C5 Tourer Electric Tailgate 2010

[jim_e_jib]

Hello, I've recently bought a used C5 Tourer. My first Citroen and I am very pleased with it, it's an amazing car, so quiet and comfortable!

 

I'm having a bit of trouble with the electric tailgate - the car seems to go in to economy mode rather quickly (going to get the battery checked) meaning I have to start the engine to close the boot after a few minutes. The manual suggests there is a way to open and close the boot manually but doesn't seem to give any more information. Trying to force it open or shut feels like something might break... Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

 

Many thanks

 

James

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

This is from page 78 of a handbook for 2010:

 

BOOT (TOURER) 

Manual opening ï† Press upwards on lever A (tailgate opening switch) and lift up the tailgate.

but it then says - 

Do not attempt to help the opening of the tailgate manually after pressing the control A .

 

Manual closing ï† Lower the tailgate using the interior handle C .

Electric closing ï† Press the push-button D (red switch at the bottom of the tailgate) to close the tailgate. Do not interrupt the closing of the tailgate; if any obstacle prevents it closing, the operation will stop and the tailgate will automatically rise by a few centimetres.

 

Interrupting the opening/ closing of the tailgate When the tailgate is being opened or closed electrically, you can interrupt its movement at any point by pressing push-button D , the control A or button B on the remote key. You can then open or close the tailgate electrically or manually, if necessary moving it in the opposite direction to release it.

[jim_e_jib]

Hi Paul,

 

Many thanks for the reply!

 

Unfortunately, it is not possible to close the boot manually by pulling on the interior handle as the struts seem to be locked solid when the boot is open. I tried moving it in the opposite direction to release it as the manual suggests but that seems to have no effect. It is possible to open the boot manually but it requires a great deal of force and feels like you are forcing the mechanism to do something it wasn't designed to do so I have not opened it more than a few inches like this.

 

I've not had a car with an electric tailgate before so wasn't sure if this is just how it is or of mine has a fault?

 

Many thanks

 

James

[Xsaradope]

Mine is just the same and a new battery won't help. I think it's just a rubbish design that looks good in the brochure. you can tug it up and down but it's much much too hard unless you

are really fit. The off side top strut mounting is breaking away now and if I could pay a hundred quid or so to have it all changed to a manual lift, I would

 

Standing in the rain with arms full of shopping trying to open the tailgate makes me wish I had never bought the car!

And I now have a rumbling type noise from the front end that two dealerships can't even understand what I'm talking about and can't find anything wrong.

 

A lovely car let down by bad ideas and poor dealers.

[jim_e_jib]

I feel your pain Xsaradope! The Citroen technical manual says:

 

When carrying out a "battery disconnected" operation requiring opening of the boot, the motorised function of the boot must be disengaged before the battery is disconnected.

Method for disengaging the motorised function of the boot : 

Open the boot 

Disengage the motorised function (short manual action down then up) 

Mechanically lock the lock using a tool (which results in the boot light switching off)

N.B. : If disengagement is not possible, close and open the boot electrically. Re-open the boot lock mechanically. Repeat the procedure for disengaging the motorised function of the boot. 

 

 

I think this is part of the procedure for disconnecting the battery on models where the battery is in the boot - so it would seem it is possible to put the boot in to a manual mode of sorts but I don't imagine this is designed for every day use.

 

I spoke to my local Citroen garage who said that if my car had been sat on a forecourt for some time before I bought it, the battery could need a good charge and possibly more than even a reasonable run in the car could provide. My car tends to sit idle during the week and then have a couple of hour long runs and some short journeys at the weekend. A trip to Kwik Fit a few weeks back confirmed that my battery and alternator are both good but the battery was low on charge. It currently reads around 12 volts which is kinda low so I plan to buy a charger, get it topped up and see if the length of time before economy mode kicks in is improved...

 

James

[Lenny]

Mine used to do the 'Economy Mode' thing all the time.
It's not done it once since I fitted a new battery.

[jim_e_jib]

Thanks Lenny!

[Lenny]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251724821217?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I bought one of these.

Good price, quality battery, delivered next day.

[jim_e_jib]

A belated update to this post...

 

A battery charger failed to improve things, so I bit the bullet and bought a new battery. This was the fix - economy mode now only occurs occasionally and the tailgate opens and closes as it should.

 

It has however highlighted that it is not possible to manually open and close the tailgate when the car is in economy mode. With a good battery, if you follow the procedures from the handbook you hear the tailgate motors disengage (I'm guessing that is what the noise is) and you can manually raise and lower the tailgate with relative ease. In economy mode, the motors do not disengage and any movement is a real struggle. Seems like a nice little Citroen quirk...!

[paul.h]

Thanks for getting back to us. 6 to 8 years seems to be about the limit for battery life, any longer is a bonus. On stop/start cars it might be a lot less but these batteries are twice the cost of normal lead/acid ones.

[renagade1]

Hi Guy's

My C5 X7 e-hdi stop/start . has two battery's. One is an accumulator that will hold a charge for up to three months and this is only to start the car then the other battery is a very expensive " normal " battery .When I start my car first thing in the morning the car starts so quick it sound like a turbine. As I understand when the engine is warm is is started by the alternator which is why it starts instantly on the stop start . The accumulator for the stop start is on the near side of the engine somewhere near the fuse box.  

[mattharris230]

hi there, im finding issues with my 2008 c5 exclusive. the electric tailgate sometimes closes but doesnt quite go down hard enough so bounces back up about a foot. an thoughts?

[paul.h]

If you try pushing down a bit on the door when it is closing to help overcome any resistance, does that help ?