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VF Evoke sports wagon tail gate lock.

Terry57

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Hi, having the tail gate lock operate by power does my head in. The lack of key access means that if the touch pad fails one must grovel inside and somehow unlock it using a flat head screw driver.
My ride has 150 K on it and has zero issues in this department thankfully but is always in the back of my mind.
Any of you wagon owners ever had a key pad failure. ? I'm hoping the reply amount to a zero.
Thanks.
 

Big Red VF-SII Go-kart

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I have heard of power tailgate failure/unresponsiveness in the Audi SUVs, but not the VF Evoke or the VF Sportswagon (I do not have a power tailgate on my VF SII Sportwagon, and deliberately sought out a car without this feature).

I seriously think power tailgates have been over-hyped and over-emphasised in their perceived or actual usefulness, just another reminder that humans have (supposedly) lost their natural, learned ability to open and close doors and conduct safety checks, instead relying on the fallability of electronics to do things for them. This will be a point of undoing for the unwise...
 

Forg

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I do not have a power tailgate on my VF SII Sportwagon
Wait a sec … before my mind completely blows, exactly what're you referring to as a "power tailgate"?
Just checking because I could be misunderstanding your meaning. Our VF doesn't have what I'd call a power tailgate, if I were saying that I'd mean one of those electric motors which fully opens or fully closes the tailgate, often linked with some sort of gesture system where you wave your foot under the rear bumper & it auto-opens.
There is an electric tailgate catch/lock though, which only pulls the tailgate tight.
Is that electric catch not in VFII?

I seriously think power tailgates have been over-hyped and over-emphasised in their perceived or actual usefulness, just another reminder that humans have (supposedly) lost their natural, learned ability to open and close doors and conduct safety checks, instead relying on the fallability of electronics to do things for them. This will be a point of undoing for the unwise...
The variety in the VF is only there for NVH reasons I suspect, to stop people slamming the tailgate (ie. keep it pulled tight without the need to slam it). Same purpose as in upper-end cars like Bentleys have for their doors (not entirely dissimilar to a soft-close kitchen drawer I guess :)).
 

Big Red VF-SII Go-kart

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Yes, that is on the VF SII Sportswagon.
I see what you mean now, the electric "catch and pull" of the tailgate that does away with the usual slam-dunk common to e.g. my previous VZ. This was demonstrated to me by the dealer after I repeatedly opened and tried to slam it closed: neither the car (which evidently would not allow a slam closure! ), nor the dealer was impressed by my absence of mind! It's a neat feature that I like to demonstrate to my impoverished VW owner friends and family that have no such nice little touches! :D

I don't see any reason why it should fail or mis-engage? There are a lot of electronic systems in the VF that could potentially give trouble somewhere at some time. The bigger picture is what really matters.
 

Big Red VF-SII Go-kart

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I thought he was referring more about the electronic lock & if that failed, how he could get in to the car?

How do you know it is 'electronic'?
The dealer told me it is electrically-engaged. You can unlock it manually in the VF SII using the button on the inside lower fascia of the tailgate (there is no tailgate button on the key fob or inside the car); an audible click will be heard and the tailgate will be ajar slightly.

Besides that, if you have a flat or weak battery, opening or auto-catching of the tailgate might just be the very least of your problems! ;)
 

Terry57

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Yer, thats what im on about. You touch that little pad and it releases the lock. The VF Evoke standard model does not have assisted openning of the tail gate.
The reason i do not like having no key access is quite simple. Twice a year i'm out of Australia for 4 months a year so i remove the battery and put it on trickle charge.When i returned the first time i near on stroked out grovelling in the back of the Holden trying to unlock the hatch by shoving the screw driver in the little access hole and engage the mechanism. It's not easy infact it's difficult.

My car lives outside and is covered up whilst i travel so last year i installed an exterior power point near the car and run a battery charger so right there my angst was cured.
I'm just having a bitch really, call me old school but Jesus Christ, is it that hard to install a key lock for times when a battery goes out. ?
Anyway, try openning your wagon rear door using the grovel and screw driver method and let me know how ya get on.
Thanks.
 

Terry57

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Im talking exclusively about the basic bread and butter VF Evoke which besides this issue has been brilliant. Dunno how the the higher speck VF's open the tail gate when the Battery goes out. ?
Anyway, they certainly did not think about us old plebs when they designed that rear Hatch entry.
 

Terry57

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How do you know it is 'electronic'?
The dealer told me it is electrically-engaged. You can unlock it manually in the VF SII using the button on the inside lower fascia of the tailgate (there is no tailgate button on the key fob or inside the car); an audible click will be heard and the tailgate will be ajar slightly.

Besides that, if you have a flat or weak battery, opening or auto-catching of the tailgate might just be the very least of your problems! ;)

Well mate, i hate to disagree with that lot but i politely suggest that if one has a flat battery this usually is the reason for the problem.
As we VF wagon owners know the battery is shoved deep into the rear cargo area and is a royal pain in the Ass to access when the battery goes out.

Once one gets the tail gate released replacing the battery is easy once ya done it a few times.
 
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