Tesla guides · Frequently replaced parts

Model 3 / Model Y power liftgate problems: struts, latches, hinges

The powered rear closure is one of the highest-turnover wear groups on a Model Y, and one of the hardest to order for, because "the tailgate stops halfway" can originate from four different catalogued parts and from at least one thing that is not a part at all. GNSGO supplies Tesla-compatible parts to workshops, fleet operators and parts buyers across Europe. What follows is the identification logic: which components exist, what each one's failure looks like, and which references our index holds. It is not a repair procedure, and it deliberately contains no programming or calibration instructions — only the plain statement, made once, that this class of component is one where diagnostic equipment is normally involved after fitting.

1. What a power liftgate is made of

Strip away the bodywork and a powered rear closure is five things working together:

  • The struts — powered units on the powered closure, gas struts on the manual one. They lift and hold.
  • The latch — a powered cinch latch, which pulls the panel closed and holds it.
  • The striker — the loop or pin the latch engages with.
  • The hinges — handed, and different from the manual-closure part.
  • A control function — the logic deciding open height, direction and obstacle behaviour.

Only the first four are catalogued parts. The fifth is where enquiries most often go wrong.

2. The part of the story that is not a part

Worth stating early, because it saves an order. On these vehicles, aspects of powered-closure behaviour — the learned open position, how the panel reacts to resistance, the relationship between the two struts — sit with the vehicle's diagnostic equipment rather than with a number in a catalogue. That is workshop capability rather than a catalogue line, and we publish no instructions for it.

What we will say, plainly and once: on this class of component, replacement is typically followed by a learned-position or calibration routine carried out on diagnostic equipment. That is a fact about the job, not a procedure. Without access to that equipment the struts you buy may be fitted and the closure still not behave correctly — a workshop-capability question, not a parts question.

A liftgate control module is not among the references quoted on this page. If a diagnosis points at the control function rather than at the struts, latch or hinges, send us the part number or a photo of the label, and we will check whether we can source it. We will not put a nearby number on the quotation to fill the gap.

3. Work out which situation you are in

Three questions do the work: does it move at all, where does it stop, and does it stay closed once shut.

What you see What it most likely points to Why
Opens partway and stops, repeatedly, at roughly the same height A learned-position or calibration question on the control side, or a strut that cannot report or hold. Repeated stopping at one height is behaviour, not a broken lift.
Opens, then sinks or will not hold itself up Struts losing holding force. Struts are the usual wear item here. Holding is the strut's whole job.
Closes, but does not pull the last few millimetres flush The cinch latch — the powered pull-in function is separate from the closing movement. Cinching is the latch's job, not the struts'.
Panel latches, then pops open again, or will not stay shut Latch or striker wear, or the two out of alignment. Retention lives at the latch-striker interface.
Noisy or stiff travel, panel sits off-centre in the aperture Hinges, or hinge-to-body geometry. Alignment is a hinge question.
Nothing happens at all, no sound, no movement Supply, switch or control side — not automatically the struts. Absence of all movement points upstream of the lift hardware.
Closes but the panel does not sit flush at the top Striker variant or adjustment — our data records more than one striker design. A rigid and a non-rigid striker are catalogued separately.
Water ingress or wind noise around the aperture Seal rather than any of the moving hardware. Seals are a separate, cheap, frequently-missed order.

The row that costs workshops the most money is the first. Struts get ordered for a closure that has lost its learned position, and the new struts behave exactly like the old ones.

4. Struts — the actual wear item

Five powered references and two gas references, not interchangeable with each other. Two points follow.

Left and right are separate references, in both the 150060x and 171486x families. In our own data 287 entries carry a "left hand" marker, and on closure hardware that is a hard rule. Struts also wear as a pair: replace one side and the other comes back within the season, so the pair belongs on a single enquiry.

Powered and gas are different parts for different closures. 1601460-E0-A is a powered trunk assembly for Model 3 (2017–2023) while 1081460-EC-D is a manual trunk lid for the same model and period. The closure differs, so the struts behind it do too.

5. Latches and strikers

Two things to take from that list. The striker is catalogued in more than one design — a standard and a rigid version share the 1500603 base with -00- and -01- middle codes — and "the panel does not sit flush" is often this, not the latch. And the cinch latch is one of the eight -CN- references in GNSGO's Tesla data: 1500604-CN-B exists alongside 1500604-00-B, identical except for the middle code. We keep the code as part of the identity; we do not claim to know how Tesla defines it. Both numbers are real and the VIN settles which applies.

6. Hinges — handed, and different for the powered closure

The 171486x pair is the powered-closure hinge, separate from the manual-closure pair, and both are handed. Hinges are not high-turnover in normal service — they come up after a rear-end impact or a forced closure — which is why they are worth naming: a workshop ordering "a hinge" for a powered Model Y without knowing 1714863 and 1551481 are different designs will get the wrong box.

7. The closure panel, and the small parts people forget

The panel is catalogued separately and in more than one form:

And the cheap parts that are usually the actual answer to a complaint:

A bumpstop and a seal cost a fraction of a strut and are missed constantly. If the complaint is noise, rattle or water, check that list before the 171486x line.

8. What to send with an enquiry

Send the VIN, whether the closure is powered or manual, the side if a strut or hinge is required, and the symptom as reported — in particular whether the panel stops at a repeatable height or simply will not hold itself up. That decides whether this is a strut order or a diagnostic-equipment conversation.

Note that 1500604-00-B is marked Model 3 (2017–2023) while its -CN- sibling carries no recorded fit at all. Where fit is not marked we confirm it per enquiry rather than assume it.

Short answers

Do you supply Model Y liftgate struts?

We confirm, part number by part number, whether we can supply it. Left and right are separate references — 1500601-00-B and 1500602-00-A in one family, 1714865-00-D and 1714866-00-D in another — and powered and gas struts are different parts. Confirm with the VIN.

The tailgate opens halfway and stops. Struts?

Not necessarily. Repeatable stopping at one height is commonly a learned-position question on the control side. On these cars, replacement of this hardware is typically followed by a calibration routine on diagnostic equipment. Fit the struts without that and you may have the same complaint afterwards.

Do you sell the liftgate control module?

A liftgate control module is not among the references quoted on this page. If diagnosis points at the control function, send us the part number or a photo of the label, and we will check whether we can source it. We will not offer an equivalent in its place.

Is the -CN- cinch latch a different part?

It is a different reference in our data — 1500604-CN-B alongside 1500604-00-B. We do not claim to know how Tesla defines the code. We confirm which one applies against the VIN.

Should I order one strut or two?

Two. Struts wear as a pair, and a single replacement usually brings the other side back within the season.

Where this comes from.

The references quoted above are taken from GNSGO's own parts index for China-built and China-sourced Tesla parts — the same list at Tesla compatible parts — OE reference index. Availability and application are confirmed per enquiry against the OE number and, where it matters, the VIN. We have not drawn on Tesla's copyrighted workshop documentation for this page, and we do not reproduce any manual pages. The -CN- observation and the powered-versus-manual split are drawn from our own data and are presented as patterns we see, not as definitions published by Tesla. Where our own records stop short of an answer, we say so rather than filling the gap with a plausible number.

Related Tesla guides

Need a part for this? Send the OE number, or the VIN and a photo of the label, and we will check whether we can supply it — get in touch. All 15 Tesla guides are listed in the guide index, and the full OE reference list is on the Tesla parts index.