Model S Trunk Liftgate Head Injury zone after struts replaced

[RacerX]

2017 Model S 90D Loved the power liftgate trunk for a great 6 years. It opened at its tallest about 52 inches (132 cm) from lower trunk gasket to the trunk edge. I call this the head injury/ concussion zone … then it stopped working. Now only opens and closes automatically up to about 41 inches (104 cm) after being replaced by Tesla Service.

So my asks are as follows:

1.Model S owners when you had your struts fixed did it automatically open all the way like it did before it stopped working?



2.Model S owners when you had your struts fixed could you set the trunk at different heights. Just like in the manual?



3.Is there a break-in period for these powered liftgate trunk struts?

 

[Rascoe]

2017 Model S 90D Loved the power liftgate trunk for a great 6 years. It opened at its tallest about 52 inches (132 cm) from lower trunk gasket to the trunk edge. I call this the head injury/ concussion zone … then it stopped working. Now only opens and closes automatically up to about 41 inches (104 cm) after being replaced by Tesla Service.

So my asks are as follows:

1.Model S owners when you had your struts fixed did it automatically open all the way like it did before it stopped working?



2.Model S owners when you had your struts fixed could you set the trunk at different heights. Just like in the manual?



3.Is there a break-in period for these powered liftgate trunk struts?

If you haven't already tried this, it may help.

 

[henderrj]

If you haven't already tried this, it may help.

View attachment 960770

We had our lift gate struts replaced on a 2014, and this did not fix it. It turned out that the number of counts that the lift gate's linear motor needs to make are greater on the new liftgate strut. It took the Tesla guys a while to figure it out, but they were able finally to write the correct number to the firmware and get it to open all the way. Well, not all the way. It still stops about 2 inches shy of the top. For me that's okay, I'm not all that tall!

 

[RacerX]

If you haven't already tried this, it may help.

View attachment 960770

Thanks, I retried setting the trunk but it will not calibrate to the higher opening.
“If the liftgate loses its calibration when opened, the liftgate chimes three times and does not move. To restore calibration, manually pull the liftgate down to close it.” So I think Tesla Service is my next step. Thanks.

 

[RacerX]

We had our lift gate struts replaced on a 2014, and this did not fix it. It turned out that the number of counts that the lift gate's linear motor needs to make are greater on the new liftgate strut. It took the Tesla guys a while to figure it out, but they were able finally to write the correct number to the firmware and get it to open all the way. Well, not all the way. It still stops about 2 inches shy of the top. For me that's okay, I'm not all that tall!

I didn’t know about this , so I will see if this is the problem with my trunk.Next step Tesla Service to re-fix.Thanks for the info.

 

[henderrj]

I didn’t know about this , so I will see if this is the problem with my trunk.Next step Tesla Service to re-fix.Thanks for the info.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[RacerX]

Let us know how it goes.

Will do. The appointment is next week.

 

[RacerX]

Update: Tesla Service had to reconfigure and recalibrate the powered trunk / liftgate strut. The whole process took about 20 minutes. Now it works great , Opens like previous. So no more possibilities of head trauma or concussions Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[gillmj24]

Curious if you could still open it manually past where the actuators stopped?

 

[RacerX]

Curious if you could still open it manually past where the actuators stopped?

Yes , I could raise the trunk higher but then I had to close it manually. Now it opens and closes completely the way it did back in 2017!