Subaru Forrester L back hatch replacement advice

[Brad]

Hey guys, I’m looking to figure out what hatches bolt right on to my forrester I just bought, the hatch has been rear ended and is closed shut so I’d like to replace it and get my new ride looking good and be able to load up my fishing gear from the back and not through the side doors. Any advice is solid advice, as long as its on topic.

Thanks in advance and take care!

Topic

[Thomas Byrd]

There are only three things you can do here.

Call your local salvage yard, give them the specs, and hope they can find one.

Call your local dealer or aftermarket parts house and get a new one.

Find a good shop that can fix the one on the car.

Of course all of these options will include painting to match. So might be better just to take it to a shop and they will find the best option.

[Mike]

Since you didn’t say what year your Forrester is, can’t give you exact interchange info but you can try plugging your info in here and see what comes up.>> http://car-part.com/index.htm

Since it’s not opening for you, I would count on additional damage aside from the hatch assembly the rear body panel will likely need some help as well.

[Brian]

Is the rear hatch impossible to open, or just very difficult?
It needs to get an estimate from a reputable body shop.
There is a chance the the unibody structure is damaged as well.

[Brad]

I haven’t tried to open the back hatch at all out of fear of it not closing again. I’ve tried lifting the handle up but decided that i shouldn’t try to pull to hard because once I get it open I would need to close it again. The previous owner said that he hasn’t tried opening it since the rear-end accident. I believe it’s been closed a while so I’m not sure if it may have seized up from lack of use or not. I’ve seen a post on Reddit.com/r/subaruforester where someone rigs up a latching system on the inside of the vehicle but I’m not sure if you have to open the hatch to get the panels off, I’ve been busy at work this past week and may try tomorrow after work and crawl into the back.

here’s the link to the hatch mod, http://imgur.com/a/aRo8r

[Brian]

I’ve been through a similar problem last year on a Lexus rx300 suv. It was closed very hard, but the latch was already in the closed position, so it managed to latch again, but for one last time only. The latch mechanism was bent very badly. I had to crawl n the back hatch area from the back seat. Then, I had to get as much of the top of the inner hatch panel off as possible, then reach in carefully and low to unbolt the latch, so it would open, then the rest was way easier.
Research how the inner panel comes off. It may be clips that snap in, or screws, or both. You may need to replace the inner hatch panel too. It would be very helpful if you were to post pics from the outside and the inside of the rear hatch.
If your in eastern Iowa, I can look at it and help somehow if you like.

[Author]

Replies