ACTUATOR FOR POWERED VEHICLE CLOSURE

There is provided a power closure actuator for powering a movable closure on a vehicle. The power closure actuator comprises:an electric motor having an output;a controller in command of the electric motor;a drivetrain provided between the motor output and an output member of power closure actuator;a brake operable to selectively apply a brake force to the drivetrain;an operator force sensor provided in the drivetrain and configured to detect a force on the output member applied from the closure both due to gravitational force on the closure resulting from vehicle inclination and due to a user-applied force on the closure; anda controller configured to release the brake in response to the operator force sensor detecting a value that corresponds to a force on the closure at or above a predetermined force, the controller configured to disregard the gravitational force so that the predetermined force corresponds only to the user-applied force on the closure.