mikeyc6

What method are you guys using to close the back hatch? Are you tossing it down with some speed as you would the C5 hatch, putting it down softly and then pushing down to engage the pull down, etc.?

I normally prefer to just put mine down softly and then give the glass a little push to engage the pull down but I'm finding that it doesn't work properly that way most of the time (but it does sometimes). About 1/3 of the time it works that way but 2/3 of the time when you push down, it just catches the first latch and doesn't pull down. As a result, I've been just slamming it as if it had no pull down mechanism and that seems to work.

Is this normal?

Mike

John George

I don't know if it is normal but it works the same for me. I haven't any idea what the ratio is between "working" and "not working" but mine is not consistent.

KISSfn

I pull it down by the built in handle with a medium amount of force, if you baby it, it won't catch. Putting it down easy and pushing it doesn't work right.

Tenderfoot

In my C5, I always leave the driver's door open before closing the hatch as I never want to slam it with tons of force. With the introduction of the latch system in the C6, I was hoping the "leave doors open while closing hatch" days would be a thing of the past. If the mechanism is not working consistently, you should report this as a problem so that it either (1) gets corrected via an adjustment, if that's possible or (2) engineered correctly by GM in subsequent builds/model years.

Vette_DD

I "drop" mine from a height of about 8 or 9 inches. Worked the only 3 times I've had it open so far.

Tri-Tip

Isn't it motorized to "suck" it closed now? The one I saw at the dealer had that.

John George

That's the issue. The hatch is supposed to be powered closed when the
lock engages.

Vette_DD

You have to get it close enough to the latch for this to take effect.

mikeyc6

I think that's the issue. It appears as if it wasn't designed to be an "automatic closing" hatch. It's just a power assist pulldown designed so that you still slam it as normal. The C6 probably is more air tight and without the assist, you'd really have to slam it hard. With the assist, you just slam it normally and if it doesn't catch completely, the pull down will finish the job.

Mike

NOVAVETTE

I leave the door open, and close it - using normal force.
No problems.
Same routine as on the C5.

abrimberry

Please right click link and choose "Save Target As..."

Video of Method I Use, 1.9MB

Corey_68

Please tell me this post is a joke.

mikeyc6

Please tell me you didn't make that video for my benefit!

I feel like I should be demoted from "senior member" to "noob" after that one... but thanks! That's the way I've been doing it, but since it works intermittently if you close it softly and then press down, I was just wondering how it was designed to be operated.

Mike

Thud

GM really should have included a chapter on "operating the hatches and doors" so as to eliminate all this confusion.

I think the reason they eliminated the door handles was so they wouldn't have to deal with so many questions as "what is the best method for operating the door handles?"

Lee6

out of the 20 or so times i've closed mine, only about twice did it engage itself and finish pulling it down tight.....

still haven't figured out what the trick is to get it to work each time...or if it's a problem that needs fixing

Vette_DD

Let me go out on a limb here and make a wild guess: you don't have a C6.

Beer:30

I slowly and carefuly close the hatch and leave it where it is just about to engage the latch.
Next I take a 4-5 steps back and in one big leap launch myself onto the glass slamming it shut.
Works every time.

Diego M

Vette_DD

In that case, I'd say you have a very appropriate Avatar.

mikeyc6

I'm thinking of installing one of these to eliminate the problem.



Mike