I can get the rear hatch to open by pulling up on the linkage from inside the van ( the plastic parts inside of the door have been removed) but the handle that should pull up on the linkage from the outside has lost the connection to the linkage. It is difficult to see inside the hatch and I can't tell how this was connected. I did not find and addtional parts that might have been connected at one time. Is there a diagram available so I can see how this is supposed to work and get replacement parts if necessary?

remove rear panel and check latch for damage or linkage disconnect --also check electrical connections to other components

The rear door panel is secured to the door using screws and clips. The screws will be in the handle used to close the door and there may be plastic plugs in the handle hiding the screws. Once these screws are removed, the handle will come off. Look for any more screws along the panel. If there are more, they will be visible. Once the screws are removed, pull on the panel to release the clips that secure it to the door. These clips will require some force to release them and will make a snap/pop sound once released. You may have to put a screwdriver/wedge between the panel and door to start the process of releasing the clips

had this problem myself.... you gotta go in through the back and take the plastic/vinal cover off the rear door and look for the lock from the inside..... unlock it .... open the door and then you can repair and lube the mechanism while standing outside like a human being. its not very hard to do.. just take your time and don't force anything.

Inside the rear tail gate hatch should be a small access panel. Remove the access panel so you can manually open the rear hatch by grabbing the small metal rod linkage. They put this access panel so if the door motor actuator goes bad you can still open the rear hatch. After you open the rear hatch manually by the linkage rod. Remove the entire inside hatch trim panel so you can see all the inner workings of it and self diagnos. It sound like the electric door motor actuator has gone bad. This is pretty common for any GM product. Hope this hopes.

There is no interior rear hatch release

The same thing happened to us. We have a 2000. The fix is easy, sort of. From the inside of the van, remove the bolts holding the handle and the pull ******** the hatch (inside). Then, starting from the top of the window, remove the plastic molding. It just snaps off. After you remove the top window plastic, then remove the molding on either side of the window, and finally, the large piece covering the inside of the hatch. Once you remove all the plastic, you will see a cable leading to the hatch clasp at the bottom of the door. Just pull the cable and the hatch will open.

Other comments tell us thet, if you can remove the inner door panel you will see a maze of cables running to the various locking points on the sliding door. If the cable going to the front latch on the sliding door is broken (or in my case, simply dislodged inside the door) the door acts as if it is frozen shut.

The front cable is short, and easily replaced even by a newbie mechanic.

Keep us updated.

I'll tell you from experience this is no fun to fix unless you are two feet tall. You've got to get into the rear cargo area and remove the inner panel of the hatch. It "may" be necessary to break a little of the plastic off depending on it's elasticity. Once the panel is off take a flashight and locate the latch release linkage. With one hand(usually the left hand) pull the linkage forcefully to the left as you face the hatch from inside. This should release the hatch then you'll be able to escape...lol. Good luck, Dana P.S. It goes without saying you should bring a flashlight with you.

I just bought the part last week for 61.76 from the dealership. It takes about two hours to unscrew the strap from the inside, remove trim from the inside starting at the top, sides and bottom. Remove the license plate from the outside of the hatch. Next remove the 8 bolts (10mm)and 3 white plastic tabs that snap on from the large black plate and move to the side (you don't need to disconnect the wires). From here you can reach around the rear window unit and open the door by moving the latch or pulling the cable. You should remove the 4 nuts that hold on the rear window assembly and move the to reach two nuts which holds the center portion of the trim piece you are trying to remove. There should be a plastic piece covering the cable and latch, it just pops off by pulling it straight out. There are three plastic tabs in the corners and one screw (lock for the hatch) that holds on the license plate assembly to the rear hatch along with two white plastic tabs which are located at the bottom two holes for license plate. These plastic tabs come in from the front. Use pliers to squeeze the together and push. You will need to disconnect the license plate lamp wire connector from the left side. The license plate assembly should drop away. Two screws hold on the latch, remove and replace and reverse proceedure.

I had the same problem. A weather mat got stuck when the hatch closed. After freeing the mat, the hatch would not open. The lock button would go up and down, but the hatch stayed locked.
What happened was the the plastic holder for the metal arm that connected the lock button to the mechanism broke.
There are no screws holding the inside panel, just metal tab clips.
First, I took off the inside close handle--2 bolts. Then I had to work my way from the center tail light, unscrewing it and popping off the left and right trim pieces--metal tab clips. These were covering the back panel. Now the hard part was getting the back panel off. It does pop off and I found it very hard to get something behind the edges.
The plastic holder that held the metal connector in place had broke. I used two plastic pull ties to hold the connector in it's place. Reversed the procedure and it works again.

You need to climb in the back and remove the plastic panel from the hatch to access the lock. There may be a small access door over the locking mechanism to help you avoid removing the whole thing. Could be dirty and sticky and fixable with a bit of graphite lube.