omat

I have a 1999 rx300. The plastic piece that is used to open the spare tire lid got stuck when I closed the rear hatch (the one with the rear wiper, lights and window). I cannot open the hatch anymore. I have removed the plastic inner covers of the hatch, left with the metal part. The car key does move the arm that is supposed to unlock the hatch and so does the remote. However the hatch is somehow stuck, I cannot get it open.

I was thinking of removing the inner metal parts of the hatch and hopefully remove that plastic piece. But I am not sure if it will help me at all or whether I can open up the metal parts from the inside with the hatch closed.

Any suggestions? Can I do it myself or should I go to the service?

bob2200

Welcome to Club Lexus!

What is the connection between (1) the plastic piece that opens to access the spare tire being stuck and (2) the rear hatch being stuck closed? Is this somethng you can photograph? Maybe it is just me, but I can't visualize the problem.

omat

there is a plastic handle that is connected to a thread. It helps opening the spare tire lid, the other end of the thread is tied to it. That used to stay under the trunk carpet, this time it did not and got stuck when I closed the rear hatch. A small part of the plastic handle can be seen outside the car just underneath the hatch. Unfortunately I cannot move it at all, it is stuck pretty well...

I have cut the thread, but no help. The plastic handle is the problem.

bob2200

I think I now understand. The black plastic hook isn't used to open the lid, but is used to keep it open.

It seems to me that the hatch should open if the plastic hook can be removed. I think I would try a brute force approach: try drilling out all of the black plastic hook you can see from the outside of the car and then try pulling on whever you can grab from the inside of the car, drilling out whatever is left that is exposed. Then, try driving anything remaining out with a screwdriver or other flat object. Maybe combined driving it in from the outside and pulling it out from the inside.

There may be a more intelligent, rather than brute force method, but I don't know it.

BurnishedGoldRX

I have to agree with bob2200. Unless you can somehow get that bottom panel of the hatch off and get to the latch to take the bolts out and separate that from the actual skeleton of the door. Can you use a wooden dowel and a rubber mallet to maybe knock the hook completely out of the door? Have you tried pushing down on the hatch when you try to open it? It should just be a matter of the latch having too much force being exerted on it for the part that swivels to do just that.

carguy07

I'm with the others on this one. Try to rip/break it out of there as much as you can. If that does not do the trick I would back it up to a wall and wedge myself between the hatch and the wall and try to push the hatch in enough to get it to release.

Be careful pushing on the hatch. I remember one of the guys on here bent the sheet metal on the hatch pushing on it.

salimshah

If I understand it right, the plastic hook is wedged at the bottom edge of the hatch.

The question is, is in the lock mechanism or just the edge?

I would get something to spread the force on the hatch (from inside). So climb in from the rear door and sit with your back against the rear of the back seats. Use your legs to push the bottom out. Place your feet close to the place where the hook is lodged in. Again use a thick ply to distribute the force.

You may need as assistant to stand far back and hold the release handle from outside.

Note: The door catch at times would like the door to be fully closed [to trip the spring latch], before the release would work ... once a while you experience that when you partially close the door ,,, you have to force it to fully close. So if the hatch is partially closed you may have to force it to fully closed before you can release it. In this case get as much of the hook out and then push the door fully close. [In this situation you may like to drive it to body shop].

Salim

bob2200

I like two of the ideas the other guys have suggested:

(1) If you decide to take it somewhere, a good body shop woud be the place, not a dealer.

(2) If the hook is caught off-center (not directly near the latch), backing up to a wall and applying pressure to the latch area with your feet (with you wedged between the wall and the hatch), and then hitting the remote unlock button might be all it takes.

omat

Finally I fixed it. It took some tinkering with the lock mechanism. There is a cable that mechanically unlocks the latch. I had to insert my hands into the metal cage. The cable is similar to those gear-shifting ones on bicycles. I had to pull it hard manually, and it opened just fine. Then I removed the plastic hook and everything is functional.

It was easier than I thought, no pushing/pulling the hatch itself. Just removed the plastic/cloth inner panels of the hatch. What confused me is the remote could unlock the hatch, but it needed additional mechanical force to unlatch the mechanism.

BurnishedGoldRX

Glad to hear you were able to remove it. Did it damage the hatch?

omat

No, the hatch is fine. The plastic hook that got stuck underneath the hatch left a minor indentation on the rubber seal. That could go away over time. There is no functional problem, I opened/closed, locked/unlocked the hatch several times.

That saved me going to the body shop. It feels good when I fix something.