Disco 2 Tailgate won't open

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Hi
The activator on the lock of the Tailgate of my 1999 2.5 TD5 was replaced. Helpful neighbour who is handy did the job. BUT while the activator now works and the lock button pops up, the tailgate will not open. I'd say a spring or rod is disconnected, but how do you open the door to commence repair 2?
Totally perplexed amateurs:confused::doh:
 
Mine did this, makes all the right noises but doesn't unlock, Im sure the answer was to carefully pop the Land Rover badge off and squirt wd40 into all the workings, worked on mine any how.

Someone will put ya right if im talking ****e.

Good luck !
 
Hi
Will try tonight-any other suggestions as it does look well oiled at present.
If well oiling it doesn't work, i might as well get well oiled myself:rolleyes:
 
Hi
Gave the darn thing a good soaking in WD40 & got well oiled myself into the bargain.-No joy
The door cover is off so we can see the mechanism to some extent.When the exterior or interior handle is pulled, the lever operates but only so far and stops without actually releasing the latch. My hand is too big to actually fit thru the metalwork to feel where it ends or if something is not connected.
Is there a means of releasing the latch otherwise???:doh:
 
Hi 602,

Yes, we have tried that. The tailgate inner door panel has not been replaced. we can see the lever depress, but it doesen't seem to depress sufficiently to release the latch. It is behaving as if it was actually still locked, but the button is up and when you use the fob to lock /unlock you can hear & see the mechanism functioning.
Tonight I will try loading the lock mechanism from the inside with WD40 which I have avoided doing as little pinkies are still trying to get inside the panel to see if a rod end is loose or if there is something to maybe grab hold of to release the darn thing.
Feel useless
Main stealer, who is about 75 miles away says there is no reason for it not to release if we can see the internal lever depressing.
Any other helpful advice out there?
Otherwise a day out to the stealers.:(
 
Last edited:
Hi,

Clutching at straws ....... get somebody to lean on outside of door while you pull the handle inside. Probably won't work, but worth trying.

OT .... I once managed to lock my keys inside my 200TDi. I used a battery powered drill to poke a 3mm hole through the window rubber and a little bit of steel. Then used a welding rod to lift the locking button. Hole in rubber sealed itself. Oh yes, this was on the tail-gate.

602
 
Hi 602 and everybody else interested,
Having soaked the darn thing in WD 40 for about 10 hours, I got in the back and lay down. Using a broom handle to depress the latch lever, I gave the door a right good kicking above the activator.This was followed by pulling on the inner handle and oily pinkies in the door behind the actuator trying to find anything- when it gave a little click and it opened..........-wonderful-happiness-joy-sing an ode to Landrover. I dont know whether it was the kicking or the feeling it up that moved it. Some have moved for far less...... I will note tho, that in the process, I moved a plaited cord that was coming from under the glass area down into the door well and which was slightly frayed. Could that have been interfering with the latch?
Anyway, can finally get the golf clubs out of the shed into their proper home-life is sweet again
Thanks a lot
 
Hi,

That plaited cord was probably put there by a previous own, to be pulled when the dor wouldn't open.

Have you closed the door yet ........ and did it open again?

602
 
Hi
Yep, the door is functioning sweetly & to celebrate went golfing Sat & Sun so the old dear protested by jamming the solenoid on the starter - so back to walking for a couple of days-such is Landylife............
But Hey-wouldn't be without her- like and old dog - it needs conditioning & worming every now & again, an odd boot in the a*** helps too,but always lying at your feet waiting to be brought out.
I don't see how the cord would help as you would have to remove the inner cover to access it- but who knows till the next time
Many thanks again.
icon11.gif
 
It was the CHILD LOCK that got itself stuck in an intermediate position!

Solution:
  • I think I was having the same problems as the original poster, and angling a screwdriver (from the inside of the car) past the door weather seal bulb to push the child lock back all the way up into the unlocked position resulted in a loud CLICK and then the door worked perfectly for a few cycles before getting stuck again (requiring the same fix). Even though the child lock switch looks 'up', it isn't all the way up and only forcing it up with a screwdriver push results in it unlocking. When the child lock is stuck in an intermediate position, neither the inside nor outside handles work. I'll be replacing my door lock actuator, as it seems to keep getting itself into this intermediate position.
Problem:
  • My Land Rover Discovery 2 tailgate / trunk / rear door is stuck shut. All handles feel like they function properly and the door lock actuator sounds normal in each key fob unlock, lock, and superlock. The little door lock tab indicator on the inside of the trunk door pops both up and down as it should when actuated via key fob, and it pops up when the door is locked then the inner door handle is pulled. So all this looks and sounds normal. But the door is totally stuck shut! I've removed the interior trunk door trim to view the actuator and it looks fine and operates fine. But door won't open. Help!
  • This is *not* the classic Disco II rusty outdoor handle fixed by WD40 issue. The outer and inner door handles pull and spring return just fine.
Thanks to:
  • LandRoverForums member Rovin4Life who described this phenomenon
  • Landyzone forum member johnboy02 who also had a good story about it
  • LandRoversOnly forum member Zershin who also followed up to say what it was
Same issue (suspected):
Photos:
  • See here
  • img_7416_bdf51030f4d5cf70e0d008fe533fe71b54a411e5.jpg

    unlocking the tailgate door childlock from within. you can go for it blind, but i found it to be easier to just pull the weather seal bulb to improve visibility
    img_7417_cbbe63acd256f49418ee6766e9e4f7b57ea00ba2.jpg

    improved visibility with weather seal bulb removed
    img_7418_c51402f49c0829a53a31eba84efa3eb39500987d.jpg

    diagram of what you're trying to do
    img_7419_e93a4bbd73669f91d754dfef9d040d4d5df0dfb0.jpg

    you can even see the child lock switch indent in the foam
    img_7413_8928851599ccfccab49d50f4104df4cc5b40aa3c.jpg

    the goal is to push this switch up to the unlock position. i know it already looks like it's up, and it won't shift much... but it'll shift a bit, and give you a big loud satisfying click when it goes.
 
Just to add to this. I just had this issue on my 2000 TD5 too. I managed to open the tail gate with the screw driver technique detailed above. But the child lock button was not the fault. It’s stuck firm in the upper position m. Rather on mine the whole latch was loose, as the three torx bolts were not tight/ not securing the latch in place (it was physically moving around in its hole). So a quick tighten up on those three bolts, and normal function has been resumed. Thanks again to the information on this forum though, for helping me access the opening strategy.
 
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