If your hatch doesn’t completely unlatch on first attempt and you need to pull the cable release again or turn the key once more in order to get it open then this mod. is for you.

After a search through the forums I found several other people were having the same problem that I was with the hatch not releasing completely upon the first try. One member suggested that this was a feature and not to fix it which is not true. The trunk does have a double latching safety feature to help keep the hatch secured in an accident but this has little to do with why it opens poorly after having worked fine for years. Others have suggested the gas cylinders are getting weak which is also false. The gas lift struts have nothing to do with the trunk popping open. They only serve to hold the hatch open after it is raised up. Yes, a weak gas strut will prevent the hatch from staying open, especially on the first cold day of winter, but it does not assist in popping the trunk up those first few inches.

So now that we know what isn’t causing the problem let’s see what is and fix it. This mod was done on a 98 2G RS without factory alarm. You might have an extra wire going to your hatch release but it shouldn’t affect the fix. This repair takes less than a half hour. Tools and parts needed: Blade screwdriver, drill with 1/8” or 3/16” bit, large pliers, strong needle nose pliers and safety glasses (springs have a way of finding your face when they fly off)!

The first thing you need to do is remove the plastic panel on the rear inside of the trunk. There is no need to remove the two plastic screw access caps just in front of the latch. Those covers would only be removed if you need to adjust the latch up or down slightly if your hatch doesn’t close correctly. Gently pry the bottom of the panel out, towards the front of the car, at the lower corners. There arefour hidden clips on the back similar to door panel clips. Once the corners are loose, push the panel up and release the 6 clips hidden along the top of the plastic molding. Set aside the plastic cover.



You’ll now see the latch exposed with the hatch “pop” spring right there where it’s easy to get to. Do NOT loosen or remove the latch. On my Eclipse the spring had completely released its energy (coils were all touching) before the lid was lifted enough to clear the latch. I verified this by sitting inside the spare tire well with the lid closed and then popped the hatch. I was unable to slip a piece of paper between the coils of the spring which verified it would not be able to lift the hatch the last 1/16” it needed to clear the latch mechanism. All I had to do was increase the distance between the spring end points to gain a little extra power. To do this I bent the tab on the driver side slightly toward the driver side. To gain even a little more leverage, without over-stretching the spring, I changed the location of the hole on the lever at the other end of the spring mount to gain a mechanical advantage. As you can see in the photos I simply drilled a new hole just below the original one. These two steps fixed the hatch to pop up problem whether using the cable release, key or my added alarm electric remote solenoid. The spring could possibly be changed to a stronger one if you have added weight to your hatch. Test it out before putting the cover back on and of course, lube the latch up with some good lithium grease before putting it all back together.


Dave W.

Good info Dave :thumbsup. Shawn and i were just discussing his hatch problems this Sunday.

Sarah's got the same problem. Fortunately for me, I had a variation of the same problem which a liberal application of WD40 was able to cure. ;)

Looking forward to meeting you soon sir. :thumbsup

this should be moved to the "things weve seen before" section IMO. i know that a LOT of 'clipses have this problem. excellent writup BTW!

that is an awesome write up, i have that problem too.

Nice!:thumbsup:thumbsup

And WTF night wolf hehe i had the Quote from Grain first!!!! :nuts

no way buddy i had it minutes after he posted that. besides you have the [div/ on the end, that doesn't look good. i demand that you remove that from your sig at once good sir. lol!!!

HAHA, I have the problem too. However, I consider this malfunction as a security feature :P If your a theif trying to open my trunk, then they need to pull it once and hold it for 1 seconds, then pull it again. With the few seconds lost, this gives me more time to kick their ass.

-------jezreel
hrc stage 1, sfmu, ml, prokits, egt, boost gauge, apexi tt, turbo xs rfl, haydans tranny cooler, costum dp, dr. uber groundwires, dynotune fp gauge. gst muff, turbo spoiler

nothing like driving with the windows down and the music low: i love hearing the turbo spool, swwwhhhttt!!!!
thanks for www.kaptainmyke.com for the sig hosting :thumbsup

Great job!

And yes...I have the same problem!

Originally posted by azdave

Good post and great pics. But did you know that you can also adjust the position of the lock by loosening the two 10 mm bolts shown in this pic? I just loosened it and adjusted the lock/latch higher, and my trunk hatch pops perfectly fine now. I had to do this after I got my paint job, and if you adjust it too high, then it won't close right, but you can make small adjustments to the latch/lock position until it sits at the right spot and the hatch looks good when completely closed (the gap looks right). It's just a simpler solution that would hopefully work on all cars, not just mine.

Originally posted by eclipse804

Good post and great pics. But did you know that you can also adjust the position of the lock by loosening the two 10 mm bolts shown in this pic? I just loosened it and adjusted the lock/latch higher, and my trunk hatch pops perfectly fine now. I had to do this after I got my paint job, and if you adjust it too high, then it won't close right, but you can make small adjustments to the latch/lock position until it sits at the right spot and the hatch looks good when completely closed (the gap looks right). It's just a simpler solution that would hopefully work on all cars, not just mine.

Thanks for the input.

Keep in mind that by adjusting the latch position you are using the compression of the rubber trunk seal to do the work the pop up spring should be doing. After some time, the rubber may eventually take a set at the lower position and the problem could return. The rubber seal around my hatch has worked fine for 5 years and 70K miles I wasn't willing to risk air or water leaks into the trunk or having to slam it to get it closed all the way. I did this spring tension mod last summer and my trunk has never failed to open correctly since then. The rubber still seals good and the gaps are still even.

Your mileage may vary....