91CTR

I'm having issues with my 91 hatchback DX. The rear hatch wont latch shut. I have tried spraying WD40 in the mechanism and using a screw driver to manually move the latch open and close, but when ever i go to close it it just wont catch. regardless of how hard or soft i shut it, it opens just by pulling the trunk lid up from the outside and the trunk light stays on every time the cars on. I have an optima yellowtop back there and im worried someone might try to take it, as well as it flying open when i hit a bump hard enough. has anyone else had this issue? what did you do to fix it?

bbarbulo

it was the dumbest thing. after i bought a brand new latch from the dealer, i went to change it and found that the release cable was too tight and it was like someone was holding up the trunk open lever next to the seat all the time basically.

so remove the release cable and try closing it.

failing that, crawl inside the trunk and adjust the striker so it sits a little higher up to where the latch will catch it.

how is trunk fitment, do all the gaps look nice and tight like they should with it closed? Like the roof line looks right, the side gaps look good, etc?

91CTR

trunk fitment is fine, all gaps line up evenly. i.ll try the other suggestions over the weekend, hopefully i don't have to buy a new latch.

th3pwn3r

I had this same problem on my CRX. What I suspect happened was that after opening and closing the hatch hundreds of times, the lobster claw(I think they call them that)/latch assembly shifted. I had to loosen mine up, adjust it and I finally got it to work. I want to say that my hook also got bent a bit somehow. You'll have to play around with it for a little bit but first just make sure the latch is opening and closing as it should and then adjust from there. Good luck.