Hey, I just bought a 2gnt and the hatch back latch is stuck. ive tried wd40ing the lock a lot, but it doesnt help at all. I thought i could take off the interior pannels but i cant seem to get the top panel attached to the hatch off, or the one in the center of the back. Anyone have any ideas on how i could get this open?

The plastic in the center of the rear cargo area is simple. Reach down by the spare tire board and gently pull the plastic towards the front of the car. It will pop loose but the top edge is going to hold on.

Once you have the bottom popped loose you will pull upwards on the top edge of the panel. It will pop upwards and you can expose the lock mechanism.

I dont understand what the problem is exactly. Will the hatch not open or do you have to pull up on the hatch as another person pulls the release?

Terry

the hatch will not open at all, and the wire to the hatch is broken halfway. ill try this though, thanks.

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon
Once you have the bottom popped loose you will pull upwards on the top edge of the panel. It will pop upwards and you can expose the lock mechanism.

Ahh but the problem is that the center piece goes around the latch and sits under the closed hatch. He is either going to have to break the center piece and buy another one, or try and carefully bend it up without it breaking. Sticky situation imo. With the hatch closed there is no way to remove that center piece. You might be able to bend it back enough to grab hold of the latch mechanism and pull it from there.

Originally posted by djtrickee

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon Once you have the bottom popped loose you will pull upwards on the top edge of the panel. It will pop upwards and you can expose the lock mechanism.

Ahh but the problem is that the center piece goes around the latch and sits under the closed hatch. He is either going to have to break the center piece and buy another one, or try and carefully bend it up without it breaking. Sticky situation imo. With the hatch closed there is no way to remove that center piece. You might be able to bend it back enough to grab hold of the latch mechanism and pull it from there.

I was afraid of this. I might be able to drill two holes in the plastic and unscrew the locking hook(i guess i could call it that) so the locking mechinism would still be attached, but it wouldnt be attached to the hatch. think it would be possible?

Thats a big maybe. I know there are knockouts in the plastic you can pop off and access the nuts. I cant remember if those two nuts are the only ones that hold the locking mechanism on but i think they are. Engineering might have designed those knockout specifically for this situation.

Once you get the lock mech loose you can slowly lift the hatch as you pope the clips loose on the plastic.

Give it a shot just be careful.

On very early 2G models the two plastic knockouts to access the hatch latch bolts are fake. They don't actually pop out. Most have plastic covers caps that are removable.

Here is a pic of the latch. Sounds like you should attempt to unbolt the latch completely then try to carefully raise the latch and the center plastic cover together.

Ignore the tech tip text. Pic is from another topic of mine.