Rear hatch locked shut

[shawn_75]

Well, it happened to me too and thanks to this forum I found the common broken wires that travel with the hinge. In my case, the hatch wouldn't unlock so I naturally thought a trip to the dealer was in order, luckily I managed to get it open. I thought I'd share with the group how to unlock a rear hatch when the lock solenoid won't work and the hatch is locked shut. This worked on my 2001 w/o the third row seat and without the little access hole next to the license plate. Simply pull the carpeted skin on the inside of the hatch at the center top (where the rear wiper motor is located) up and toward yourself. The skin is only attached with screws along its' bottom and side so the center and top pop free leaving enough room to reach your hand down into the hatch. Look for a white piece of plastic that would measure about three inches at the bottom. Slide this little white piece toward the drivers side, you'll hear the lock motor whirring as you do this. You can now open the rear hatch!!

Anyone know how much the hatch wiring harness will cost?

[RedXC]

Hm. Are you talking about that hole is near the license plate lamps? I've seen some of those with packages. Or I might be wrong, got to take a look at mine during the day.

The rear hatch harness I believe cost $40+

[shawn_75]

Well I read a few posts about an access hole with an imprint of a key on it near the license plate. This access hole seems to be associated with the third row seat from what I have read and provides a way to unlock the hatch with a key. I do not have this option and was unable to find any information on how to regain access.

BTW, the dealer quoted me $118 for a new wiring harness.

[roguejet]

awesome. thanks guys, I have the same problem!!

[surfsailor]

Well the rear hatch door is locked and will not unlock. I've pulled the inside cover away enough to access the latch mechanism that was described as white plastic that I need to slide to the drivers side, but I can't seem to find this piece.....

I'm guessing I have some broken wires to repair but I have to get the door open first.

Can anyone clue me in a little more to help me find the mechanism that I need to slide to get the lock unlocked?

[surfsailor]

Well the rear hatch door is locked and will not unlock. I've pulled the inside cover away enough to access the latch mechanism that was described as white plastic that I need to slide to the drivers side, but I can't seem to find this piece.....

I'm guessing I have some broken wires to repair but I have to get the door open first.

Can anyone clue me in a little more to help me find the mechanism that I need to slide to get the lock unlocked?

I finally found the little white piece to slide. It was way down towards the bottom of the door. Got my door opened, now on to figure out the cause...

I'm thinking broken wires but we will see.

[surfsailor]

Once I got the rear hatch opened (as described by Shawn 75) and got the cover stripped off the wires where the go by the left hinge, ( as described in earlier posts)...... Itwas broken wires. 4 were broken completely 3 small ones yellow, black, and white and a larger red wire. Reconected them using electrical tape and a connector for the larger red wire and the lock is working...... for now anyway.

Thanks again to this forum!!!! If I didn't have this I'd be off to the stealership giving them take my kids college fund.

Kudos to this great site!

[kusa]

Thanks guys!

I have not had this problem yet but when I bought the car and didnt see a key hole I knew it would be an issue sooner or later.

Its also good to know that volvo has still not managed to find a solution to the tailgate hinge wire harness problem.

I think it is ridiculous to not have a key hole in the tailgate.

[vbs420]

thanks for the insight on getting to the inside of the rear hatch through the carpet cover!!

my issue is that the electrical mechanics still work; I can hear the solenoid(s) all working, and can nearly feel the vibration in the handle, but the handle will not engage the mechanism to release the latch.


:confused:

at first I thought it was because my wife couldn't open the hatch, but then when it happened to me, I became suspicious. usually, after pressing the latch handle forward and down, a clicking would be heard and then the latch handle would operate as expected, but during this last *heat-wave*, it seemed as though something was expanding during the day, as the rear hatch wouldn't open in the heat, but would open at night/in the morning when it was cool.

but now it's cooler, and today it just stopped working again...

I will post a follow up to what I discover once I peel back that carpet.

