter what open button is pressed, on the remote, on the dash by the steering wheel and the opening button on the boot door itself. It is also closing without issue every time as well
When I was changing the struts the left hand side flew apart and when I picked up the pieces the spring was in 8 pieces. See Attached Photo I was amazed at this as there was no evidence of roughness when the door was closing and there was no bumps etc sticking through the plastic cover of the strut.
Changing the struts wasn't that bad, the 2 plastic covers have to be taken off the inside of the boot door, the electrical connector disconnected and there is a wire clip that has to be prised out of both ends of the strut to allow it to come off the knuckle. I tied a piece of twine onto the old electrical connector before I pulled the wires through the boot and this then allowed me to pull the new wires back the same way.

On a side note, the main dealers here (Cork, Ireland) were quoting €380 per strut for the car. My strut part numbers were: 31386705 LH and 31386706 RH.
I was able to buy them brand new from a German site www.skandix.de/en/ (which I have used plenty of times before) the price per strut was €201.04 so it was nearly 2 struts for the price of 1 from Volvo. The Skandix part number that I received were 1071371 (LHS) and 1071372 (RHS)
From the research that I have done it seams that all of the following Left hand side struts are the same 31386705, 312298576, 31479627 and 31352185. The right hand struts are 1 digit away eg: 31386706 and 31479628.

Hope this helps someone