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Power Lift Gate Broken!

17K views 18 replies 10 participants last post by  ColdCase 
#1 ·
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland power lift gate started making a grinding sound and wouldn't open or close automatically. Dealer said replacement would cost $850. Thought this would be covered under warranty.

Anyone else have problems with their lift gate?

Search online came up nothing other than pulling a fuse if hatch would close shut. Seems more like a mechanical problem than electrical.
 

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#2 ·
Should be covered under the bumper/bumper basic warranty which I think is 3 years or 36,000 miles.

The lift gate motor is in one of the struts. They snap on and off the ball mount. My 2011 went bad and it was covered by maxcare extended warranty. The part is less than $200 at discount $255 otherwise. Takes about 15 minutes to install, but it looks like yours broke off and there is body damage to repair? Where us the ball mount?
 
#6 ·
Or the strut locked up and the gate was forced open, causing the break and damage. I dunno if thats possible, don't recall reading of that situation.
 
#9 ·
It shouldn't be possible with a conventional strut, but a mechanical strut....

Most struts are hydraulic, in a sealed chamber. These should never have issues unless they're already bent, restricting movement, & potentially causing a blowout. These are the kinda of struts in the WK2's w/o power lift gate.

Now, something a little older(that probably isn't the WK2's), is a hydraulic pump strut. This operates the same way, but has a dual flow pump attached, that can extend or retract the strut(while still hydraulic), at the push of a button. The motor would be separate from the strut however, & there would be tubes running between the 2. This also wouldn't lock up as easy. it could still be manually opened and closed if it did lock up, likely without damage to any parts, but only increased, & decreased pressure compared to normal. If parts are cheap, it could break a ball mount when at high pressure & shoot out to a lower pressure position.



With the lack of visible tubing, & the lack of people having to replace a motor/pump in the rear section, means it's probably a mechanical strut.

No pressure(air or hydraulic), just motors. It functions like a boom arm on a mobile crane. it extends & retracts itself using a series of motors and gears. This type of system can absolutely lock up to movement.
 
#10 ·
The WK2 has an electric motor and screw mechanism in the driver's side strut. The passenger side is the same as other WK2s and a little smaller in diameter. I'm not sure if a mechanical failure could jam up the screw mechanism.The photo is of the hole through the liftgate where the wires run, not where the strut is mounted. You do have to remove the D pillar trim to get at the electrical connector.

"Vehicles equipped with an optional power liftgate system, are equipped with a single Power Drive Unit (PDU) mounted in place of the standard equipment gas-charged lift strut on the left side of the liftgate. The PDU is equipped with a socket-type pivot end with spring clip retainer at both the top and bottom and is mounted using the same ball studs at the top of the left liftgate opening side trough and near the belt line of the left liftgate shut face as are used for securing a conventional gas-charged lift strut.

The PDU appears similar in construction to a conventional gas-charged lift strut, but has both upper and lower cylinders or tubes that are noticeably larger in diameter than the cylinder and rod found on most conventional gas-charged lift struts. This larger diameter accommodates a small, but powerful reversible electric motor, a small planetary gear set transmission, a full-open switch, a screw-type drive unit and two Hall effect sensors. There are also two coil-type springs within the PDU; one long spring with large diameter coils, and one short spring with smaller diameter coils."
 

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#13 ·
I don't recall anyone here doing it. If you want everything like the pinch sensors for safety and latch/overhead console/FOB control, it could run into a few $$. Otherwise a couple switches and a strut could be fitted.
 
#17 ·
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland power lift gate started making a grinding sound and wouldn't open or close automatically. Dealer said replacement would cost $850. Thought this would be covered under warranty.

Anyone else have problems with their lift gate?

Search online came up nothing other than pulling a fuse if hatch would close shut. Seems more like a mechanical problem than electrical.
Hi Explore_KY,

Did your dealership give you a reason as to why this was not covered under your basic warranty? Are you outside of the 36K miles?

Kori
Jeep Social Care Specialist
Yes outside the 36k mile warranty. said the would call the Chrysler / Jeep rep but have failed to. When the dealership was called back for a follow up they they had no recollection of our conversation. Kicker was when all the techs and were poking around pulling panels apart they made no mention of putting things back together. They ended up making things much worse. Hatch and interior trim prices are still laying in the back. Very frustrating.
 
#18 ·
The Power Liftgateof my Grand Cherokee Overland started to open on his own with engine shut down. Sometime it open and stay opne, sometime it opnes and closes, opne and closes, and in the meantime the blinker blinks and the horn blow. My Jeep Service does.t understand what cause this problem. Any sugestions?

Carlo
 
#19 ·
Could you be accidentally pushing the open button on the FOB, like if there is something other than the FOB in your pocket? If not, take the batteries out of your FOBs and see if it stops. If it stops, then one of your FOBs is defective. If it continues, it may be the overhead console button sticking, the latch button sticking, wiring, or one of the control modules (depends on year). What model year do you have?
 
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