Rear Hatch Not Closing

[rock rash]

Well I am having issues with the rear hatch. The latch on the hatch itself seems to be stuck. Whenever I try to close the hatch, it just bounces off. I tried loosening it with a screwdriver but no dice. It was working fine all day yesterday, but then last night when I opened it to get my food out, it would not close. Any ideas?

[misterjeeper]

It was the catch on the hatch itself not opening. A couple light thumps, and some wd40 later...and ...VOILA! it worked like new...That's what I'd probably try first. Good luck!

[rock rash]

didnt work...

[casm]

I had the same problem on my 2000 a few months ago. As mentioned above, it was the catch on the latch being stuck in the closed position. Doing this from memory, so hopefully it'll be even remotely accurate...

Remove the interior hatch panel. If you look at the latch assembly, you should be able to see the catch pushed forward. Use a couple of screwdrivers to push it back into place; from what I remember, there's a small locking armature that needs to be prised forwards to free the catch. This should be found back inside the latch assembly where the catch curves inwards towards its pivot point. It's a little fiddly to get at, but should only take a couple of minutes to free up.

Sorry for the flaky description - I've only had to do this once, and like I said it was some time ago. Hopefully it'll make more sense when you look at it.

[rock rash]

perfect. it works now. thanks casm