Real hatch latch

Is there a lot of things inside the hatch area? A belonging may be trapped in the lock mechanism or whether stripping near the latch. You may want to ask another person for help. You push inward onto the hatch, close to the latch. Have your helper activate the unlock mechanism and then you try to open the hatch. This may take a few tries, be patient. If this fails to work. The cargo area will need to be emptied, the interior trim on the hatch removed and you or the shop will need to manually actuate the latch until it releases the hatch. Either a component has hailed of its the result of human error. Please write back if there is anything else. Good Luck.

The latch is not engaging all the way. It temporary does than release part way. It is similar to a hood latch. When you close hatchback the l?tch mechanism is supposed to close around the pin and lock tight for some reason your latch spring back a little. Could be the spring or locking clip. Might need a new latch mechanism. Easy to replace. Car won't lock because mechanism is broken

Possible stuck latch mechanism might need to replace. Send me a picture of the door latch. The one in the door

Open the hatch and slip a screwdriver's shaft into the opening of the latch (simulating that the latch has engaged the metal bar on the floor of the SUV). Apply pressure in the latch via the shaft of the screwdriver. While pulling against the latch, operate the unlock button of the fob or unlock with the key (whichever your truck has). When it is unlocked the latch will allow the screwdriver to open the jaws of the latch and pull through them. The latch jaws should now be open and you should be able to close the hatch and have it latch and lock.

try using the handle while prying up on the locking clip, the pin should pop up allowing you to close the lid

The diagram I have attached is for the mechanical latch, but the process to open the hatch when you can't remove the interior panel with it closed it similar.

If, when closing the rear hatch, it hits "hard" just before it reaches the closed position; it is very likely that the latch mechanism in the hatch is "stuck" in the latched or closed position already. This is a fairly common occurrence and takes less than a few minutes to fix. Literally.

In order to allow the latch to close around the mating piece on the car body, it will need to be opened first. To open a closed latch mechanism, you will need to simulate opening the hatch from its normal closed position. With the hatch open, look at the latch mechanism. It will align with the bar on the opening of the car. Adjust the hatch / your view to see how the mechanism would be wrapped around the bar on the body - keeping the hatch securely shut. Once you see an opening in the mechanism described above, slip the shaft of a sturdy screwdriver into the opening. Apply a pulling pressure outward - away from the latch on the screwdriver with one hand, and with the other hand (or with the help of an assistant), operate the handle / lock of the hatch the way you did when the hatch was closed. Immediately upon operating the handle / lock, the latch mechanism will unlock, and the pulling pressure of the screwdriver simulates the hatch being pulled away from the bar on the car - and seemingly magically - open allowing the screwdriver to be pulled out.

Next, you'll need to determine and correct the cause of the latch being in the wrong position. It could be something as simple as someone pushing the mechanism shut when the hatch was open; or it may be caused by a poorly lubricated mechanism that is not snapping into a fully open position. When this happens, it is likely the the closing motion of the hatch actually snaps the mechanism shut when it is stuck on the leading edge of the latch - instead of in the "throat" of the latch (where the screwdriver was). A liberal amount of a dry lubricant such as silicone or graphite applied to the mechanism and "worked in" through repeated opening and closing motions of the hatch would be a good start. Resist the temptation of using a wet lubricant like oil, grease, WD-40, etc. as these attract dirt and dust - which can interfere with a nice, fluid movement of the these latching parts. If there is already a lot of dirt, dust or rust, build up on the latch mechanism, it should be cleaned as good as possible before applying lubricant. Use an electrical contact type cleaner as these clean, degrease, dry quickly and leave no residue.

If you are unable to to get the latch to work - have your mechanic or auto servicer look at it. They should be able to quickly diagnose and free the latch. Most will not even bother to charge you to do this - if this is the cause of the problem.

I hope this helps & good luck!

Removed the inspection cover for the lock mechanism on the inside of the back hatch and used a screw driver to manually unlatch the door while someone else was pulling on the handle. It turned out there was a lot of glass around the pocket where the lock mechanism was possibly binding the lock

You will need to remove the hatch panel, and release it manually. It is a pain in the **** with the hatch closed, but it can be done.

Unfortunately, you will have to remove the panel of the door, Use flathead screwdriver to pry open. It is very likely the spring fell off.