Hatch won't open, inside trick fails AND 12 Volts is Ok

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rjparker, Feb 16, 2012.

  1. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Have my wife's computer and other important "stuff" suddenly unaccessible through the rear hatch of the Prius v tonight. The remote and hatch button causes a solenoid to operate in the hatch door but we get no release of the lock.

    Found page 77 in the manual on how to unlock the hatch manually from the inside, said ok here goes, crawled in, popped the plastic cover with a small screwdriver, moved the less than obvious lever to the right, but the hatch still would not open. Read a November link which discussed this situation when caused by a discharged 12v battery, but my battery was ok.

    Pulled a good shop light in there (the interior rear light does not work with hatch closed) and discovered the cargo net was jammed in the mechanism! I pulled and stretched the caught portion and tried the interior release again....with no results.

    Time to cut the cargo net off and try to pull it out of the mechanism. Should I do it myself or let the dealer mess with it while I wait who knows how long? Perhaps they will end up cutting it out and then "maybe" replace the net under warranty?
     
    #1 rjparker, Feb 16, 2012
  2. Chazz8

    Chazz8 Gadget Lover

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    Wow, that is a one in million trick. I would go straight to the dealer, unless they are far away or you don't have a good relation with them. I would guess that they may balk at covering any of the work under warranty because "you" got the net stuck. That almost makes me think you shoul try a trusted local mechanic. Then after its fixed you can go back to the dealer and play dumb. "I don't know how the latch got messed up. It's still under warranty isn't it?"

    In short, nothing a little $$ (and time) won't fix.

    Did we tell you that we love pictures here on Prius Chat. If you think of it take some pictures when they get it open.

    Last thought; Try pushing down while getting the solenoid to activate, then lifting quickly. I seem now to remember getting the cargo rug in my Lexus rx300 stuck in the rear hatch, and I just played with it untill it opened. It took a while and I had given up a couple of times, but it was easier to go back out and jiggle it every way I could think of than to take it in.

    Good luck.
     
    #2 Chazz8, Feb 16, 2012
  3. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    +1 on pushing down at the same time as actuation. It might take two of you and several tries.

    Tom
     
    #3 qbee42, Feb 16, 2012
  4. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    I went back ready to cut the net and pulled hard enough to break it (I thought). The cargo net would not break or pull out. It's a strong net. However I did get it to slide inside the mechanism so I tried again from the outside. Pressed the button, pulled, nothing. Kept pressing and pulling, bingo:cheer2:. Sure enough it opened, the net was definitely wrapped in the latch but no real damage. Cleared the net, reinstalled the plastic interior release cover, tried the door several times and called it good.

    Moral of the story, watch for the net covering the latch catch as you close the rear....and consider having one of those glass breakers handy if you find yourself submerged in the Hudson, hatch end up.
     
    #4 rjparker, Feb 17, 2012
    1 person likes this.
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