The trunk lid on my 2011 Convertible will not latch when I close the trunk. I have to push, hard, on the center edge of the lid to get it fully latched. Is this normal?

 

It's fairly normal. My '05 vert still requires a hard shove right above the latch to get it closed.

 

Try turning down the two stop screws (with the rubber bumpers on them) about a turn. If it doesn't help, you can always turn them back. It may be too tight against the stops to latch easily.

 

Hmmm... I don't need to push/shove at all. I just let it drop and all is good.

 

Our GS trunk lid is VERY hard to close. My wife can just do it, with great effort. Our '08 coupe has an assist mechanism, which makes it a snap to close. Why didn't they use that on the GS????????? Probably saved 24 cents.

 

I have always gently lowered the trunk lid and pressed down to latch.
My wife slams it down, while I hold my breath. Both methods work.

 

08 Vert, stiff and requires a firm push, seems normal

 

I surprised that they dont have a automated locking unit like in the coupe.

 

2011 GS convertible.. gently close it down, then give it a firm push in the center to latch. Not sure why they don't have the auto pull down like coupes.. GM???

 

I'm with 65GGvert on this. With a bit of a "running start" the trunk lid on my '07 vert closes easily. No push required. I suspect the two adjustable corner posts on your trunk lid need to be rotated clockwise until they just contact the body as the latch closes.

 

In my experience it is....I had (sold for Z06) a new 2009 Vert and it was the same way....my buddy had a C5 (04) and what I remembered it did not take quiet as much force to close it....you can adjust the stops but more than that I think BEZ06 can help answer your questions....might try to PM him (Bob)....but I had the same experience.

 

I've never had a vert, but my understanding is that the manual latch in the trunk of a vert is the same as that in the 2006-2008 Z06 (in 2009 they went to the auto pull down latch in the Z06).

When I got a 2006 Z06 I missed the auto pull down latch I had in my '05 coupe, so I put one in.

During the installation I had to do some small adjustments to get the deck lid flush when the hatch was closed. There are several ways to adjust it:



As mentioned in previous posts, I think it's designed to require a fairly good push to close it so it's tight against the seals and waterproof. But, if it seems too hard to close, you can screw those rubber bumpers in to allow the striker to go down deeper into the latch and allow a slight easier closing - but that may mess up the mating of the body panels so that the trunk lid isn't flush with the other panels.

If closing the trunk is really a problem, I would try adding a shim plate or two - that will extend the striker down so it projects down farther into the latch when you close the trunk, and that might make it close easier.

Or - you could add an auto pull down latch like I did on my Z06!!!

Bob

 

Mine closes much easier now that it is a few years old, I can just give it a bit of a push from the full open position and it will close all the way. Bob, my trunk lid does not have the tab that you are touching in that photo, it only has the latch hook that is in the background there.

I believe that also the side to side adjustment of the latch striker will affect how it closes also...if it is too far to one side or the other, then there is extra friction and this can make extra force necessary to close the trunk and also affect how easily the trunk lid pops up when it is opened with the fob or the button. I think that this is probably the single most important part of the adjustment. The two screws that hold the striker to the lid can be loosened slightly to allow this adjustment easily.

 

Hi Chris

Yes, the one I'm holding is the striker for the auto pull down latch, and the one in the background is the one for the manual latch - this picture was taken before I did the swap.

I looked through my archived pics and found this previously unpublished photo:




Above is the striker and the "striker spacers". I looked on Gene Culley's site and see that the spacers are available for about $3.50 each, but it didn't come up with a part#.

How's the skiing? We're thinking of heading out to Utah later this month or early Feb for a week or so of skiing.

Bob

 

Bob, I didn't realize that the piece there was not attached to the car...it makes more sense to me now! Snow is great this year...not sure if you have ever tried Snow Basin, but if you haven't, it is worth a shot. They had the downhill event there in 2002. It is a great mountain. We took a run with Franz Klammer there during the olympics...which will really keep an amateur on his toes! I didn't know you had any "previously unpublished" photos...LOL. As I said, I think that the left to right alignment of that striker is very important to allowing an easy opening and closing of the trunk lid. Because the convertible's trunk lid is so much smaller and lighter than the coupe's hatch, it seems to me that these alignment issues would have a larger impact on the smaller lid. The mass of the hatch should help force it closed with more momentum against an alignment that is slightly off center.

I'm in California right now, waiting for the snow to melt on I-15 so I can take the Vert home.

 

GM supposedly claims that the vert hatch does not have enough weight to activate the pull down feature is why it is not on the vert hatch.

My 2011 was stiff and you had to mash the center every time to latch at first. After a 4 months and 4000 miles, it has gotten easier to close. It will latch on its own just by normal closing now.

As others have said, you can probably adjust the bump stops on the corners and help but if you run them in too far, the hatch will not line up on the corners with the fenders.

Just drop it and then push the center to latch.

One big improvement over the C5 is the fact that it will pop up enough to open. My C5 was always a problem with not coming up far enough.

 

I adjusted the two bump stops and the trunk lid now closed with less force. Still have to push on the center edge but with less force. Thanks.

 

Problem with that is if you adjust them too far down, the trunk lid won't pop up enough to be able to open it.