[silva086]

Debating really hard whether I should add the $795 option to Touring L Plus for hands free liftgate. Any opinions? is it worth the price? how hard are the doors and tailgate to open w/out it? is it a simple touch of the handle or key fob? we have 2 young children now and are expecting more so wondering how much of a difference hands free liftgate will make. does it add a lot of value/utility or is it more of a luxury?

thanks

 

[elgreek84]

It's pretty convenient. Not sure I would pay extra for it. I would add safetytec and theater system before the hands free.

 

[silva086]

thanks for your thoughts. I am definitely adding advanced safety tech option to Touring L Plus, it's a non starter if the vehicle doesn't have it. Touring L Plus comes with the uconnect theater package included

 

[DougH]

I find it handy if I'm carrying stuff and don't have a free hand to use the fob. Take a little time to learn exactly where you need to kick to trigger the sensors.

 

[17lim]

I have only had my van 3 weeks now and the only time I have used them thus far is when showing off all of the gadgets the van has. I have tried to use the rear lift gate when returning to the van from grocery shopping, but after waving your foot you have to step away to give the tailgate room to open. I guess I did not give it enough room so I thought maybe I was not getting the sensor position right. Eventually I gave up and used the fob. I do have a 3 month old but we don't take her out much right now. Once we do I'm sure the hands free sensors will come in handy. I don't know that I would pay for them as an add on though.

 

[shadowjig]

I got the Touring-L Plus with spare tire, NAV, hands free and wheel kit. The Advanced Saftey Tech seemed like a bunch of stuff that would get on my nerves to hear the warnings all the time. Also my father in law is a mechanic and he said the radar units in the front for the adaptive cruise control are $7000. So a relatively minor accident has the potential to total the car. Saftey Tech just seemed more like a hassle than anything.

As for hands free, it was certianly not a need. But I thought it was cool and tge wife liked it. I definately didn't think it would be useful for the kids until I showed my daughter how to use it and now I love it and I'm glad I got it. I dont much like pulling the handle out to start the electronic slide, that just feels odd to my cause it's unlatching and I feel like I should do the rest on the work. The kick under the door is mush cooler!!

Liftgate is just a touch of the button in the handle. The passenger sliding door, you have to pull the handle and open it to start the sliding action. The touch on the inside of the handles is only to unlock the car.

 

[Nails1]

Shadowjig: Actually, the small rectangle button on the sliding side door handle opens and closes the doors as well. No need to pull on the handle to activate door. Note that a similar button on the front doors locks the van. My kids and I always use the button to activate the sliders rather than pull the handles.

 

[Simonwang]

I like the hands free, you just kick your leg and not wave it. It is pretty easy to use and save your hands save your hands when you holding the kids - but I agree it's not a must have feature, definitely.

 

[ezdays]

There are a few things that I kind of wish came on our Touring-L, but this isn't one of them. I've yet to be in a situation where we could have used it. Got your arms full of groceries? We just pull up with them in a grocery cart and use the fob for either the doors or liftgate before we even reach our van. Coming out of the house with your arms loaded with stuff? Why not use the fob again before you go outside? One thing I wonder about though, if you have to get close enough to activate the hands-free sensor, wouldn't you be in the way as the liftgate opened and have to get out of the way quickly?

No, whether it's an option, or part of the package, you're paying for it one way or the other, and so to us, it's just not worth the cost.

 

[silva086]

I ended up getting it because I got a great deal on the vehicle. I have to say we use it almost every time we open the doors. Probably more so because it's just cool, but sometimes it is so helpful when we've got the kids in our arms. Worth 800? Probably not, but a neat feature that I'll definitely use often

 

[blues]

Why not use the fob again before you go outside?

Because the fob lives at the bottom of my purse and is annoying to dig out.

One thing I wonder about though, if you have to get close enough to activate the hands-free sensor, wouldn't you be in the way as the liftgate opened and have to get out of the way quickly?

It gives you plenty of time. If you pinch the handle to open you also have to back up.

For me it's a nice-to-have, but not a must-have.

 

[Mike17Pac]

Is anyone having a problem activating the hands-free sliding doors? Mine seem to be very finicky, only works maybe one out of 10 times. I am doing with the fob in my pocket and a straight kick not a side motion and I'm doing it directly over the cut out in the underbody where the sensor is located. Both sides and the liftgate all behave this way. Any ideas?

 

[mattlreese]

I have it and I have rented mini vans with and without the feature. Its nice, but not worth 800 bucks.

But you might be able to hagle the price down. I hagled uconnect 8.4 and the power liftgate, 1k worth of options down to 500 bucks.

 

[tnone]

My 8 month pregnant niece says it's great. She carried her 2 year old in one arm and 2 bags of groceries in the other and used it for that. She said it was a great help and now uses it all the time. I imagine when you she has the other one it will be even more handy.

 

[mickeyboat]

It came with my Limited, but I would not pay to add it if it were not already there. I will likely be disabling the lift gate one when I add a tow hitch.

 

[Jerith]

I think they can be more -Must Have- based on where you live. Further north you just don't want to touch a handle. Covered with frozen mud and gravel from the snow-plows and sanders on the highway. Encrusted with salt and other things you warn the children not to draw pictures on. So they fog the interior window by their chair and doodle there. Why warn them when you are going to accidently brush against the sliding door anyways.


Then the challenge would be keeping the sensor clean for use. The father-by-law has his blind spot corner sensor covered all the time. Can't stay off the gravel as he needs to check on crop development. So the light in the mirror is blinking, always on, or hardly working... until a splash of water clears the mud.

 

[Badge56]

I think they can be more -Must Have- based on where you live. Further north you just don't want to touch a handle. Covered with frozen mud and gravel from the snow-plows and sanders on the highway. Encrusted with salt and other things you warn the children not to draw pictures on. So they fog the interior window by their chair and doodle there. Why warn them when you are going to accidently brush against the sliding door anyways.


Then the challenge would be keeping the sensor clean for use. The father-by-law has his blind spot corner sensor covered all the time. Can't stay off the gravel as he needs to check on crop development. So the light in the mirror is blinking, always on, or hardly working... until a splash of water clears the mud.

Just to point out that you DO NOT need to touch the handle. Just putting your hand near it unlocks the door. At least, that is how it works in my T&C.

 

[PacificaJohn]

Debating really hard whether I should add the $795 option to Touring L Plus for hands free liftgate. Any opinions? is it worth the price? how hard are the doors and tailgate to open w/out it? is it a simple touch of the handle or key fob? we have 2 young children now and are expecting more so wondering how much of a difference hands free liftgate will make. does it add a lot of value/utility or is it more of a luxury?

thanks

I think it add tremendous utility - I use it all the time - maybe every time. It is really great to have - one of those "I'll never be without it" things.

 

[tfischer]

We've only had it for 2 weeks but at this point I sure wouldn't pay $800 for it. It's a cool feature, but there just aren't that many times that I can't reach out and hit the button.

Now if that $800 is from a manual gate to a powered one, I might consider it.

 

[soontobe]

Just to point out that you DO NOT need to touch the handle. Just putting your hand near it unlocks the door. At least, that is how it works in my T&C.

It will unlock with you hand near it. But to actually open the sliding door you need to press the small exterior button.
I find that the button is a very nice feature compared to needing to pull on the handle. It lets my young daughter open the door. If your hands are full, even without the hands-free option, you can open the door by pressing the button.