Latch of the Hatch stuck?!? broken?!?

[ahhbeebee]

For those of us in the Great White North, I've experienced some issues with my hatch's latch (can't think of what else rhymes) in the cold weather. It looks like there is a mix of plastic, teflon and metal in the mechanism. I'll wait for it to warm up before exploring further.

In about -30 C ambient, I was having quite significant problems getting the latch to close and lock. After about 5 min of opening and closing and jimmying, it finally stuck in the closed position. Anyone else with this problem?

Maybe it just needs some lubrication.

[Roguemeister]

Just had that happen to me tonight. Went shopping, closed hatch as usual (not much force required) and started to drive home. Noticed light coming on back there when I hit a bump and a little extra road noise. When I got home and went back to check it out, it would not close properly or lock. I finally gave it a real good "slam" and it closed/locked.

I totally contribute this to the -30 weather right now. Once it warms up a bit I don't expect it to be an issue. Also my TPMS light came on and didn't go off even after my 15K trip home. Again, I contribute this to the extreme cold.

[kerrton]

That happend to me too, in Alberta it's been -30C every day, and my hatch started banging like crazy as I was driving, and I discovered that it wouldn't close no matter how hard I slammed it. Boy was I pissed. But then I sprayed some silicone lubricant up there and it closed no problem, now my interior stinks like lubricant but at least the hatch is working.

I agree the latch looks cheap, I'm no expert but that doesn't seem tobe a good place to have plastic components, I'm sure that'll be a weak spot on the vehicle but we'll wait and see.

For anyone having this problem, spray some lube up there and then slam the crap out of it!

[kuusselka]

Yep... I've had this problem in Winnipeg too. Takes a good 3-4 times to close. I don't really want to slam the crap out of it with all those plastic components. It's -45-ish right now with the windchill and I don't think slamming plastic parts into metal parts would be the smartest thing to do. I'll try the lube idea.

[ahhbeebee]

Its a shame I never paid attention to it before. Like the rest of you, I'm scared the plastic may become brittle in the cold and break.

On a side note, the car's been handling pretty decent in these conditions with the factory Dunlops.

[Roguemeister]

"On a side note, the car's been handling pretty decent in these conditions with the factory Dunlops."

Mine too... with the Conti's.

[philipa_240sx]

I agree the latch looks cheap, I'm no expert but that doesn't seem tobe a good place to have plastic components, I'm sure that'll be a weak spot on the vehicle but we'll wait and see.

I'm on my 4th Nissan. All of them had plastic components in the latch and I have never broken one yet. I regularly apply a thin film of grease (ususally white lithium grease) to keep the latch moving freely. BTW, the latch 'hook' is made of steel. The plastic you see is part of the mechanism and does not actually hold the door closed.

[sckeith]

I bought the Rogue last January and during a very cold spell, that happined to ours. I took it to the dealer who made an adjustment and it has not come back. Right now we are experiencing the same cold with no problems

[NismoPhan]

I'm having a similar issue, but on the opposite scale of things. I can't get my hatch open. Snowed all night last night, went to go open the hatch this morning and nothing. Think it's the same issue. I'll wait for it to warm up and then give it a shot of something... but until then can't open the damn thing!

[philipa_240sx]

It is pretty common for door weatherstripping to 'freeze' to the car preventing you from opening the hatch/door. If possible park the car with the affected door facing the sun or in a warm garage. It's funny you mention this... a friend with a Chevy Avalanche couldn't open his tailgate a few days ago for the same reason. Goes to show you it's a common problem for all of us in snowy climates.

To prevent this from happening again, treat the seals with 303 Protectant. Simply spray on a dry cloth and wipe on. Silicone spray (commonly found in the same section as WD-40 and other lubes) also works, but I hate the greasy residue it leaves.

Good luck!

[philipa_240sx]

Ok, this finally happened to me today and it's definitely NOT an issue with the latch.

Temps were in the -25C range (-13F), and the hatch would refuse to latch closed. I carefully operated the latch using a screwdriver to simulate 'closing' the hatch it worked just fine. There was no binding. I then examined the weatherstripping. As I suspected, it was rock hard from the frigid temps. I strongly feel it's the hard incompressible weatherstripping that is causing this issue. There are a couple of solutions:

1) I carefully placed the palm of my hand on the lower edge of the hatch near the lock mechanism and firmly closed the hatch. It took a bit more force, but the hatch did latch closed.

2) A more permanent fix is to readjust the latch. Refer to the FSM DLK section - pages 283 & 284 for more information. I would suggest marking the latch location by applying masking tape to the surrounding plastic trim then adjust the door strike outwards by 1/16"-1/8". Tighten the bolts and recheck the latch to make sure the door is not loose.

Note: The bolts are located under the removable plastic trim. You may need a special TORX socket to loosen them.

[ahhbeebee]

I never did look too closely at the weatherstripping.

Do you think the adjustment will affect the latch in normal weather? Is it possible a tight seal will not form?

[philipa_240sx]

I never did look too closely at the weatherstripping.

Do you think the adjustment will affect the latch in normal weather? Is it possible a tight seal will not form?

Yes, this is a concern. If you keep the adjustment minimal, it may not be too bad. There are also rubber bumpers on the lower edges/side of the hatch that can be adjusted by turning them to take up any slack.

I don't think I will bother messing with mine as it has only happened once so far.