Bentley Mulsanne Boot Won't Lift: Motors and Tailgate Control Unit Replaced

The owner had a Bentley Mulsanne with a powered boot that would not lift up on its own. On a car like this the boot is meant to glide open at the touch of a button. Instead it was not opening properly, which on a luxury saloon is both annoying and not how the car is supposed to feel.

While they were at it, the owner also mentioned the rear ride had gone soft. That pointed to the rear dampers. Rather than handle two separate visits, we looked at both together so the car came back sorted in one go.

We started by testing the boot and watching how it behaved. The lid was not lifting the way it should, and the way it was failing told us this was not just a flat strut or a tired hinge.

We checked the boot motors and the tailgate control unit. The two rear boot electric motors had failed, and the tailgate control unit was faulty, so the boot had no reliable way to lift itself. We also checked the rear suspension and found both rear dampers worn, which matched the soft ride the owner described. We laid the worn parts and the new originals out, showed the owner exactly what needed replacing, and quoted before ordering anything.

Once the owner approved, we ordered the original Bentley parts and did the job properly rather than patching it.

• Replaced both rear boot electric motors with original Bentley parts.
• Replaced the faulty tailgate control unit.
• Replaced both rear dampers and both rear damper brackets.
• Coded and set up the new control unit and motors so the boot worked as it should.
• Road tested the car and cycled the boot to confirm everything before handover.

With the new motors and control unit fitted and coded, the powered boot lifted and closed smoothly again. The new rear dampers brought back the firm, settled ride. We finished the job in about a day and a half. The full job came to around $10,000 before GST, including the original parts and labour.

A luxury-marque powered boot repair runs into the several thousands, because the motors and control unit are car-specific original parts and the work has to be coded and set up. Add worn rear dampers and brackets and the figure climbs. This Bentley Mulsanne job came to around $10,000 before GST for both boot motors, the tailgate control unit, both rear dampers with brackets, coding and labour, all with original Bentley parts.

What moves the price is how much has actually failed. If only one motor is gone and the control unit is fine, the job is smaller. Here both motors, the control unit and the rear dampers all needed replacing. This is why we diagnose first and quote for exactly what is faulty, so you are not paying for parts the car does not need.

This Bentley Mulsanne (Electric boot motor and tailgate control unit repair) was handled at 1 Car Service, an independent workshop in Sin Ming AutoCity, Singapore. The work is backed by a warranty of at least 6 months. We hold a 4.9★ rating from 1,775+ Google reviews.