[shawn_75]

Perhaps there is some sort of mechanical binding or your lock mechanism needs cleaned/lubed. I'd suggest popping the carpeted panel out and sliding the white plastic piece all the way over. After you have the hatch open, disassemble whatever necessary to determine the cause of your problems.

Shawn

[delorean]

Never overjoyed me more than to hear that others had hatch lock-up. I had scheduled an appointment with my mechanic to have a look at this for me but then I thought I could save myself the hourly rate of 85 plus parts. As long as all your input is dead on for a solution to pop the trunk, I decided to follow your advise and not bother dropping off my car. Wife was totally hysterical that this happened twice now when she is shopping at Costco for her store and can not unload her groceries. Being told, "get rid of this car or get it fixed" was enough of a threat to get this resolved. Not to mention that I will be on a plane for a 2 week abscence so better get this done NOW before I come home with keylocks changed. HEHE.

[salvc921]

Well I had the rear hatch stuck shut on my wife's 2001 XC.. I searched the internet for help and came across this great forum. Not unlike the Motor Cycle forums and machining forums I belong to, this site helped me troubleshoot, locate, and lead me right to the problem. I had to join....It was not easy getting that carpet panel off as there were screws and very tight fitting plastic parts. I will put on my soldering hat tomorrow and try the repair, Thanks to all who posted on the site to help. Sal

[Ptero]

Yeah, mine locked shut too. After my wife complained I got in there and fixed it. It's an inexcusable design problem that the dealer should have fixed. For this kind of money, I'll go with BMW next time. She loves it, tho. Wouldn't sell it at 100,000 miles like I recommended. That was $3,000 ago...

[ekatalin]

Just wanted to give a big thanks to this thread!!! This is the second time in a week that this forum has saved me big time. The first was last Friday evening when my immobilizer jammed and of course my mechanic was gone for the weekend and I was going to have to call AAA to get me to a Volvo dealer, of which there is no close one! But fixed that.

Then Tuesday night my trunk wouldn't open. It's sometimes finicky but never not at all opened. I took it into Volvo at lunch and he said they'll have to go in from the back, remove the rear panel (which will likely break b/c it's not meant to be removed from the inside) and try to replace the motor. I should make an appointment.

After reading through these threads I finally figured out what the white plastic lever is, and though by moving that around I could hear the motor turn, it wasn't enough to open the door. So I jiggled that as well as a black piece of metal near the top that's more vertical and also seemed to affect the locking (sorry for the lack of better description, I have to go out to the car to see exactly where it is) and eventually it opened! I closed & opened it several times since, locked & unlocked it, and while it's not 100% it's functional for now... I will have to try to better examine it and look for these wires you guys mentioned that might be frayed...

But I am the wife that at 120k miles refuses to get rid of her 2005 XC 70 and unlike some of you my husband refuses to help me with it (tells me to sell the lemon) so thank you to all you surrogate husbands for helping me out!!!

-Liz

[ekatalin]

Just wanted to follow up. The following night with the help of my husband now we took off the entire panel. The wires were fine, which makes sense since I could hear it lock & unlock but it just wouldn't open when I clicked the handle. My husband looked at the mechanism, it for the most part just seemed to be sticking. Still not 100% but much, much better with the help of some WD40. Not sure if that's recommended or not, but seems to be working! Got some new noise coming from under the car now so who knows how much longer it'll go anyways! :P

[monkeymom]

I have a similar problem in that it involves the rear hatch, however my problem is that the rear hatch is open but the lock is locked and it won't engage. This means of course that as I am driving the rear hatch is unlocked, but the indicator light up front does not tell me that the hatch is open. I took the car to a dealership today and they told me that they will first have to charge me $130 for "diagnosis" and then they don't know how long it will take. The guy told me that they will most likely have to replace the entire lock. To which I say what???????? I think that the motor for the lock is working as I can hear it engaging and disengaging as I lock and unlock the door. It is also engaging the handle. The only thing that is not working is that little metal piece that is supposed to hook and release the actual hook. Any thoughts as to the cause and how to fix it?