Hi everyone,

I’ve can’t open my lower tailgate. The button on the lower tailgate makes no noise when pushed. The unlock button inside won’t work. I tried flipping the switches on the inside of the lower tailgate near the tailgate straps and nothing.

The latch in question is on top of the black trim piece on lower tailgate. When I close the upper tailgate it won’t latch and close as it should. I have tried to manipulate the latch myself which was an epic fail. So, now my upper tailgate won’t close and latch appears to be broken.

I have also tried pushing the lock & unlock button simultaneously for several seconds. When I use my key fob it will unlock all the doors so no problem with the key. Same thing with the inside button. Will unlock doors just fine.

Before the latch broke the tailgate would not release when I used my key fob. It wouldn’t open by pushing the button inside. Somehow I got the upper tailgate open and now can’t close it because of the lower tailgate latch.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I’m over 2 hours away from a LR dealership and there are no good local shops that work on Rovers nearby. Please be nice. I have conquered many issues the LR3 has thrown my way but this has me stumped.

I am about to admit defeat and go buy a regular truck if I can’t get this fixed. I am not especially mechanically minded but can manage some repairs myself.

Not that it matters but I’m a 63 yr old and grandmother of 5 kids & 1 LR3 🙌

Thanks in advance! Also, can someone post the link to the RAVE manual?

 

You have a couple of issues but I think both can be solved.

First, the upper tailgate. I think you may have closed the latch. Basically it is in the closed position. Put a screw driver in the latch in the oval section. The screw driver should be vertical to the car. With your right hand hold the screw driver and put a little tension on the latch buy pulling it toward you. ( you will be standing outside of the car). At the same time you are pulling the screw driver reach up with your left and hand push the open button that normally opens up the upper tailgate. (this is not the small square button but is the button that is under the black trim piece that holds the lights that shine on the licence plate). This should put the latch back into the correct position to be able to close it normally.

Second, the lower tailgate. It should like one or both of the actuators are broken that release it. The good news is there is a manual release. Assuming you're in the USA since you called it an LR3. Look inside the tailgate on the left side. You will see a round portion of the trim where the tailgate meets the inside. Above that you will see a small hole. You can put your index finger in the hold and feel a nub. Pull up on the nub and the tailgate should open.

 

IMPORTANT:

MAKE SURE the lower tailgate latch operates with the square button BEFORE closing the top tailgate.
If the bottom release is broken and you successfully close the top tailgate, you will have a HORRIBLE time fixing the bottom latch actuator.

I highly suggest installing a manual release cable to future-proof any more potential latch problems - while the top tailgate is OPEN.
Lots of write-ups explaining how.

Just to be clear, if the square button does NOT open the bottom tailgate, fix that FIRST (common problem with aging LR3s).
Once that top latches into a broken bottom tailgate release, you are in for a world of hurt.

Ask me how I know . . .

 

@keninnc doesn't the manual release for the lower tailgate have to be pressed on both sides???

 

I actually tried it on mine before responding. Only the left side. However my lower tailgate is releasing as it should so if one of the actuators is bad yes you may have to do both side. The right side seems to be harder to release.

 

Thanks for everyone’s replies.The black square button definitely is not working. Also, the latch in the center of the lower tailgate is jacked up so I couldn’t close the top tailgate even if I wanted to.

So, the first thing I will attempt to fix is the square black button on lower tailgate. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. Once that is fixed I will move to the lower tailgate latch.

Appreciate your help!