rear hatch door jammed shut

[wozrig]

(oh my god, here he come s again!!)
anyways, on my recent 1500 km trip that saw swimming pools in footwells, i also finished up with the rear hatch-door not releasing via the release handle... starting off with difficulty closing it(kept popping up) and on reaching home it had closed reluctantly, but will not respond to normal latch pulling. Had to empty weeks luggage and wine! through passenger door. again, all help appreciated. regards
warren

[Nick]

If you have another pair of hands, pressing down on the outside of the hatch (on the latch side) whilst simultaneously pulling the release handle, might do the trick.

If not, crawling inside the car to undo the cover over the latch and unfasten it from there might be necessary.

Nick

[wozrig]

thanks nick, tried first option so will be attempting the second this wekend. should be a sight-to-see!!

[Nick]

When you do get it open again, you might want to look at adjusting the latch position. I assume the hatch is hard up against the bodywork when it latches. My hatch is about 3mm clear of the body.

Of course it could be a different fault entirely !

Nick

[wozrig]

problem solved.. seems that the guide on fixed catch mechanism was bent back and not guiding the hatch latch!! neatly into the catch! a bit of persuasion with hammer to re-align and all good again.... thanks to all.