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Quirky 2009 Forester Rear Hatch


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It's been getting harder to latch, requiring an extra push at the bottom. This morning it would not open. The push button was working; you could hear the mechanism moving. But the hatch door remained closed, no matter how much I yanked on it. I tried moving the mechanism manually, from the inside (as per instructions in the book). It moved but the hatch still stayed shut. My wife then went to get groceries, and the hatch popped loose on the way. She shut it at the grocery store, but then couldn't open it when she came out with the groceries. I tried it at home an hour later. Now everything is working.

Suggestions?

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Latch may be too tight. Loosen the two bolts that hold the loop at the bottom to the door frame and slide it towards the door an 8th inch or so and see if it helps.

 

Or take it in and have the dealer do it under warranty. Why wait 3 hours for them to do something that will take you 5 minutes to try though? :rolleyes:

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The loop has no access for bolts underneath. The only bolts I see may allow adjustment of the latch on the hatch itself. I'll see how it goes, and if it sticks again, I might try it. I agree about the 5 minutes vs 3 hours, even under warranty. Thanks

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Hmmm... well it has to have some kind of adjustment somewhere. Sometimes you have to remove the trim around the latch hook to get access to the bolts there (if it has any).

 

Grease of some sort is also a good idea, but I fail to see why a nearly new car would need it already. :confused:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks everyone for their comments. I found out the cause of the sticking. The "bumper" has a top plastic piece that is a tad too high in the middle. Occasionally that piece would pop up slightly behind the closed hatch, preventing the hatch from opening. Driving a little settles it, and the hatch loosens up. I could prove this by simply pushing down on the piece when the hatch wouldn't open. Then it opened. It has not been a problem lately. Maybe it all settled back.

 

I still have occasional difficulty having it fully latch when closing it, but it may be related to the air cushion comments I have seen in other threads.

 

Outdoor

Edited by outdoor
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