tailgate boot locking stuck shut

[yellowt5r]

Hi all.


for some reason my boot/tailgate wont open anymore tried to unlock it through the key and inside but neither way unlocks it. was all fine until i removed the rear bumper and ran out of time that day to fit the newer one so shut it. next day wont open!

how are you ment to open it???

[yellowt5r]

right, luck was on my side as i could undo the lock pins either side as my bumper was off. so managed to release the boot/tail gate

another crap design from renault. just put a key lock or maybe an access panel that can be removed (inside) so it can be opened
something im looking into as i dont want it happening again. needed contacts cleaning as the was furred up.

[roy4matra]

right, luck was on my side as i could undo the lock pins either side as my bumper was off. so managed to release the boot/tail gate

another crap design from renault...

Whilst I'm not defending Renault in all cases, they do usually have an emergency release but you have to know how to access it - it is meant for mechanics more than owners.  I have opened many stuck locks but before I can say about your case I would need to know exactly which model you have - each model tends to be different.

... needed contacts cleaning as the was furred up.

Something that should have been seen and done a while ago by the sound of it.  Good servicing involves checking all these sorts of things to prevent the type of incident you have just had.  That's the trouble with people servicing these days - they do the obvious things like oil and filter changes, replacing spark plugs, etc. but miss all the important little things because they don't think about what is constantly in use and needs attention.  Just one example - How many people check cables for fraying on a service?  Yet if a cable breaks it often causes trouble.

Roy

[yellowt5r]

hi Roy all i can say to what you have said is i also have a 15 year old car and never had issues with the locking in 5 years of owning it. i have a 2001  dci 2.2 the race edition. is the a unlocking release some where for this?

[colin4255]

I too have a Mk3 2002 Dci and had an issue with the tailgate. While Roys comments are good and these things do need oiling, I am also amazed at the truly dimwitted design used on mnay parts of my Espace. I own a twenty year old BMW and its doors always open, rusted up or not.  I think its a typically French foible. They are very Avant Garde in many of their designs, but often use poor design and crappy parts or poor solutions to many very obvious and simple things that you wouldn't find on a German or Japanese car. If you make somehting well, designed simply then it simply won;t go wrong in the first place.  Door handles, locks and catches should just work.

I would love to know how to open stuck tailgate too - am sure it will affect me one day!

[Martin Tyas]

I have had the same issue with my 2002 ~ only intermittently ~ but I decided to sort it.

I removed the inner trim from the tailgate to access the mechanism and found that all it was (in my case at least) was the tailgate release handle. The pivot point on either side was dry ~ I guess that with the lube that was in at the point of manufacture having been dried out or washed out over time. An application of spray lithium grease to the pivots on either side of the handle did the job and I've never had it stick again since. With spray lube and one of those fine tube extension nozzles like you get with WD40 you can probably get enough in to the right places without even taking the tailgate trim off.

Martin

[roy4matra]

I too have a Mk3 2002 Dci and had an issue with the tailgate. While Roys comments are good and these things do need oiling, I am also amazed at the truly dimwitted design used on mnay parts of my Espace. I own a twenty year old BMW and its doors always open, rusted up or not.  I think its a typically French foible. They are very Avant Garde in many of their designs, but often use poor design and crappy parts or poor solutions to many very obvious and simple things that you wouldn't find on a German or Japanese car. If you make somehting well, designed simply then it simply won;t go wrong in the first place.  Door handles, locks and catches should just work.

I would love to know how to open stuck tailgate too - am sure it will affect me one day!

Apologies to you all.  It seems the Series 3 Espace does not have the normal release override that other Renault models have.  Now I have had a look at one, it appears they have really badly designed this one, since if the tailgate is stuck closed, it is even extremely difficult to remove the interior trim, which is the other way to access the catch and release it.

It makes it even more necessary to lubricate the catch regularly, and keep the contacts clean.

Roy