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My '05 vert will not do this even though the owner's manual says to gently close the lid and the auto pull down will do the rest. I tried every which way but I have to just push my vert lid by hand to snap close.
Originally Posted by quickride
I can't really tell you about the '06 but I will tell you that on my '05, the pull down only works if you put a little pressure on the hatch with your hand. I usually let the hatch fall on its own from about 8 inches up from closed. I then apply a little pressure with my hand. At that point, my pull down grabs the hatch and latches it down securely.
Mine won't work if I just let the hatch drop on its own. By the way, GM says not to drop the hatch or slam it with any force as this could cause a problem with the rear window defrost circuit.
Okay I got it to work. I contacted Gary at the Museum and he said set it down and gently push... the motor took over and rapidly pulled it down. I had to push it past the resting place to get it to activate. I am not impressed. The old Camaro used to take over when you rested it all the way down.
What good is it if it doesn't work like they say it should? I remember reading an article from Dave Hill that this was a major priority for them to accomplish. At one pooint he said the windows would come down like they do when you open the door. That would work. As it is, what good is the pull down if you have to push it to close? Way to go GM.
I love the car over the C5 but it does have it's quirks.
What good is it if it doesn't work like they say it should? I remember reading an article from Dave Hill that this was a major priority for them to accomplish. At one pooint he said the windows would come down like they do when you open the door. That would work. As it is, what good is the pull down if you have to push it to close? Way to go GM.
I love the car over the C5 but it does have it's quirks.
If you use the inside pull to close the lid, it latches and pulls down every time.
It just takes a little practice. I use the inside grab area and give the hatch a slight acceleration towards closed. Not a slam, but mine closes right 90+% of the time.
There have been tons of threads on this subject and I agree with the "practice" statement... one of the reasons why it "doesnt seem to work" for a lot of you is the fact that as you close the rear hatch the air pressure inside the car increases putting resistance on the hatch. Have a window or the top open and the hatch will close without having to drop it or push it.
What works with all windows closed or open: bring hatch to within a couple of inches of the latch and let go... it will either close on itself (if window/door open) or will then require a slight push on center of hatch for motor to engage... getting into the habit of bringing hatch to within inches of the latch will prevent you from slamming the hatch down hard cus you forgot window was open
There have been tons of threads on this subject and I agree with the "practice" statement... one of the reasons why it "doesnt seem to work" for a lot of you is the fact that as you close the rear hatch the air pressure inside the car increases putting resistance on the hatch. Have a window or the top open and the hatch will close without having to drop it or push it.
What works with all windows closed or open: bring hatch to within a couple of inches of the latch and let go... it will either close on itself (if window/door open) or will then require a slight push on center of hatch for motor to engage... getting into the habit of bringing hatch to within inches of the latch will prevent you from slamming the hatch down hard cus you forgot window was open
You are describing the C5 operation.
For the C6 the object was to allow the hatch to close on it's own, without having to touch the outside surface, despite the cabin pressure.
You are describing the C5 operation.
For the C6 the object was to allow the hatch to close on it's own, without having to touch the outside surface, despite the cabin pressure.
well if that was the object then I think 90% of the C6 out there failed to achieve their objective
I gently lower the hatch until it rests on the latch. Then I gently apply downward pressure until it is pulled down by the latch. It takes a couple of time to get the hang ot it. I showed the wife because she slams everything, yes Everything. She just doesn't get it. I keep telling her gently but I might as well be talking to the wall. I don't want it to break because then it will have to go to the dealer and we all know what a great time that always is.
I can't really tell you about the '06 but I will tell you that on my '05, the pull down only works if you put a little pressure on the hatch with your hand. I usually let the hatch fall on its own from about 8 inches up from closed. I then apply a little pressure with my hand. At that point, my pull down grabs the hatch and latches it down securely.
Mine won't work if I just let the hatch drop on its own. By the way, GM says not to drop the hatch or slam it with any force as this could cause a problem with the rear window defrost circuit.
What they mean about "slam it with any force" is to take both hands and jerk it down from fully open as hard as you can. It is fine to grab the handle and give it a good brisk downward motion. That's not slamming, it is the way it is designed to be closed. The motor will grab it and finish closing it every time if you do that. In other words, close it with about the same force you use to close one of the other doors.
I always drop mine from about 4 inches high. If the windows are open it usually grabs and pulls the rest of the way. If the windows are closed I usually push down with the heel of my hand to get it to catch. However, one time I dropped off one of my sons friends at home and he dropped the lid from all the way up. When it closed it was a good quarter of an inch down from level. So I really don't think you should drop it like a standard trunk lid.
IMO everyone so far has missed the point. It is not designed to be a hatch pull-down like the trunk pull-down in an old Cadillac. The hatch is meant to be shut like any other hatch: drop it or sling it down with the inside handle with a little bit of downward force. The pulldown is only designed to assist this downward shutting force so that you don't have to slam it with an incredible amount of muscle when the windows are closed.
When watching the video on the hatch design, you'll see that the problem they had was that the C6 is so airtight that with the doors/windows closed you really had to slam the hatch lid shut with a lot of force. The fix was to give the latch a certain amount of "assist" so that you still swing it down like you would a C5 hatch but you wouldn't have to do it nearly as hard. It isn't meant to work so that you just lay the lid down and it "sucks it down" like a Cadillac trunk lid. It does work that way intermittently but that isn't the way it was designed.
To shut the hatch, swing it down as you would any non-assisted hatch, just not quite as hard and it will work every single time.
The coupe (2006) is supposed to have a pull down motor on the rear lid. Boy I sure can not detect it. Anyone sure they have one?
This is one of my favorite features! It takes some getting used to, you have to close not too hard and not too soft. Once you get the hang of it, it is really cool to see the hatch pulled down. It is just a bit more than a drop, give it a try.