Could it be that the rubber bump stops are worn (or need adjusting out) and the mechanism has sensed that the tailgate has travelled too far to attempt to lock.


Or perhaps it's not travelling enough, and the stops need adjusting inwards.

 

Having the same problem with my 2014 GTS (approx 70% of closing attempts), started 3 months after new purchase. Been to dealer twice for work (greased and re calibrated), neither event worked. Going back for a 3rd attempt. Hoping to hear of a solution.

 

Update.

Problem remains unresolved.

Dealer received approval to send Cayenne to Porsche approved body shop to have rear hatch aligned to proper specs. left side gap was smaller than right side gap as measured above the tail lights. Body shop did their work, dealership gets it back, tries it out, no problem and I go pick it up this morning. First try and it fails to latch upon closing. Give it a slight lift and the latch mechanism takes charge and successfully latches it. Poor sales guy watches me walk away to find the GM. General Manager and I have a polite conversation. Meanwhile the sales guy tries it 10 times and 9 of time times it fails. GM goes out to watch and witnesses it too. Monday they are calling PNA to request a field engineer or what they want done next. The dealership is trying hard but if they don't go by what PNA wants done, they don't get reimbursed.

 

I had same problem and others with a 2013 CTT. Sold that POS.

 

Follow-up and probable solution.

The next business day after the 3/28/15 forum post, the service department manager contacted me and said that he was in touch with PCNA. One of their field engineers was coming down to their dealership for another car (different issue) and they wanted to see if he wanted to look at mine. Turns out that my issue was not new to Porsche AG and that they were working a software fix. Seems they build in time delays, etc for pinch protection and they were modifying some of the attributes related to the closing sequence and delays. It would be a week or two for the s/w to be released. My dealership had a second customer with the identical issue. That customer had his installed 3 weeks ago and no issues.

So today 5/1/15, the new s/w was loaded, they tested the heck out of it, I tested it and all is normal now. So if it operates normally from here on out, I'll be a happy camper.

Porsche Annapolis did a great job with problems that were the fault of Porsche AG: factory (rear hatch misalignment at manufacturer), and bad design (the software). I will say this though, Porsche AG didn't ignore the evidence, as few number of reports they had on this issue and they took action. Good on them.

 

If this is a software issue, shouldn't all Cayennes be affected then?

 

I do not know. This maybe one of those "customer interest" or "technical service bulletins" (using Alldata nomenclature) items that sez "If the powered rear hatch does not latch, check for obstructions, check hatch alignment, update firmware. If that fails, replace latch mechanism followed by powered struts." Based on my experience, I suspect it is not a recall event...but I just don't know.

So there might be a few cases that due to tolerance buildup during manufacturing, that some of us end up with a Cayenne that demonstrate this behavior.

For each Cayenne series, mine being a 958, I do not know how many control units there are onboard that can accept an update. I counted 20 potential "control units" for my 958 and of those 20 I think I have about 16-17. My guess, 100% of those can accept an update.

 

So I guess it e

 

So I guess it won't hurt to get the software updated even if the hatch is functioning properly.

 

I do not know the ins and outs of asking a dealer to update a control unit's firmware when there is no issue for one's car.

 

I had this same issue on my 958 cayenne. The issue started suddenly, and it just happened that the local temperature was in the 20's. The symptoms were exactly as described above.

I decided to do a little digging. I felt around the base of the latch by pressing down on the metal flap and found some debris that had fallen into the area. There was a single piece of plastic about the size of the handle of a Bic pen top, and a one much smaller piece. Once removed, the issue was resolved. For others with this issue, maybe there is just debris obstructing the the latch.

 

I have a 2011 Cayenne S. The lift gate was opening fine until I got it back from the cleanup shop. When you press the open button on the key/door/rear hatch the gate releases but won't power up... After you manual open it all the way and you press the close button on the bottom of the hatch, the hatch doesn't respond.... Any ideas?

 

IDEA: Ask the "cleanup" shop what dealer they want you to take it to in order to get it fixed. They fooked (tech-term) it up. They should be paying to fix it.

There is a very vague possibility that somehow they taught the limit setting for the tailgate that fully closed is as far as it should open. You can read up on how to set and reset this in your friendly owners manual. It's in the section on - surprise - tailgates IIRC.

 

I too have this on my 2016 Cayenne. Took it to the dealer and said they fixed it, but it's worse now than before. Any updates to this problem?

 

Hello everyone,

I am wondering if this issue was ever resolved with everyone.

I am currently struggling with this issue.

My 2016 Cayenne is having the exact issue as described.

It has been in the shop 3 times with this last visit still ongoing over 2.5 weeks. They have basically changed everything but the hatch door without luck.

Living here in TX, the hatch only acts up when temps are below 70 F.

I sent them a link to this website so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.