 | Home > Modifications & Maintenance (L663) > Rear Door Soft Close Retrofit |
 
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| Nuclear Nick Member Since: 21 Aug 2021 Location: Southwest Posts: 313  
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Yes. I did the Powerful retrofit. Their kit I find generally is good quality and value for money.
The connection to the fuse board is via a piggyback connector. I’ve used these many times over the years with no problems. The tricky bit is feeding the wire through the umbilical tube between door and frame. Their video shows it done very easily (video editing?) with their idea of pushing though a plastic tube and then feeding the wire through the tube. I found that the tube got stuck against some obstruction in the body and I could not overcome that. Eventually I fed a length of strimmer cord through and then used that as a guide to feed the plastic tube through from inside the car out into the door. Removed the strimmer line then fed the wire through. Happy with the way it all now works, as it should have done from the factory! 23.5MY 90 V8 Carpathian grey |
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2nd Sep 2025 8:46pm |
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| dgm130 Member Since: 21 Apr 2024 Location: SK Posts: 8 
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Thanks for the advice! I ordered the kit and am really pleased with it, especially that it just plugs in with no modifications to any wiring. I had extreme trouble getting the fishing tube through the plastic collar on the inside of the body, just like you said, and there was no way I could fit my hand in the little gap by the fuse box. Even my wife's smaller hands couldn't fit. This is what took the most time to solve, even with a plumber's camera. Every other step was very straightforward. I used cloth tape to keep all the wires quiet back there.
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13th Sep 2025 4:44pm |
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| Nuclear Nick Member Since: 21 Aug 2021 Location: Southwest Posts: 313
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Good work! Glad you got it done. It sounds like your experience was very similar to mine with the challenge of getting the pipe and wire through the connector tube. Other than that it's a very straightforward job with a satisfying result.
Another plus I think for Powerful's retrofits, which, as you say, fit without damaging anything. I also got their reversing light upgrade and that made a big improvement over the pretty poor originals. 23.5MY 90 V8 Carpathian grey |
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14th Sep 2025 7:14am |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2769 
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Can I ask why anyone would want to retrofit this?
I have it on mine and while it works fine it seems completely pointless. You have to 95% close the door yourself to trigger it so why not just close the door fully instead? Add to that the issue of people slamming the door unknowingly and I just can’t see the benefit over a normal latch. |
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14th Sep 2025 8:35am |
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| lightning Member Since: 23 Apr 2009 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 3384
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l am with the comments above, it just seems like technology for the sake of it with no real benefit or value.
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14th Sep 2025 11:03am |
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| DefenderMidlands Member Since: 08 Mar 2023 Location: West Midlands Posts: 285
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It’s a feature that is more useful on the main doors especially with children when they may not pull the heavier doors hard enough to close them.
I’m not sure that is an option for defenders though. Range Rover sports has them Like you say I don’t really see the point of it on the tailgate MY25 D350 Defender 110 X, Carpathian Grey, 7 Seat, Electric Towbar |
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14th Sep 2025 3:36pm |
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| dgm130 Member Since: 21 Apr 2024 Location: SK Posts: 8
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For me, it is a nice-to-have option. Here are the things that I find are nice to have: I use my Defender for work and am often wearing a backpack and carrying multiple cases in and out of my meetings. When I'm in the parking lot with my hands full, it's easier to push the door closed with my hands full. I also drive on a lot of gravel and in snow. With both gravel dust and snow, and the combination of both, you have to learn to open and close the doors slowly, otherwise the large rear door creates a vortex and sucks dust and snow into the car. With the soft close, you can just nudge it closed. And we have a new dog who sits in a crate in the back. When we close the door now it's less of a thump for the little guy. It was a good upgrade for my purposes.
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14th Sep 2025 5:00pm |
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| lightning Member Since: 23 Apr 2009 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 3384
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Sounds like it's a worthwhile option for you, l will have to take back what l said about it being of no benefit!
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14th Sep 2025 6:25pm |
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| BrickBox Member Since: 05 Oct 2021 Location: Wales Posts: 1056  
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Soft close is perfect for me when the baby is asleep in the car and you need to get fuel etc. can just quietly close the door when getting back in, no noisy close needed. Or if you are getting home late. I think it’s a brilliant option. 2017 5.0 V8 Supercharged RRS SVR
2008 2.4 110 Utility Station Wagon XS. |
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14th Sep 2025 6:34pm |
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