Trunk won’t close unless I slam it

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by Sean55, Aug 11, 2025 at 1:29 AM.

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  1. Sean55

    Sean55 New Member

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    Hi all,

    First time posting here. I have a 2016 Toyota Prius and recently the trunk has had difficulty closing. The sensor seems to be correct, but I have been having to slam it multiple times before the lock will click. Once when I was driving it accidentally unlocked and the trunk popped open. The spring in the latch seems to work fine, I can manually adjust it from locked to unlocked position when the trunk is up. The bottom ring seems to be in the correct position. My car has had a history of being pretty harshly read ended in the past, but it’s been over a year since that incident. Any ideas or tips on what I should do?
     

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    #1 Sean55, Aug 11, 2025 at 1:29 AM
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    It's probably not the latch, but rubber surrounding the hatch is not seated
     
    #2 JC91006, Aug 11, 2025 at 2:34 PM
  3. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    The body shop that did the collision repair needs to shim the latch assembly; it's slightly off. The trunk shouldn't suddenly pop open while traveling down the highway.:(:cry:o_O
     
    #3 BiomedO1, Aug 11, 2025 at 8:23 PM
  4. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    Deck lid high due to junk in your trunk
     
    #4 douglasjre, Aug 12, 2025 at 12:43 AM
  5. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    The fact that there was a collision is key. Sometimes it takes quite a while for a deformation from a collision to work through the structure. It may take many daily heat-cool cycles, plus seasonal thermal cycles, and daily driver stresses as well to even out the tensions added by being "harshly rear-ended". If there was a warranty for the repair it has likely expired or non-transferrable. An inspection and an estimate might be good news, but any repair will likely be out-of-pocket.
     
    #5 AzWxGuy, Aug 12, 2025 at 8:17 AM
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    There's often rubber bumpers on the sides of the hatch opening, and they're often adjustable, rotating them causes them to protrude more or less.
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Aug 12, 2025 at 2:27 PM
  7. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Give the shop that messed up the repair the opportunity to redeem themselves by re-adjusting the latch - and leave them the appropriate review.
    If you weren't the owner when the car was wrecked then you will have to take it to a collision center (NOT the dealer!) and have the striker adjusted.
    If your photos are any guide the whole rear deck may be misaligned.
    I would have it checked either way.
    I'm somewhat surprised that you're not leaking rain water into your cargo bay - but then you never really get real rain out there.....

    Good Luck!
     
    #7 ETC(SS), Aug 12, 2025 at 7:31 PM
    frodoz737 likes this.
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