Q7 Rear Lid Hatch Gate clicking will not fully close
 

Q7 Rear Lid Hatch Gate clicking will not fully closeQ7 Rear Lid Hatch Gate clicking will not fully close. All buttons on remote work and the button on the hatch operates, but when the hatch is engaging with the latch, the latch motor starts clicking and only pulls hatch down partially. The hatch is latched, but very loose. If I push against the hatch while the motor is engaging it seems that it latches a bit more and hatch doesn't appear as loose. But still an issue. Thinking of opening this motor/actuator and seeing what I find inside. Expecting to see worn plastic gears. This part is the Tailgate Trunk Lid Latch Lock Actuator Motor (Part 4F9827383B). I suggest outlining this part with masking taps prior to removal, as the bolts allow a good bit of play with installation. I suspected previous owner has already attempted some work on it, and some lining up might be in order so I didn't bother with tape.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...0063144faf.jpg
Drilled out the brads/rivets
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...7985588af6.jpg

I drilled out the brass brads/rivets. I did this while it was still bolted to the car. Once the rivets were nearly cut, I removed entire assembly from car using 1/2" socket driver, then onto the work bench.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...cef015cace.jpg
To assist removing the rivets, using a #8 bolt (same bolts pictured below) I hammered the rivets from the top side where I had drilled into them, then pulled them out from opposite side using vice grips. Now motor/actuator is separated from the latch.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...ed2a03330b.jpg
The worn threads marked. Basically, I lifted the gear up, rotated it counterclockwise until the worn area was just left of where it meets adjacent gear (small steel gear)


After examining all the gears, you can see this is designed to fail.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...c821678ae1.jpg

Worn area is in the 10 o'clock position. Remainder of gear is close to pristine.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...7c5827ee52.jpg
The worm gear is steel, but the two brown gears are plastic molded to smaller steel gears. The larger gear has a spot with about 10% of the gears teeth worn away. Solution: lift gear out, rotate slightly, and reinsert so that the worn teeth will not be used during operation. The gear only turns about 1/2 turn for normal operation. It took 9 years to get this worn, so maybe we'll get a good many years out of this reassembled motor/actuator. I also greased the gears before reassembly. Closed the motor/actuator, reattaching it to latch frame with some #8 x 1 1/2" bolts with nuts.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...871765f125.jpg
Installation reverse of removal.

Thanks for this, it helped me diagnose the clicking problem I was having. Except my issue is with the teeth on the smaller gear that are worn. It looks like the small gear goes through a full 360 degrees so there's no quick fix.

Great writeup! It helped me solve my problem of the grinding and clicking when my tailgate shut.

One additional thing I had to do was move the horizontal latch with teeth so that the pin was tight against the hook (basically as far right as it would go without activating the latch). If I didn't do that, I think the sensor got confused and I still got that grinding sound like it was attempting to reset its position and couldn't.

Welp, although the fix was good and solidly grounded in theory, it stopped working for me after a few open/close cycles.

I think there were just so many teeth ground off my gear, that it rotated around and found the bare spot again. I was missing at least 4 teeth, and I think the pic earlier in the thread only has 2-3 missing.

Oh well, off to EBay for a different part!

I also saw on YouTube a guy doing a similar fix, who also ended up having to replace the whole mechanism. The design of the part seems to have changed after going through B D and E revisions, and it looks like 4F9 827 383 G may have a more robust design, as well as eliminating the spring.

https://parts.audiusa.com/p/Audi_201...F9827383G.html

My 2010 Q5 with 243,000 miles had the same problem. 3-4 teeth broke off the gear so thr gear slips at the end of its cycle as its pulling thr hatch tight. The symptoms are clicking noise for 3 seconds just after the hatch closes. Thr clicking noise is thr gear slipping. And the tailgate ajar image warning at the instrument cluster. You'll need either a new gear or replacement assembly 4F9827383G located in the spare tire area.

Thr gear rotates a full revolution to pull thr hatch tight. So even if you drill out the rivets and open the unit to move thr gear to a new location it will eventually find the broken tooth and get stuck their in its 360 cycle. This is why thr problem could be intermittent at first until more teeth break off and the gear totally slips during the end of the stroke.

I also found that the bolts that mount both left and right hatch lift motors in the roof were completely gone and fell out. There were witness marks in thr paint so i know they were there at somepoint. Several folks have commented they found them loose, probably a torque issue at the factory.

I've seen several unanswered posts with folks experiencing the same symptoms. So I wanted to help you all out.

[QUOTE=burns375;25894866
I also found that the bolts that mount both left and right hatch lift motors in the roof were completely gone and fell out. There were witness marks in thr paint so i know they were there at somepoint. Several folks have commented they found them loose, probably a torque issue at the factory.

I've seen several unanswered posts with folks experiencing the same symptoms. So I wanted to help you all out.[/QUOTE]

Interesting about the bolts from the roof motors falling out; I found a couple bolts rattling around up in that headliner area when I had it loose to correct the rear sunroof drains leak issue, but wasn't sure where they were supposed to go or if they were simply 'leftover' from some prior Audi dealer repair activity, etc. They looked brand new though, so they are in my Audi fasteners /spare parts bin. :)

As to the latching motor mechanism itself; once it has stripped out you are just wasting your time trying to fix it, IMHO. Many have tried opening the housing to reindex the stripped plastic gear, but that shade-tree 'fix' won't last on this part. The new part doesn't cost all that much if you shop the part# online.

I got rid of the machine gun part and bought this. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...Cquery_from%3A I was not sure how or if it would fit and function.. Turned out to be a $ 39.38 Canadian win to my door. It still works and cinches the trunk down tight. I have no complaints.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...d9addb2cd5.png

I purchased my replacement 4F9827383G on ebay for $30. They are listed for more but the seller accepted by offer.

Exactly once you hear any clicking after thr tailgate closes thr gear is already damaged. This thread suggests you can reposition the whole assembly mounting as well as the gear which is not true. The fix is to replace part 4F9827383G