rear hatch fails to lock/unlock

dmerritt · 09-30-2009, 03:14 PM

I am new to the forum, I have a 2008 Cabriolet with 25,000 miles, 1,000 miles out of warranty. Today the rear hatch will not lock or unlock. I called the dealer, this is a $200+ repair, plus most of the day spent going to and from the dealer. Has anyone experienced this problem? Is there a fix other than replacing the switch?

DoraAnderson · 09-30-2009, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmerritt

I am new to the forum, I have a 2008 Cabriolet with 25,000 miles, 1,000 miles out of warranty. Today the rear hatch will not lock or unlock. I called the dealer, this is a $200+ repair, plus most of the day spent going to and from the dealer. Has anyone experienced this problem? Is there a fix other than replacing the switch?

Yes, I did. Does your passenger door lock and automatic wipers system work? Mine was the SAM unit. They replaced it free, but I only had 2000 miles at the time.

Woody14619 · 09-30-2009, 04:14 PM

I had a similar problem, and it was a micro-switch in the gate. It was a simple fix though, and covered under warranty. Try this: Before you push the handle up, use some friction to pull it downward first and jiggle the tailgate a little. If you can then push up and it unlatches, it's the switch.

I think Evilution has a page on how to take apart the tailgate, which you'd need to do to replace the switch, if that's your culprit. The switch itself costs about $5, but the labor involved could run it up quick depending on the rate.

**jwight** · 09-30-2009, 04:21 PM

Took a while to find it: Evilution - Smart Car Encyclopaedia

curtis · 09-30-2009, 04:32 PM

I had same problem, dealer fixed under warranty, he said it's pretty common

MNMadMan · 09-30-2009, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmerritt

I am new to the forum, I have a 2008 Cabriolet with 25,000 miles, 1,000 miles out of warranty. Today the rear hatch will not lock or unlock. I called the dealer, this is a $200+ repair, plus most of the day spent going to and from the dealer. Has anyone experienced this problem? Is there a fix other than replacing the switch?

I had this problem also. It was fixed under warranty. I stood right there and watched him fix it. As mentioned in another post, its the micro switch inside the tailgate not making contact. It was a simple matter of taking the plastic off the tailgate so you have access to the switch. Clean and adjust. Took maby 10 minutes tops. Took longer to take it apart and put back together.

Good luck

dmerritt · 10-01-2009, 11:05 AM

Took the tailgate apart, removed the switch, checked wiring. All systems checked ok. Since I had to pay for a new switch anyway, I took it apart. It has a very small motor that pulls the shaft down to unlock the tailgate, a spring on the end of the shaft to push it back up. Very simple design, but I was unable to repair it. Went to the dealership, questioned service writer about this being a common failure, he did not know of any failures, although he was new to the position and told me so. The new switch was not as expensive as I had been told, I got out for $70, plus half a day going to and from the dealership. My labor was only a few minutes to remove and replace. I do not have confidence in this switch not failing. The simple design, in my opinion, is going to fail again.
Thanks to all for the advice.

**JPaul** · 10-01-2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmerritt

Took the tailgate apart, removed the switch, checked wiring. ... I do not have confidence in this switch not failing. The simple design, in my opinion, is going to fail again.
Thanks to all for the advice.

Thanks for the valuable info. Of course, pics would be worth...
Glad that you solved the issue, even if you believe it's going to happen again.
And thanks to all for you input.

BTW: I'll move (with a redirect) the thread to Maintenance, since it's easier to find it there.

jefferios · 10-02-2009, 02:38 PM

As of today my rear hatch switch didn't work. Its raining out now so I won't mess with it, but this weekend I got a project to check out.

jefferios · 10-03-2009, 06:27 AM

Fixed it today, there was a piece of sand in the plastic handle that pushes the switch. It jammed it and was set to "on" all of the time, thus I could not move the switch. I removed the jam, cleaned the panel and the surrounding areas, and put it back together. Simple job, thanks to Evilution for the instructions.

Looks like I can call my Smart center Monday and cancel that repair.