Warning--Rear Hatch Opens Very High

Maybe mine was just really weak but it only took closing it that way once before I learned not to do it again. I guess others will chime in if they had similar problems. I'm in no way heavy-handed with my cars so it's not like I slammed it either.

 

On a Gen II Prius, you get better results pushing against the Toyota emblem above the license plate. You don't even really need to push down. A light push in slams the hatch shut.

By the way, when I attended the Gen III event in San Francisco, I noticed that there are now 2 handholds on the inside of hatch: one left of center, and one right of center. The left-handed in the group should be happier now.

 

HAHA, We had a nice, but whacky contractor build our garage and I just figured he screwed up. Now I know I'm not alone. I never needed to fix it though, our back garage has these cheaper insulated doors, with soft foam in them,... and vinyl on the back, so when it hit, it didn't seem to be a problem!

 

Nice job - it will also be good protection when Kobe Bryant comes over to visit you.

 

Happy to see this thread - but it comes too late to save my spoiler! Already has a bit of superficial damage from hitting the garage door today. Anyone here have experience getting paint-touch-ups on the rear spoiler (ours is black)? Any idea how much a *replacement* spoiler would cost? Thanks!

 

WOW! I got my 2010 and I really see what you mean. I mean, that rear spoiler literally moves and flexes if you pull on it. I highly recommend you use the inside handle areas.

 

So, there is no convenient place to grab that's outside?

 

For closing a 2004-2009 hatchback I use a two-step method:
1) Pull down using the inside handle
2) As the hatch descends, help it maintain momentum by pushing against the Toyota Emblam in the center of hatch. On those Prii, the emblem was a great leverage point and I see no reason why it shouldn't be on the 2010 either.

Using this method, you stay away from any flexible parts like the spoiler.

 

That sounds more awkward than it needs to be. They should have put a dedicated, reinforced grab point in a logical spot (maybe as part of the spoiler).

 

Yeah - how strange is it that this has apparently been irritating Prius drivers for years, and yet it still hasn't been fixed? One has to wonder how much it would cost to make the original part stronger and less susceptible to chips.... It's not like there aren't materials out there that could take an occasional tap on a garage door.

 

EXACTLY the method I use on my 2010 (first time Prius owner). The hatch is counter-weighted very well and easy to close. As for opening and allowing to hit something overhead - same as swinging a door open and hitting a wall. Prudence.....

 

Just what he suggested, though like any car you can just put your hand on the door and slam it shut, might get your hand dusty though. The Toyota emblem area is a good strong place too, but I just hate to touch the outside of a vehicle to close it, so I grab the little hand areas on the inside and get some momentum going and close it. It seems to work well for me.

 

Agreed. But I've owned nothing but hatchbacks and station wagons for the last 35 years and I've never had one that had a dedicated grab point on the outside. However, that $16 L shaped hatch handle that I posted about above works very well.

 

That is actually quite ridiculous to need to do that. How many other cars have this issue?
I suppose if several spoilers break off or are damaged by car wash workers simply shutting the hatch door after cleaning the inside of the window, maybe Toyota will get enough complaints to make it more solid or integrate a dedicated grab handle.

 

I don't think that's a fair analogy. The hatch door of my 2nd Gen Prius will hit the garage door if I don't park in exactly the right spot (and even then there's about an inch of space). You can't really hold the door down if you need two hands to put something in the trunk (well, at least I can't with my two hands). With the 3rd Gen Prius it now looks like even parking in the right spot isn't going to help.

As much as I love my 2nd Gen Prius and would love to upgrade, I am disappointed by this design flaw. Guess I'll have to take a measuring tape to tomorrow's "Meet the new Prius" event at my local dealer

 

My wife has a 2008 and I have a 2010. Next chance I get, I'll open both hatches and snap a pic. I did this the other day, but didn't think to take a pic. I seemed that my 2010 was only slightly higher that the 2008 with the hatch open.

I have a package V, so I don't know if that changes the ride height compared to the other packages.

 

Another place to be careful is parking garages. Mine got a tiny scratch from opening up and hitting an overhead pipe.