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Power Lift Gate

17K views 38 replies 17 participants last post by  mhassler 
#1 ·
I was wondering does anybody think it would be possible to add power lift gate to a 2011 limited jeep GC. I assume buying a motor and installing it and a new key fob . I assume the Wiring should be all ready to go what are your thoughts .
 
#4 ·
What they said^^^ Also, never assume the wire harness for an option not on your Jeep will be there, because you will probably be very disappointed. Also, I dont know how that would work with all the programming since your keyless modules probably wouldnt be setup to operate a power lift gate. Stuff is more complicated in cars these days. Even if you buy everything you need such as the motor, new key fob etc etc. It still wont work because god only knows what computer systems and programming would be required for that to function. Keyless modules, body control modules, ECM...all that stuff needs to be programmed to control your options. Correct me if I am wrong guys.

James
 
#5 ·
The thing I hate about the power liftgate....is you can't deactivate it and open it manually. And the beeping alarm is too loud and annoying as crap.
 
#13 ·
To elaborate, you can open and close it by hand but that works against the power pistons. When you pull up on the liftgate handle the auto lift actions starts, you can continue pulling and the worm gear will disengage and allow you to move it by hand. The same goes for lowering it, you can do it by hand but the mechanism has to reset itself so you'll hear and feel the liftgate piston moving. When you lift it manually it disengages the power lift do you can open it to whatever height you need. You can also stop it's upward or downward motion by hand at any time but it will take some force to cause it to stop so it's more than just touching it.

A salesman I talked to that was at the regional introduction was told by the engineers that although it can be manually overridden it's not recommended to be used that way on a regular basis because it can cause premature wear of the power actuator.
 
#15 ·
This is probably one of the only things I miss that my Saturn Outlook had. It was a nice feature if you were coming out of a store, hit the fob and the lift gate is open by the time you got there. I would say there is no way to retrofit one. The Outlook's was tied into the back up sensors, it had a sensor if it hit something when closing, and had a button on the dash that could turn it off for manual mode.
 
#16 ·
Yeah I think its a great feature but how have people not been screwing up there rear hatch? I mean when parked in a standard two car garage on your typical SUV the lift gate will open high enough to hit your garage door when its opened or the bottom of the garage arch. So basically like 85% of the time we have to strain the motor from fully retracting because most people always park in a garage.
 
#17 ·
In the wife's MB R350 and my loaner MB ML500 it has a feature you could turn on for garage height where it limited the full range of the liftgate. Not sure if this is an option on the WK2, if not it should be.

Personally, I don't like the limited height feature. Being 6' 1" I find myself having to duck under the liftgate. I had my ML500 at a conference in Washington, DC and had forgot I turned off the garage feature. I opened the trunk inside an underground parking garage and the liftgate came very close to hitting the ceiling but it had about 2" to spare.
 
#22 ·
I do know that i'm kicking myself for buying off the lot and not building my own.
I did the same and I feel the same as you. I want to add Adaptive Speed Control (which I dont have for sure) and "Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path Detection" which I am not sure if I have it in my Overland.

If you get the list for those options, please let me know. I am interested and I do hope the wiring is there already for at least the Adaptive Speed Control
 
#23 · (Edited)
Well if you dont have adaptive cruise control you dont have any of the other things either. Its all one package. Adaptive cruise, bling spot monitoring, cross path detection, forward collision warning. None of these systems are plug and play and certainly not something you can just install. If you want those you will have to buy a completely different Jeep.

James
 
#24 ·
Most of the garages around my area are plenty high for opening the lift gates. I could park my lifted ram in my garage no problem. Just checked and I have a 8' door and 15' ceiling.
 
#25 ·
A modern standard 2 car garage door is 7' x 16' with a 6' 10" opening and the standard garage has at least an 8' ceiling. If done right the door should be at least 7' 4" off the ground, not counting any bracing that would lower the effective height.

Neither my Touareg or Trailbazer hit, they had at least 6" of clearance.

An 15' ceiling! That's no where close to a standard garage. It sounds more like an airplane hanger.....
 
#26 · (Edited)
When I had my garage door openers replaced recently, the installer pointed out something to me that is obvious now. He said that the inner vertical clearance is dictated by the arc in the track of your door opener setup. The wider that arc, the higher and further out of the way your door lifts. We had this discussion as he was telling me how some customers turn a 3-car garage into 6-car garage through the use of lifts. This of course requires each garage door to be able to open in such a way that it hugs the ceiling, so he installs the wider arcs. It's also easier on the opener motor as a wider arc causes less resistance when opening.

So the point is that if someone can get into their fixed opening but has a garage door that, when opened, is a bit too low to accommodate an open liftgate, there is a way to retrofit a door to make it lift higher.

Agree that 15' ceiling is massive. Mine is 11' and I thought it was pretty good but it is mere chump change.
 
#27 ·
When I built my detached garage/workshop we did a 12' ceiling to allow for a lift in the future. I put in an 8' x 18' door with a 3' raised track and a jackshaft opener. That pushes the door to 11' clearance that only protrudes 5' back into the garage. The jackshaft opener means there's nothing above the door attached to the roof so I have the entire 12' available. I've seen garages with tall ceilings due to the way the house is designed but they used a standard door track so the door is hanging 6' below the ceiling when it's open, looks pretty stupid!

This isn't my door but it's exactly how it's set up.

 
#28 · (Edited)
I did the same and I feel the same as you. I want to add Adaptive Speed Control (which I dont have for sure) and "Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path Detection" which I am not sure if I have it in my Overland.

If you get the list for those options, please let me know. I am interested and I do hope the wiring is there already for at least the Adaptive Speed Control
The images below were compiled from various sections of the Mopar Parts website. They are no way all-inclusive but they will at least give an idea of the associated part costs to add certain factory options to exsiting WK2s. Labor costs would be certainly be addtional.

