1997 Honda Accord LX Wagon Tailgate Stuck Shut

[hondajoe88]

I opened my tailgate once or twice this morning while getting birdseed out for some birds when the 3rd time it got stuck closed. If I open the lock from the driver door, the lock on the tailgate goes up, then it goes back down again slowly. I cannot so far get the tailgate open during the brief moment when the lock is up. Others have had the exact same behavior - perhaps even a similar part fell off or is broken. To summarize the problem, even with the lock up, the latch does not open. So the latch is now more or less disassociated from the lock due to some part falling off inside there. So the actuator actuates but it does not cause the latch to open.

In my case, my tailgate is partially opened - think of it that the dashboard tailgate-open indicator is on if I put the keys in the ignition and turn it.

Knowing that it would be hard to take the lower trim panel off and start to disassemble, I don't have a problem with taking a utility knife and cutting through the panel a few inches up from the bottom. This way I should see the problem and hopefully I will be able to at least get the door open. Then later or today I can see what part fell off. The part is often a plastic clip that holds an arm into a hole - it falls off. Or I could have some other problem.

So here's my big question: Since my tailgate is open a little (it wiggles out some and then detentes), should I first try to jimmy a thin piece of cardboard or some thin piece of metal to try to open the door? I will probably try this when I next go outside but I just thought I'd ask if anyone has experience with a partially closed door that's locked shut but the door moves some in and out. My door has always been a little hard to close and I often fail to shut it hard enough. I will go out and try to shimmy something in there for lack of a better word. House locks can often be shimmied open this way - perhaps a car tailgate is similar.

Well, wish me luck and any help appreciated. I guess I won't be able to take the trim panel off but perhaps I can so I'll keep that in mind too. Doesn't sound too bad to me. At least I have some options open.

Thanks.

PS I know I need to maintain the doors of my wagon better - they need periodic tightening - this is my fault.

[hondajoe88]

I'm now a minute into the job so here's an update.

I crawled into the back of my 1997 Honda Accord LX Wagon and I can actually see the
latch so perhaps I can take a screwdriver and move the latch? I don't know - I had brought my calhawk door tools and some computer device slot protectors but they are too big.

So I have a full 1/2" clearance to poke around in there at the little latch - perhaps it will open.

I'll go try that now.

Later on.

[hondajoe88]

If I decide to remove the panel, it looks (Honda Service Manual 20-139) that I will have two screws at the bottom - so the big question is will I be able to get those screws out? And then I have 9 clips to release with my calhawk or screwdriver.

Wow, big if to go out and answer.

My prying with the screwdriver did not work. I need to understand how to move that mechanism perhaps.

So here I go again to try either method.

[hondajoe88]

I can see a little silver "latch?" move back and forth when I wiggle the door in and out. I guess I need to push it far to the left to get the door to unlatch and open. But so far I cannot get it far enough over. I guess I just need a tool that can push a little further. I wish I had a schematic of the latch - I don't think my service manual shows it but perhaps it does.

[hondajoe88]

Wow, I just fixed the door - it was the little white plastic clip - it came off of the metal lever so I put it on then rotated the plastic clip to lock it. Then I had to hit the unlock on the driver's side once more to fully unlock the tailgate and voila the door is open.

There is one skill I now have - how to use an exacto knife to cut open the door panel's plastic - you just have to jimmy the knife back and forth as you cut.

So I'll go out and take a pic and give a nice short how-to. It's similar to the guy in the FixYa forum so he gets half the credit at least. His name was mrb22667 - http://www.fixya.com/cars/t2754524-h...wagon_will_not
His thread on FixYa really helped me.

Door is working now! Huge relief.

I'll close this thread up with some pics unless someone has a comment - like how do you keep the white thing from coming off to begin with? I need to clean out my door's sills - that might help a little. New trim?

[hondajoe88]

I cut about a 4 1/2" high by 6" wide access hole with an exacto. The little white thing pointed to by the arrow comes off every once in a while. I might want to get a new one as this one might be worn.

Vacuuming the car out makes the door much easier to close now. Perhaps I won't have to slam it as much.

In the end, I might put a whole new latch on since it might be worn. I don't want to bark up the wrong tree and replace a whole part when only one little things needs it so I might want to really analyze why the door has to be shut hard. It might just be the corn from the birdfeed. At least I don't need to worry now as the door works fine and I can get back to the business of driving with all doors working.

Later on.

[hondajoe88]

I now realize that the little plastic part I hook the latch bar into was cracked - it fell
off a day later and so I have to keep reattaching it.

So I decided to order a new part from Honda Parts Now. I ordered part number 21
from the Tailgate section. It becomes 74892-SV5-A01. This is separate from two other
parts shown on the diagram. My only concern now that the part has arrived is that when I took the old part off and compared it to the new one, it's much smaller - same basic shape and function (making me think that they are the same part), it's just that the new one
is much bigger. So should I have ordered 22 or 23 in that diagram - I doubt it - since the location of 21 seems right where my part came off? I will have to check but I'm beginning to think I should have ordered 23 (a dealer part). I now need to go out to my car and check all the latch bars and make sure that it's NOT the latch bar that hooks directly to the lock pull but indirectly.
Any help appreciated before I try to put this new part on.

I have the tailgate outside and I can look at it and I have the parts diagram right in front of
me so I SHOULD be able to answer this question.

I just got off the phone with a Honda parts guy and he told me I had needed to order Part #22 so I guess I'll just have to wait for that
part or else go to a junkyard before the 4th of July weekend.

[hondajoe88]

Originally Posted by hondajoe88

I now realize that the little plastic part I hook the latch bar into was cracked - it fell
off a day later and so I have to keep reattaching it.

So I decided to order a new part from Honda Parts Now. I ordered part number 21
from the Tailgate section. It becomes 74892-SV5-A01. This is separate from two other
parts shown on the diagram. My only concern now that the part has arrived is that when I took the old part off and compared it to the new one, it's much smaller - same basic shape and function (making me think that they are the same part), it's just that the new one
is much bigger. So should I have ordered 22 or 23 in that diagram - I doubt it - since the location of 21 seems right where my part came off? I will have to check but I'm beginning to think I should have ordered 23 (a dealer part). I now need to go out to my car and check all the latch bars and make sure that it's NOT the latch bar that hooks directly to the lock pull but indirectly.
Any help appreciated before I try to put this new part on.

I have the tailgate outside and I can look at it and I have the parts diagram right in front of
me so I SHOULD be able to answer this question.

I just got off the phone with a Honda parts guy and he told me I had needed to order Part #22 so I guess I'll just have to wait for that
part or else go to a junkyard before the 4th of July weekend.

Wow, I got part #22 in the mail a few days ago and finally got to putting it on today.

I put some olive oil on it but the part actually goes on quite easily through the access port I cut open with an exacto. So the whole job of taking it off and putting it back on turned
out much easier than one would expect. I just put the part on with a piece of safety wire
through it in case I dropped it but it pushed on with an ordinary flathead screwdriver.

I then rotated the plastic lock onto the latchbar - this does NOT lock all that tightly - perhaps it will last for a few years. What I really need to do is replace my tailgate's molding so the door will close more softly and with less noise. That will help the thing not
to wear out so quickly. Nice to be able to open the tailgate easily now.