The other day, the tailgate latch release stopped working on my 2008 ML320. Whether tried from the key remote, the handle on the tailgate, or the switch on the drivers' door, the result is the same: it beeps, the motor runs, but it stays latched and doesn't move.

Possible coincidence, or possible cause: the day before I installed a new Comand navigation DVD that I got from eBay. It was supposed to be a used version of the last update DVD (2015), but appeared to be instead a copy of some sort. I didn't expect it to work at all, but it did update the system and all features of Comand are working... but the tailgate definitely worked a few minutes before I installed that and was not working the next morning. Actually, now that I think back through it, I think that the tailgate may have worked exactly one more time after installing the update. So maybe it is just coincidence, and not some SAM/CAN weirdness.

What do you guys think is needed here? If I manually release from inside the little access cover, will I be able to close it again?

 

If I manually release from inside the little access cover, will I be able to close it again? You have no choice as you might find the problem.

Has there been a lot of rain recently?

 

Not in the last few days, no. And I already replaced the taillight seals a few years ago... along with the rear SAM.

 

I opened the access cover. There's just a plastic tab to push to release the latch. This releases it just fine. If I close the latch, with the hatch open, and press the tab, the latch releases like it should... so, the internals of the latch hook itself seem OK. However, when I closed the hatch, I could hear the latch motor run for too long, and, then, upon trying to open it again normally, it can't unlatch. So, it seems that something is wrong with the actuator motor or the cable that connects it to the latch.

 

OK. So, the cable is for the manual release. The motor is built in. Looks like the motor's gears are probably stripped. Seems like this is a common failure mode for these. Comand upgrade was just a coincidence.

 

What are the last six numbers of your vin#?

 

I had the same thing. Manual unlock ok, didnt re lock. Bought a new module for the latch online for cheap. Works fine.

Fyi you'll need to drill a rivet on the emergency lock bar and replace it with a screw/bolt. Easy job, but unnerving popping all the clips. Lol.

 

308475. Why?

 

So the correct part # for the locking motor is found.

 

Hmm... so, they changed from A2117400235 to A1647400635, but aftermarket suppliers are saying their part is a replacement for both. The one I ordered from eBay looks to be this part: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32861938643.html

Do you know of any compatibility issues?

 

No, but that's 50 less than I found it on amazon for. Nice find!

 

You are incorrectly reading the part numbers that I posted. The first one is highlighted which is as of a certain vin#, which is within your vin #.

The second one is after your vin# which does not apply.

This aliexpress stuff is manufactured outside the US and they will tell you anything to sell parts. You make the call, I'm not.

 

No. Not reading them incorrectly. The part number used in mine was replaced by a different part number in later VINs. That happens all the time. Sometimes the newer part supersedes the old part and the newer part will be the only one sold, and sometimes the change is incompatible with the older vehicles and the older part continues to be sold as well.

I was asking if you knew which is the case here.

The part should be here today or tomorrow. I'll let you know. I may also check with my dealer to see what they say.

 

Got the latch and installed it today. Took about an hour. Happy to report that the eBay part, with the newer part number on the box, is a drop-in replacement, and works fine. The only differences are that it doesn't say Huf on it, and there are two foam rings on the cable instead of one.

Once the inner panel is off, you can slide the lock assembly out past the safety release handle... I did not have to remove it (it is riveted in place).

I think the old one had been failing for several years. It would always have trouble locking in the winter time. Today was very hot, and it actually worked a couple of times, but then started acting up again. So, hoping the new one will cure the cold weather problem as well.

eBay part cost me $134 total from a US seller (CA), delivered in about a week.

 

I have exactly the same symptoms as described in the original post. When I push any of the 3 buttons (on the remote or inside the driver door or the red button on the hatch itself) to close the hatch, the hatch swings down to the closed position and it will latch, but the hatch is not pulled tightly into the closed position as it normally would. The hatch remains 'semi-latched' and a warning light on the front display lights up to indicate the hatch isn't closed properly. Also, when I then try to open the hatch, the latch doesn't release for the hatch to swing up and open. I have to use the emergency release lever right by the latch itself, working from inside the vehicle and through the hole on the inside panel (which is normally closed with a plastic cover). In both cases you can hear motors running for longer than usual.

SQLGuy, can you please confirm that the replacement latch permanently solved your problem since the installation in July last year?

What ever the cause is with mine, it has been failing very infrequently and for very short periods of time over the last year or so. VIN: 4JGBB22E18A434209

 

SQLGuy, is the PABOKAY lock latch part from AliExpress any good? The part still seems to be available from them and I'm probably going to need one. Advance thanks.

 

I ordered the Tailgate Hatch Lock Mechanism online from AliExpress for roughly CAD140, delivered including custom duties. It arrived within 14 days of placing the order and I installed the part today. The new replacement part from AliExpress fits perfectly, works properly for now and fixes the tailgate malfunction I was experiencing on my vehicle, but take note that this part is not exactly the same as the original and looks to be of a lesser quality compared to the original. Even 3 years ago I probably wouldn't have installed this part on my vehicle because of the lesser quality, but I decided to install it now anyway for a few circumstantial reasons. At the time of ordering this part from AliExpress I did not find/see the replacement part advertised on Amazon but it is there now. From the online pictures, the part on Amazon already resembles much more closely the original part in my vehicle and if I had to buy this part again, I'd rather buy the part advertised on Amazon.



This part from AliExpress is not the exact same part as the original but it does fit and it does work on the 2008 ML. This replacement might be for a different Mercedes model.







From the picture in this advertisement on Amazon.ca, this replacement more closely resembles the original part on the 2008 ML. The emergency release cable on the Amazon part appears to be the same length, have the same cable diameter and have the same end fitting as the original part. (The part from AliExpress has a much longer, thinner cable and the end fitting has a smaller ball and does not have an angled collar like the part from Amazon.)