hey everyone, yesterday while on my way home i was rear ended by a car that got rearranged by a cop (he got the short end of the stick) anyways damage to my jeep appeared minimal as the car struck my hitch and cause it to bend it and my bumper downwards, today when i went to open my hatch it popped and was kinda stuck shut, so like an idiot i pulled harder and got the hatch free, and now when i go to shut it, it won't latch... it appears to shut all the way but the latch won't catch, does anyone have any solutions as to what may be going on?





P.S. here are some photos from the accident, i can post more in depth photos tomorrow when i have some sunlight

 

Dman sorry to hear about your accident. Check and see if your rear bumper is contacting the bottom lip of the hatch. My old stock bumper got crunched in and it stopped my hatch from closing. Also, good to see another Michigan jeeper!

 

if anything the accident gave more room to the hatch lol theres a larger gap between them now. but ill double check in the morning, it appeared that the hatch is fully closing just not latching

 

Did the area that the latch mounts to get tweaked downwards as well? Hatch looks un-damaged, and it mounts to the roof area so I doubt that it would be causing the issue.

Assuming the latch got pushed downwards, it would probably explain why it is not latching

Might be able to use a jack on the trailer hitch to see if the upwards pressure helps it latch?

 

Same here but she hit us so hard both our hats landed in the back and my seat bent back. Also her front wrap stayed impaled on my receiver. (single mom with no insurance) On and we were doing 40 in a 45 zone.

I jacked it up by the receiver and went around the uni-frame with a sledge hitting high spots where it was bent. I can close it now with my palm really firm right in the center bottom and a good slam.

Now I have made sure the headrests in both of my Jeeps are up, and staying there!

 

how does the handle feel when you pull on it? does it have resistance?
i would start with pulling the panel off and checking the rod mechanism inside the hatch. once you get it apart, you should be able to make heads or tails of how the handle mechanism works and possibly fix the problem.

as for the hitch, you should never leave it in unless it's rusted in. when you get rear ended as you did, the hitch will bend the frame, as with yours. hopefully you can do as DFlintstone did and hit with a mini sledge while you have a jack under the hitch and possibly straighten it out some.

good luck, bummer on the accident tho. is the insurance gonna help you out some? frame damage might be worth a bit of cash on your end, no?