Auto pull down on rear hatch?
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09, '14-'15-'16-'17-'18
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From: Los Angeles California
I'd love to pull apart the memory wire system and see if I could make it work. Apparently, it was something GM didn't test before sending the vehicle on its way to the showrooms.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2012
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From: McDonough, Georgia
One thing for sure, I'd never make a habit of pushing down on a painted part of the rear hatch to complete closure--a couple years of that and you can see damage done to the paint in that area.
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
Joined: Sep 2007
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From: NE South Carolina
Hi, mine works but the vent is just not big enough. Saw a picture of it coiled as a spring someone posted, it's bigger than I expected. If you want to see if your vent opens, remove the license plate. There is a large rectangular opening behind it. Use a flashlight, stoop down and shine a flashlight in the opening. Hit the hatch switch above the license plate and watch the vent open. Believe it is doing what it is designed to do, it’s just not big enough for some cars! It is pretty big, however. Perhaps as some folks mention it is how much force is needed to squeeze the molding, some cars more than others.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2005
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From: SE VA VA
This is what works on mine:
With the hatch open, note there is a grab handle off centered to the right. Lower the hatch all the way.
Put the palm of your hand over the location of that handle and push down firmly.
Both sides will properly latch, neither slam nor indexed window required..
(Centering my hand on the hatch usually results in one side or the other failing to latch)
YMMV and all those disclaimers
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Are you sure your 09 had a motorized pull down hatch? My 2008 didn't have it. I thought GM did away with it after MY 2007.
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Hi, mine works but the vent is just not big enough. Saw a picture of it coiled as a spring someone posted, it's bigger than I expected. If you want to see if your vent opens, remove the license plate. There is a large rectangular opening behind it. Use a flashlight, stoop down and shine a flashlight in the opening. Hit the hatch switch above the license plate and watch the vent open. Believe it is doing what it is designed to do, it’s just not big enough for some cars! It is pretty big, however. Perhaps as some folks mention it is how much force is needed to squeeze the molding, some cars more than others.
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
Joined: Sep 2007
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From: NE South Carolina
Easy to check if the vent is opening, as I describe. I felt the same way because it closes so easy with the door open. Very little force required. Post if you find it opens. Perhaps there is a problem with the open area inside the car, before the vent. No one has reported that and I have only seen pics of the rear, which is wide open to the atmosphere.
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 34,953
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From: NE South Carolina
Easy to check if the vent is opening, as I describe. I felt the same way because it closes so easy with the door open. Very little force required. Post if you find it opens. Perhaps there is a problem with the open area inside the car, before the vent. No one has reported that and I have only seen pics of the rear, which is wide open to the atmosphere.
Last edited by JerryU; Jun 20, 2014 at 08:14 AM.
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So because some cars seem to work better than others, is it the alignment of the hatch, the gaskets, how well the doors seal, the environment the car is in, how many times the hatch is used, or something else that makes some of them work and not others? I'm assuming the hatch vent thing is the same on all of the cars so there has to be something different from car to car.
It would seem to me that something like a reed valve on a two-stroke motor would work as an air pressure relief just as well or better for a lot less technology.
It would seem to me that something like a reed valve on a two-stroke motor would work as an air pressure relief just as well or better for a lot less technology.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
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So because some cars seem to work better than others, is it the alignment of the hatch, the gaskets, how well the doors seal, the environment the car is in, how many times the hatch is used, or something else that makes some of them work and not others? I'm assuming the hatch vent thing is the same on all of the cars so there has to be something different from car to car.
It would seem to me that something like a reed valve on a two-stroke motor would work as an air pressure relief just as well or better for a lot less technology.
It would seem to me that something like a reed valve on a two-stroke motor would work as an air pressure relief just as well or better for a lot less technology.
Sam
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