I'm pretty sure the lower plastic bridge (the one that folds over the lower tailgate and covers the hinges) used to rest on the said tailgate but now there is a 0.5 cm gap between them... Could the lower tailgate have loosened? It cracks every time I sit on it, but it is supposed to hold much more than my 90 kg's... Is there an adjustment available? Should I worry?

Lift it up and check there isn’t something wedged under it. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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I checked, there’s nothing under it. It’s its own hinge that prevents the lip from going beyond horizontal, which means that the lower tailgate door itself has gone down a few millimeters...

If the lower tailgate has dropped then the soft close won't work properly - both upper and lower doors should soft close - should be a good test if the lower has dropped. If the softclose on both upper and lower works fine then it shouldn't have dropped and its the spring on the flap. If one or other of the tailgates doesn't soft close then the alignment is out on one or both - don't let the dealership tell you otherwise - they both soft close! They will tell you that its within tolerance because they are a pain to align and they hate doing it.

Otherwise the flap is only bolted in by 3 small 10mm bolts - 30 second job to take out and check the spring underneath is tight - could be a simple case that its not strong enough anymore to fold flat or may just need a slight alignment on the mounting to reposition the flap on its bolts. Current Fleet:-
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Hi and thank you for the advice. There is no soft close on either door, at least not like on my wife's Jaguar i-pace tailgate. They closed with a clank since new. The springs are firm, the bolts are tight...
I posted a small video, maybe you can take a look and tell me if it's supposed to be like this:

https://vimeo.com/480210074

Doesn't look like you have softclose - it wasn't an option on UK Vogue's but might be different for you - do your main doors soft close?

Clunk sounds ok for non soft-close, does the strip on the upper tailgate line up with the top of the lights when the door is closed? If not then the alignment is out and the door has dropped. The lower tailgate should take two adults comfortably weight wise so the hinge could be loose. Current Fleet:-
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Are you sure there is such a thing as softclose on a motorised tailgate?

I have soft close on all of the doors and I'll check my tailgate later. I'll also check if I have the same "springyness" on the hinge-down infill panel and report back. Kev

2014 L405 RR Vogue SE 4.4 SDV8 in Corris Grey
2010 L320 RRS HSE 3.0 TDV6 in Stornoway Grey

The hinged panel on mine is flat against the tailgate when its lowered.

Don't know what year soft close on the tailgate came in as standard but I know it was standard on Vogue SE's upwards from MY2015 and cost option on Vogue.

The upper and the lower tailgates softclose individually - if either or both don't then your tailgate alignment is out. The dealers hate adjusting them so will fob you off with 'they all do that' or 'its within tolerance'. I fought with the dealer - even pointed them to the manual.

As the closing tailgate approaches the closed position, it soft-closes to the fully closed position. If the vehicle was previously locked, the alarm re-arms. The hazard warning lights flash to confirm the alarm status. An audible confirmation may also be given.


They pointed me to a brand new on in the showroom where the lower soft closed but the upper didn't and said they all do that.
Once they accepted that they were wrong and I wasn't backing down they agreed to rectify it and it works beautifully. And all the trim and shutlines on the back door lines up properly Current Fleet:-
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I'm amazed that soft close wasn't standard on all models, I've not had a car with an electric boot lid or tailgate that didn't soft close and the 'clunk' when it closes doesn't sound good (whether that's how it should be or not) MY23 Panamera E-Hybrid
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Here's the alignment of the upper tailgate, does it look OK?

I'd say the tailgate was ever so slightly low - the silver trim should align exactly with the top of the light cluster.

Also if the top door sucks in (soft close) then the bottom one should too (at least mine does). If your bottom one doesn't then its probably a clue that its dropped. I'd get the dealer to look at it. When I had a problem with mine, the bottom one closed perfectly it was the top one which didn't soft close.

I've got some video of mine working fully after the dealer fixed it - I'll post up Current Fleet:-
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I've been out to check my tailgate and it is exactly the same as adara's.

Sorry about the noise, we live on a main road and it's rush hour.



I definitely have soft close doors...



 Kev

2014 L405 RR Vogue SE 4.4 SDV8 in Corris Grey
2010 L320 RRS HSE 3.0 TDV6 in Stornoway Grey

i think theres mm's in it and if you do try to adjust it might get frustratingly worse...

theres a powerfuluk video on youtube showing how to it.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Yes, as Stan says, it will be an absolutely tiny adjustment. Unfortunately though the powerful video shows how to adjust the top one and not the bottom one - its usually the top one which doesn't soft close because its so heavy

I'll video mine in the morning - can't find the dealer videos.

From the workshop manual - there are soft close motors in both upper and lower

The tailgates operate using electronic latches with the addition of a softclose
closing motors to pull the latch closed for the last 6 mm of travel (soft
close). The upper latches and soft closing motor are located in the upper
tailgate. The lower latch and soft closing motors are located in the lower
luggage compartment. The closing motors pull the latches closed at the
end of the tailgates’ travel, once the latches’ secondary switch is reached. Current Fleet:-
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Please do, this is very interesting... Even in Doug's video the lower tailgate just slams (min. 5:51):