Replaced mine today after it stopped working at the weekend.

Picked up a new genuine part from the local LR dealer for £21 inclusive of VAT.

Fitted in just under an hour, but that was only because I got the new loom the wrong way round first time. Plus the new part had different number plate bulb holders and extra plugs (not needed on my car) that I had to figure out and fit by way of removing the old bulb holders.

New part is a sealed unit (i.e no rubber cover over the switch - all one sealed unit) so hopefully this problem will not reoccur.

Many thanks for the guidance!!

Ditto, had to do mine last weekend, I actually rang the dealer back and told them its the wrong part as it was completely different, but it does fit, you just end up having to remove the old bulb holders and you have a couple of unused connections flapping around.

The original part number was LR002219, which was superseded by LR020997 which has now been superseded by LR042648. 
Hung like Einstein, smart as a horse.

Brilliant - just followed Juniper's helpful instructions, and all working again as it should, without needing a new switch 30 min job. I do wonder how that crud gets in there though...

Forum at its best - thanks everyone! Andy

Mine has also went and i just bought a new switch from the dealer for £25, going to give this a bash at the weekend as it seems not a bad job to do

Fitted new style switch today slightly different to the old switch easily fitted though. On old switch found flappy bit's hinges corroded away. Bought switch from well known online auction site £19.60 including postage.

Yet another tailgate switch with a hinge pin corroded and broken off. Put it all back together and ordered a replacement. If I can get some ACF50 into the new switch that should sort out the corrosion.
I also noticed that the gasket on the grey plastic number plate light holder had compressed and shrunk from the corners. What's the best source for some sticky back foam for a new gasket?
Thanks to the original poster for this guide.

Mines started playing up to day Bloody thing

Kept unlocking the boot by its self, which was rather annoying as it was even doing it while the tail gate was fully open and just kept trying to unlock. I was flying a model plane so had the boot open for a longer time than normal so maybe its full of water and that it off abit

Going to by a new switch asap

Plus its the first time its been -2oc since owning it so maybe the water in it froze ( if its full of water )

Might just poke a hole in the rubber and see if anything comes out then spray some electric cleaner inside to see if that helps for now Freelander 57 plate XS Blue Auto

My tailgate started to play up yesterday.. '59 HSE 40K .

Ordered part yesterday £28, removed all the bits and pieces with the help of this video Can ADMIN make this video a "Sticky"
Ten minute job, hopefully get the new switch this weekend.

Local Stealer wanted the car in all day for "electrical checks" to diagnose this well known fault, saved myself a fortune

Can someone tell me which fuse for the tailgate. I read F25 somewhere but on looking at the fuse box they are not numbered on the lid, just silly logos ? Thanks

Can someone tell me which fuse for the tailgate. I read F25 somewhere but on looking at the fuse box they are not numbered on the lid, just silly logos ? Thanks

Followed this guidance and fitted new switch today - advice etc much appreciated (60 year old female under partner's supervision ). tried cleaning old one previously but still didn't work. Anyway, orderednew genuine part but it seems to have arrived with two extra pieces of wiring with one black and one white connector that (a) weren't on the old unit, (b) don't seem to fit anywhere and (c) don't seem to be needed as boot works again - yippee!! we have left them tucked safely inside but can anyone tell me what they are for and will there be a problem if they haven't been connected to anything? Thanks

They may have changed the wiring for later models, so have the one switch modified so one fits all  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

OK, another 3 years down the line and the switch failed again, this time with a hard failure like many others here have reported.

With it in pieces again on the bench I figured that the switch probably wasn't anything special, and as the normal path is to throw the lot away anyway, there was nothing to loose in trying to replace the switch...

Sure enough, run a sharp knife around the back of the switch and it can be punched out from the other side (it doesn't come out in one piece!).

The switch is a pretty standard sized microswitch (I used an Omron D2HW C201H) and can be replaced for about £4 from a popular auction site.

The replacement just glues back in with some 2 part epoxy glue.

I've added some more photos to the gallery showing the steps involved.

Wow, that looks corroded. By glue do you mean silicone? Silicone remains a flexible seal against moisture ingress.

Which photo shows the corrosion you're talking about? The plastic flap has some kind of white grease/gunge on it which looks like corrosion but isn't.

I used an epoxy as that's what had been used in the factory (some kind of electrical "potting" compound). I also figured that the switch needs securely locating against the lugs and silicone sealant might move too much.