According to this video, it's a lot of fun! I'm not saying I would do it the way he described in the end, but he does explain the proper way it seems.

Dave

 

Are you referring to the two struts that hold up the lift gate or the mechanism that powers it up. There's several postings on how to do the strut replacement without removing the interior side panels. I haven't seen any info on replacing the mechanism that powers the tail gate lifting. Assume the interior panel would have to be removed for access

 

ah, maybe I misunderstood the question. if so, oops, sorry.

Dave

 

If you are talking about the actual motor that raises/lowers the liftgate, it's not that difficult. Remove the drivers side panel in the rear and you will have pretty good access. If you are talking about the lift gate actuator in the hatch that releases the hatch, then that is more complex and you will have to remove the liftgate panel and can be challenging but will take you a good 1-2 hours. I've done both.