My rear window would not latched closed today, so I could not lock the car securely. Between the rain showers here in SoCal today I fixed the problem. Here is what I did....
The Rear Window latch is activated by a solenoid, attached to a cable to the latch mechanism. The cable needs to be lubed, use whatever your favorite brand is, WD-40, Tri-Flo, Jigaloo etc...
To gain access to the latch, you have to remove 6 screws. 4 under the upper edge of storage bin in the tailgate and 2 on the outboard edges of the tailgate. Once those are out, you can remove the rear tailgate exterior panel. There are 2 license plate lights to disconnect, and the rear latch release handle can be removed by gently pulling up on the 2 locking tabs and pushing it out. Spray some lubricant on the cable while activating the solenoid, also spray some in the latch itself. Re-install everything and the latch should operate normally.
My rear window would not latched closed today, so I could not lock the car securely. Between the rain showers here in SoCal today I fixed the problem. Here is what I did....
The Rear Window latch is activated by a solenoid, attached to a cable to the latch mechanism. The cable needs to be lubed, use whatever your favorite brand is, WD-40, Tri-Flo, Jigaloo etc...
To gain access to the latch, you have to remove 6 screws. 4 under the upper edge of storage bin in the tailgate and 2 on the outboard edges of the tailgate. Once those are out, you can remove the rear tailgate exterior panel. There are 2 license plate lights to disconnect, and the rear latch release handle can be removed by gently pulling up on the 2 locking tabs and pushing it out. Spray some lubricant on the cable while activating the solenoid, also spray some in the latch itself. Re-install everything and the latch should operate normally.
I thnk there's some unnecessary and bad design here that is at the source of the problem. There was no reason to activate a hatch lock by using a solonoid remotely connected to a micro switch, both of which could either malfunction or be affected by corrosion and dirt. A simple key lock would have sufficed. It's also strange that they would have used mechanical latches to hold the rear gate in pace but several electrical components to lock the glass.
My rear hatch refuses to lock on occasion and that is unpredictable. I have also taken the gate apart to access the solonoid and applied lubrication on all applicable parts - didn't make much difference, it still refuses to lock and usually at the most inopportune times. This is simply ridiculous.
It will reactivate if left for a period of time, and it may also reactivate if the car is locked then unlocked and the rear finger switch pressed. That is mechanical by the way and needs to be pressed, not just touched, The fact that it will reactivate after being left alone for a short period of time is an indication that this is really not a lubrication problem - it is electrical in nature and probably related to a central control from the ECU. Maybe it's related to the same sort of thing as removing the ignition key too soon and getting an alarm. Did Microsoft have anything to do with the electronics? This is s complicated and perverse little creature - it's like someone's science expirement gone awry.
By the way, since it does 'repair' itself after a short time, anything done like lubricating may give a false impression that it is the lubrication that is curing the problem - this may be an erroneous interpretation of the cause/effect relationship.
There is a "return" spring on the latch mechanism itself, it is not very strong. So when the cable begins to bind up, the latch will not operate correctly. Over time the spring will eventually return the latch to the locked position.
There is a "return" spring on the latch mechanism itself, it is not very strong. So when the cable begins to bind up, the latch will not operate correctly. Over time the spring will eventually return the latch to the locked position.
I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to but from my observation the actual latch that locks the hatch in place is moved by a micro switch. This has nothing to do with a cable or the solenoid that activates the switch.
Happens to me all the time. I just drive around unlatched and after a while I am able to close it and have it latch. Seems like it happens when the car is cold. After I have driven it and the inside warms up it works.
Happens to me all the time. I just drive around unlatched and after a while I am able to close it and have it latch. Seems like it happens when the car is cold. After I have driven it and the inside warms up it works.
Nope - has nothing to do with temperature either. The association of cause/effect seems to be an elusive thing. Just because there's a temporal relationship, that does not mean that an action close in time to a reaction associates the two.
The hatch will refuse to lock in warm, hot, cold climates. It will "repair" itself in a short time with no intervention whatsoever. That is what's happening with yours. It will happen whether everything is lubricated, or cleaned or not. This is most likely an electronic issue. There is not enough evidence, investigation, information from Service Bulletins yet to make a definitive determination of the cause.
You can lock the doors if it happens when away from home by just applying pressure on the glass while pressing the lock button on the remote. I've also had luck in making the glass lock by locking and unlocking and using the finger switch to unlock then relocking.
ok, i tried the gentle approach, just pushing on the glass door til it latched & that didn't work. i tried re-locking/unlocking the hatch with no change in performance. then a couple of times when i left the door ajar the glass door latched, so i thought the problem was solved...not so. tonite when leaving the grocery it refused to latch. i knew from past experience that it would close after a minute or two, so i stopped at the end of the parking row, got out, and closed it without problem.
I started having problems a couple days ago on my 09 Passion. Finally this morning it just would not latch. I called the Smart Center and asked if there was a problem with the solenoid that latches the window. They advised me have sold about a dozen solenoids. Since it is a 200 mile around trip to get it fixed under warranty, I just ordered one on the condition if that was not the problem I could return it for a refund. They agreed.
I removed the skin on the tail gate and found the solenoid was frozen in the open mode. I removed the solonoid and disconnected the cable that goes to the latch. Releasing the cable from the solenoid allowed the hatch to latch, pulling the cable down released the latch it then worked perfect. Since it might be several days before I get he new part, I rigged a manual release. I drilled a small hole in the bottom of the tail gate next to the solenoid mounting position, took a short length of 0.020 steel wire wrapped it aroung the end of the latch cable and ran it our through the hole I drilled. I took the ring off an old key ring and attached it to the wire. I reassembled the tail gate and now I can lock the car and set the alarm. Everything works perfect. Looking at the old solenoid it appears water may have somehow got inside it and caused it to seize.
It was an easy temp fix, I hope this info is useful to someone.
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