First repair @ 33K miles (Rear hatch strut)

Re: First reapir @ 33K miles (Rear hatch strut)

...and the Corvette used 10K more in gasoline, too!

 

What happened that the struts failed; i.e. hatch lid twisted, seal break and froze, etc.? I really can't imagine any reason why the struts should fail at 35K miles. IMO, I can't imagine why those struts should ever fail! You might want to research or check with your dealer if a TSB exists on the problem.

Happy Motoring,

Tom

 

Are you saying they wont hold the hatch all the way up anymore? Or are you saying they wont push the hatch all the way up on their own?

Mine will only push the hatch about 25% open then when i help them they will push it the last 30% all the way up and will hold it open good. I'll wait to buy new ones untill the hatch starts falling down on it's own.

 

Mine are behaving similarly @ 21k miles

 

A pair of these type of struts were used on the hoods of several different models of cars. The heat would cause seal leakage and the pressurized gas would leak out slowly. One aftermarket company came up with some that had internal detent locks. They would extend all the way and lock just under full extension. To unlock them you just extended them all the way. This way even if the gas pressure got low they still kept the hood up and many people didn't even bother to replace the struts when the gas pressure got too low and just used the internal detent lock feature. This might be the perfect replacement for out of warranty hatches.

Mick

 

Auto parts stores will have these struts for way cheaper than the dealer.

 

Be careful with the aftermarket struts. Some have too much gas pressure and take a huge effort to close the hatch. If they don't feel the same as the OEM then don't use them.

Mick

 

+1. I installed a pair of Monroe trunk shocks onto my dad's Toyota van and he is complaining that it is more difficult to close the hatch. They were only $25/ea so that probably should have given me a clue.

 

Google "Strut regas", can't speak for US but regassing shops are quite frequent here in the land of OZ.

 

I just had mine go. 17k miles... 9 months old.
They were working one day and not the next, it was after a couple of 20 degree days, they just lost all their lift ability.
The Service Underwriter just shrugged his shoulders and said, we'll get you new ones, (Greentree, Danbury, CT).
Works for me, although I have to believe this is a know condition.

 

MSRP is $134.06 each on one site (probably even higher for many dealers). Yikes!

 

My struts are out of warranty. They stopped automatically lifting up the tailgate entirely. This is not a great concern since I have two arms attached to my body that still work.

I did find that cleaning the rods and wiping them with a light lubricant such as WD40 or CRC improved their operation.

 

I've always wondered if these struts would give out if the hatch was closed often by pulling down from the sides rather than the center? The hatch itself does not feel REALLY solid but is sufficient and I'm always cautious to pull right from the rear center to make sure I have equal weight pulling on each of the struts. Would be curious if those that are having problems pull from one of the sides...

 

Mine failed yesterday, hatch opens to just about forehead hight. I now have a red line across my forehead, hope the neighbors didn't hear me express my opinion of the thing.

Next time I'll pay attention. Weather has been fairly cold so I'll wait and see if it "fixes" itself when it warms a little.

 

My rear hatch just notched my forehead when it didn't open fully. I can push the hatch all the way open. I'll go get them replaced under warranty.

 

I was at the dealer Friday afternoon and compared mine to one of the new cars on the lot. Mine won't lift the hatch at all and barely holds it up when I lift it, the struts on the new Prius would lift the hatch all the way up.

I used my extended warranty and ordered two.

 

Which extended warranty do you have?