Power liftgate

I'm too short to reach the hatch when open, so $599 for that is literally a dream come true.

 

That vid shows a Prime, yet the description says normal Prius. Guess I'll have to ask and find someone to do the work too.

 

Where can you get it? Any link??? My wife would love to have this on our PRIME. She is too short to reach the hood when it's fully open.

 

For only $5.99 I can get you an easy-to-reach lanyard that hangs down where anyone can grab it.

 

I wonder how other manufactures power rear hatches on SUV's are working out as far as trouble goes.
Power trunk lid closers are known to be trouble.

Power liftgate problems on GM vehicles — Ricks Free Auto Repair Advice Ricks Free Auto Repair Advice | Automotive Repair Tips and How-To

 

Yap, that's what she uses now.

 

It's gotten a lot of attention on another car forum I frequent. Popular sub-topics include: How do I disable the power lift? Why does the battery run down faster? Tailgate keeps opening itself in the middle of the night and Best way to touch up paint on tailgate from where it auto-opened into (an object) AGAIN?

 

Then again, I thought trucks with the short rear door would never work out like my Dodge Dakota but they work fine. Old age on electro/mechanical things is the killer. A good initial design helps.

 

Actually not, it's not as easy as you think. First you have to attach it to something and attach it well, the strut tension in the hatch is pretty high, then you have to make sure it can't get caught in the hatch when it closes, then you have to place it where I can reach it and have enough leverage to pull it closed. I've actually thought about it quite a lot -- this is my second Prius.

 

OK, perhaps we can agree that there is still some fair headroom in the budget should we need to make an ultra high tech lanyard with some slack management features? Really this could be quite a luxurious and supremely well engineered bit of string before it approaches the price of the electromechanical option.

Though for my first take I would probably just get an auto-retracting dog leash and anchor the handle of it to the rear floor, then attach the "dog" end of it near the lip of the hatch for maximum leverage. Pull down until you can reach the inner handle or outer surface then push the hatch closed and let the reel take the slack and keep it out of the works.

 

Well, from the video, it looks a bit complicated to open/close! rolleyes

• Sound alarm when tailgate is closing or opening.
• Quiet motor, noise less than 50dB in 30cm distance.

these two features ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ seem to be mutually exclusive, no?

$599 - er, um thanks, but NO THANKS!

 

some people will definitely purchase this if available. what is the guy doing with the doors?

 

When I lived in the UK (pre-1983) I drove around in this -



- using a custom-made rope (thank you Peter Minchin) to close the canopy! I was an enthusiastic campanologist back in those days, and Mr. Minchin, being a rope-maker, made me a miniature bell-rope (complete with sally in orange & black) and tail-end). "Look to, canopy's going… …canopy's gone!" (joke inserted here for the benefit of any passing campanologist!)

 

You would really have to meet me in person to understand the challenge. As for the specific retractable leash, it doesn't sound like I could reach it to me, since it's retractable, it would be at its minimum length and too high for me to reach. (I'm not even close to reaching the lip of the hatch.)

 

It would add considerable cost to a car at this price level like the cost of a sunroof. What ever happened to dealer installed options that could be added to the car later. The supports would be installed and the wiring would be in place then if someone wanted something like this it could be easily added by the dealer or an advanced DIYer.

 

We're talking about a third party mod, not toyota adding it, though if Toyota added it, I wouldn't mind. The C-Max hatch works pretty well...

 

I think perhaps you've misunderstood the layout I've suggested. The reel is tethered to the cargo floor inside, and the hatch pulls out the line as it elevates upward. Thus there is always a string between the lip of the hatch and the cargo floor, and the retracting reel makes sure it is never so slack that it gets caught in the door jamb. If you can reach far enough to touch the cargo floor, you'd be able to use it.

 

Yes, I definitely misunderstood, pretty interesting concept that I hadn't thought of. I'll have to think about attachment points and such.