Abstract With increasing demand for automation and user convenience in modern vehicles, Power Operated Tailgates (POT) have become standard in premium and mid-segment cars. However, validating such systems—comprising electronic control units (ECUs), sensors, actuators, and mechanical components poses significant challenges in safety, reliability, and cost. This paper introduces a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) based validation framework that allows comprehensive, automated, and safe testing of POT systems without depending on full vehicle prototypes. The HiL platform integrates Real Time Hardware and Real Time software with dynamic models to simulate real-world behaviors. It enables automated validation of normal and fault scenarios—such as open/close commands, anti-pinch protection, voltage sensitivity, and communication errors—ensuring robust system performance. The proposed framework accelerates development, improves test coverage, and supports early fault detection, making it a