Tailgate squeaks at 10,000 miles.

Starting to get a bit frustrated with Volvo build quality.

The overall finish of the car is high quality from a design point of view - but it is the build quality that gives me concern.

We have already had the problem with the CD player not working from day 1.. then there was a problem with a squeaky gearbox -

and now the squeaking tailgate.

The noise started perhaps 3 or 4 weeks ago. Just very noticeable only at slow speeds as you go over a bump that might twist the car - a clunking noise is heard. I thought something was loose in the luggage area and thought nothing of it. However it got worse and worse.. till finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I thought about going to Volvo dealer to investigate - but that takes time and my energy + nerves.. so decided to experiment and see if I could solve it.

I drove slowly around a cobbled carpark with the tailgate first closed and then open to compare the difference. There was no noise when the tailgate was open. Therefore the problem must be with the tailgate - maybe it was not properly closing. Now recall this car has an automatic closing tailgate - so closing it is the cars responsibility and not mine.

I got a can of WD40 and squirted it into the locking mechanism of the tailgate. Then opened and closed the tailgate automatically perhaps 5 or 6 times. Something was different in the noise of closing. In the past.. even from when the car was new, it always seem to close in two actions. The tailgate would close down.. then a 2nd noise as if the latch was being made.. you could actually see the tailgate move slightly in the 2nd phase of closing. After spraying with WD40, the tailgate just closes in one motion and one noise.. there is no 2nd phase.

More importantly, out on the road.. the squeaks have gone. It's like having a new car again.

I really wonder if the locking mechanism had never really been properly lubricated from day 1 of manufacture.

This comes back to my point about "build" quality versus "design" quality.