Not sure how this happened but I started having these issues after getting the D2 back from a body shop for a tailgate hinge replacement. The tailgate door was fine for about a month and then suddenly the locking mechanism wouldn't lock when I lock the door via key fob or from the cabin. Meaning with the car locked I can open and close the tailgate. This does still set off the alarm. I noticed the inside manual lock fell down and I was unable to grab it.

Strangely around the same time my driver rear door will lock, but then not unlock when I press the unlock button on the fob and in the cabin. I can unlock it from the inside and open the door, but when I lock it again it won't lock.

Today I set out to fix these problems and work on some additional projects. Starting with the driver rear door I went from the inside and opened it, banged on it a bit and opened it from the outside and viola! Then I moved onto fixing the tailgate. The PO had taken out the door trim and installed a metal plate, so I removed the screws and moved the manual locking device back up and down a few times and tested it with the key fob lock, interior latch, and outdoor latch.

When I was done with everything and had packed up all of my tools I locked the car and realized I left something inside the tailgate. I unlocked the car via keyfob and the tailgate unlocked, and the latch moved freely, but didn't open the door. I crawled into the inside underneath a cage the PO put in for his dog and tried to open it with the inside latch. No luck but this time I could moved the manual lock up and down with no issue. It would raise and lower with when I locked or unlocked the car. Now either related or un-related the driver rear door won't respond to unlocking or locking after I locked it.

The PO put an arb fridge drawer slide and a basic storage setup all bolted and or welded down that prevents access to the screws holding the metal plate on the tailgate, so I have no means of getting access to the internals. Is there any way to get around this so I can open the door and look inside?



I copied and pasted this from my forum post on landroverforums.com

 

I would probably just put a new tailgate latch on it when you get the door open. Sounds like classic bad tailgate latch. But since you just had some work done in theory it could be a broken wire or wiring issue... in the harness that goes into the door from the body in the rubber flexible boot (which you of course can only access when the door is open)

As for getting the door open... that's a tricky one because the gear setup you have I guess prevents you from accessing going thru the interior door panel area?

Do you by chance still have super locking enabled on the car? It sounds kind of like the rear tailgate door got stuck in super lock as the interior handle isn't working. (is that right? correct me if wrong) Superlock happens when you double press the key to lock doors. Maybe you did that when playing around trying to get things sorted?

BTW I go into settings in Nanocom and disable super locking on every single D2 I buy... it really screws you over if a door gets stuck superlocked.

PS -- Drivers rear door is probably the latch mechanism as well. Not uncommon for a latch or two to start failing around the same time. I would say the tailgate and rear door issues are completely *unrelated* ... just in case you were thinking they might be related.

 

I did end up finding the problem and a solution. A member from Northern California Land Rovers Club advised me that it may be the child lock in the halfway position. If you're in California I highly suggest you check them out. I did end up getting the door panel off from the inside with a great deal of difficulty and found everything to be in perfect shape. With his advice and the attached post below I was able to get the door open and duct tape the child lock in the unlocked position.

https://www.landroversonly.com/threa...closed.140690/