Panic - tailgate wouldn't close.

[CaseWhenThen]

I've literally just done this job this evening. Never previously touched anything on a car, but the tailgate started creaking a few weeks ago and eventually started refusing to close when it got about 2/3rds of the way down and would go back up.
I found a replacement RHS metal strut online for £100 that seems legit and looks identical to my current one.
There are two spring clips on the existing strut that pop out with the help of a flathead screwdriver, then it just slides out.
De-wiring, or more specifically, getting behind the panelling is a bit trickier. I suspect the plastic panel just pulls off with a bit of force, but by that point I'd already taken off 5 different bits I probably didn't need to.
Once inside it's simply unplug, then plug and play with the new one.
If you find a Volvo dealer happy to do it for free, go for it, but these prices of £600+ are crazy if I can do it for £100 in under an hour.

Now time for a smug beer

[DADDY KOOL]

Well done ,it's amazing what you can achieve!!!

[Chris John]

Can you post the link for where you got it please and did you not consider changing both ?

[CaseWhenThen]

Carlightbulb was the website - wasn't sure it was allowed in here. The left side one is completely silent so thought I'd just try the noisy right one to begin with and it works like a charm now.
Although there wasn't a huge amount of strength in the left one holding it up, so maybe a job for the near future

[Chris John]

Carlightbulb was the website - wasn't sure it was allowed in here. The left side one is completely silent so thought I'd just try the noisy right one to begin with and it works like a charm now.
Although there wasn't a huge amount of strength in the left one holding it up, so maybe a job for the near future

Thanks. I did a search and found them. Think I’ll give them a go CBA to go through the arguments with my Volvo dealer tbh

[ChrisLF]

Mine are the later ones but as I said they'd started making creaking noises when closing. Only intermittently and not when the car was serviced a couple of days ago but I had them checked.

No problem found but they lubricated them, which I was going to do anyway, and asked me to monitor them.

[Chris John]

Mine are the later ones but as I said they'd started making creaking noises when closing. Only intermittently and not when the car was serviced a couple of days ago but I had them checked.

No problem found but they lubricated them, which I was going to do anyway, and asked me to monitor them.

Tbh they seem to be more hassle than they are worth. Range Rover ones also fail and are over £1k to replace

[CaseWhenThen]

I tried wd40 in them while I waited for it to arrive but no difference. Mine were on a 2020 version, metal ones. They had been fine but within a month of the creaking starting, it just failed completely

[ChrisLF]

On the latest cars they are standard across the range so you can't avoid having them now.

Of all the cars I've had previously, which were all manual struts, I only ever had them fail once, on a second hand car that was already a few years old, and they were cheap and easy to replace yourself. Progress!!

[Jaycee750]

Sounds like a cr@p design to me. Is this same design ie exposed poor quality struts in a wet channel still the case with the latest cars?