This both a problem and a fix in one but I thought I'd post it as others may have the same issue. Incredibly there doesn't seem to be very much on the forum about it. The rising cargo cover is really useful, so much so that the chap I bought my car from was lambasted by is family that the much newer Audi S4 avant he replaced it with didn't have one! Mine has tended to be a bit sticky especially if the car hasn't been used that much. Usually a few boot cycles and it sprang into like but for the last month it wouldn't budge. I even got into the boot and had my wife close the hatch and then when I reopened it (from inside) tried a gentle push on the load cover but to no avail.
So the usual web search began and I confirmed what I knew which is that the mechanism is under the roof lining and a proper pita to fix. But it was far more likely that there was some sort of misalignment of the rails and magnet on the passenger side. Off the back of a youtube comment I found this page
it's all in German but I'll add the translation:
Repair possibility for the electric trunk cover (E-Class T-Model S211 and S212)
In the E-Class T-Model, both S211 and S212, the electric trunk cover suddenly gets stuck, i.e. it is no longer automatically raised by the electric motor when the tailgate is opened.
Possible causes can be a defective microswitch (located at the bottom of the left guide rail) or a defective relay (located in the fuse box in the rear) or even a defective drive motor.
In approx. 80% of the cases, however, tilting of the guide rail or tilting of the gears in the guide rail is the cause. This usually happens due to the vibrations during normal driving. If the resistance becomes too strong due to tilting or tensioning, the relay switches to fault and the cover remains down.
The following is a simple solution that will lead to success in the vast majority of cases.
How to proceed:
Remove the side panel on the left.
Only loosen the 4 or 5 Torx25 screws that can now be seen on the guide rail or plastic cover (do not unscrew them all the way) so that the guide rail now has about 2mm play. (see arrows) (nur s211 means only s211)
Now pull the guide rail forward a little (do not remove it completely).
Press the rail back on and screw it tight again. The time required for this action is approx. 10 minutes.
It really only is 10 mins and basically its just a bit of jiggling but to my amazement it worked.
So worth a try to reinstate a very useful function.
I take no credit for this I'm just relaying the info and hopefully I won't have broken any rules or upset anyone on the German forum by relaying it here.
So the usual web search began and I confirmed what I knew which is that the mechanism is under the roof lining and a proper pita to fix. But it was far more likely that there was some sort of misalignment of the rails and magnet on the passenger side. Off the back of a youtube comment I found this page
it's all in German but I'll add the translation:
Repair possibility for the electric trunk cover (E-Class T-Model S211 and S212)
In the E-Class T-Model, both S211 and S212, the electric trunk cover suddenly gets stuck, i.e. it is no longer automatically raised by the electric motor when the tailgate is opened.
Possible causes can be a defective microswitch (located at the bottom of the left guide rail) or a defective relay (located in the fuse box in the rear) or even a defective drive motor.
In approx. 80% of the cases, however, tilting of the guide rail or tilting of the gears in the guide rail is the cause. This usually happens due to the vibrations during normal driving. If the resistance becomes too strong due to tilting or tensioning, the relay switches to fault and the cover remains down.
The following is a simple solution that will lead to success in the vast majority of cases.
How to proceed:
Remove the side panel on the left.
Only loosen the 4 or 5 Torx25 screws that can now be seen on the guide rail or plastic cover (do not unscrew them all the way) so that the guide rail now has about 2mm play. (see arrows) (nur s211 means only s211)
Now pull the guide rail forward a little (do not remove it completely).
Press the rail back on and screw it tight again. The time required for this action is approx. 10 minutes.
It really only is 10 mins and basically its just a bit of jiggling but to my amazement it worked.
So worth a try to reinstate a very useful function.
I take no credit for this I'm just relaying the info and hopefully I won't have broken any rules or upset anyone on the German forum by relaying it here.