Image 1 - Power Rear Liftgate Parts & Wiring ($445+)
Image 2 - Key fob required to operate the Power Liftagte (No Price, but you can see the option to add Remote Start - for those without - is $259)
Image 3 - The Adaptive Cruise Control ($133 for just the bracket)

I couldn't find any parts for the Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM), Forward Collision Warning (FCW) or Rear Cross-Path Detection; they may not be available yet.

The parts on the website that have no price next to them are unavailable or out of stock. When Mopar resumes making OEM replacement parts they will show up with a price.

From what I have been finding, I wouldn't assume that the WK2s are pre-wired for everything and simply not hooked up. Hopefully I am wrong because that will get expensive to replace the entire wiring harness. I am hoping pigtail add-ons are used to add features the existing system.

The Parts dealer sent me an e-mail yesterday and he is working to confirm that the parts I would like are the proper ones for my Limited. Again, I asked him for ALL of the parts required to achieve the LUX2 package in a Limited; including new seats. Probably will not purchase and install the ventilated seat but at least I will have the required part numbers.

p.s. - My home came with a 13' garage height, its a 2-car width. I plan to add storage above the Garage door which when open is about 8' from the floor.
 

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#29 ·
Thanks Mhassler.

I will have to dig a bit deeper and see what I can find out. I really want that option but if the wiring is not there, then I cant add it no matter the rest.

I do believe that Jeep have one part number for the wiring harness (unless they divided the wiring harness for the ACC) so it might have it. Having several wiring part numbers for different options makes the assembly a lot more problematic so I bet the wiring is there. (My opinion and based on my experience in mfg)
 
#30 ·
I believe the main wiring is there for you to tap into, however, I doubt that the wiring is run from the main-hub to the steering wheel or that there is an extra wire behind the grille just hoping and waiting to be attached to an ACC sensor.

But I too agree, strictly from a sound mfg perspective, the main brains of the system should be in place.
 
#31 ·
And then you will need to add the buttons on the steering wheel......and then also hope that the drivers information center in the middle of the gauges is programed for it.....
 
#34 ·
For a Power Liftgate and HSW? I don't recall seeing either of these functions operated through steering wheel buttons or in the EVIC.

Now, the ACC, I believe would be much more involved, didn't say it wasn't possible though. I haven't been in a Jeep with this feature (and frankly I am not interested in it or the other Tech Package features) to see how it operates and its integration into the system. I am just trying to be helpful to someone by providing information.

^^^ exactly what PMD G8 said thats another thing as well.

Wow you guys are still talking about adding these options. I tried saying it would be too complex. There is soooooo much involved that it would be more reasonable to sell your current Grand Cherokee and buy an Overland with the feature installed from the factory. These are NOT plug and play systems.
Yes, we are still looking at adding some of these options, I bet hundreds of people would be interested as well. Instead of telling us that it can't be done how about some hard data, such as the wiring schematics, showing that it is not possible. I am not concerned with whether or not its too expensive and involved. I want to know if it is possible. And, from what I have discoverd to date it is possible to add the features of the LUX2 package into a Limited. And, it is possible to buy the parts for the ACC.

Exactly.

You guys are wasting time just thinking about it. But hey, if you have nothing else better to do, have at it!
Thanks for the positive thinking guys. You are really bringing a lot to the table by the way of information, idea & knowledge sharing.

If a bonafide Jeep Engineer provides me with concrete facts stating that it is not possible, then i'll stop pursuing it. Until then... game on.
 
#32 ·
^^^ exactly what PMD G8 said thats another thing as well.

Wow you guys are still talking about adding these options. I tried saying it would be too complex. There is soooooo much involved that it would be more reasonable to sell your current Grand Cherokee and buy an Overland with the feature installed from the factory. These are NOT plug and play systems.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Exactly.

You guys are wasting time just thinking about it. But hey, if you have nothing else better to do, have at it!
 
#35 ·
I say go for it, mhassler and others. I thought that was one of the major driving motivations behind modding-- to do what others didn't think was possible, or didn't make sense (to them). I think maybe these "naysayers" are just trying to encourage you through the use of reverse psychology. :D

Granted, some of us rookies consider it a mod when we throw in some OEM slushmats or add a ski rack. I for one would enjoy seeing true mods like yours come to life.

Give it hell!
 
#36 ·
I am thinking like mhassler.

I will like to learn what would it take. It might not be doable from a cash stand point, but the main question is what will it take?
I have heard so far the following:
1) Main wiring might be there, but the extra plugs to the front part might not
2) It mihgt require reprogramming of the Driver information center (not Known)
3) It will require the buttons to be added to the steering wheel. This might require a new set of buttons or add the two extra buttons tot he current part you have.
4) Dont really know if extra sensors are needed, this would include different side view mirrors for the signal and/or other sensors or signals

I have asked Jeep to see if I can the BOM for this and see what it will take. This option wasnt a cheap one to start with (added around $1200) to the price so I bet it will be very hard to add but I am just asking the questions.
 
#37 ·
Libre....
Just remember, to add the 20" wheel option to a Limited when ordering was $1200. The wheels from MOPAR are $425/ea, thats $1700+tires. So, nearly 2.5x the "factory" amount; depending on tires.

In my case, the LUX2 package was a $1500 option on the Limited. I expect it to cost $4,000 - $5,000 to "add" all of those features. I probably won't add all of them but I would really like the HSW & Pwr Liftgate.

Am I crazy, perhaps.
Will I be happy with my Jeep for the next 7-yrs without those features, sure will.
Would I be happier with them, HELL YEAH!
If I go through with it do I expect to recoup from my investment, not the reason for doing it - see HELL YEAH above :D
 
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