cory

My rear hatch door will not open. How do i fix it!

96Cherokee

you have to crawl inside...try to carefully pull the panel off the back door and then you can see the latch and open and adjust it

RCB

It could also be rust, if it hasn't been opened in a while. That was the deal with mine. I used a key to open the trap on the key hole, soaked it in PB for a couple days, then had two people pull on it while another person depressed the button. Popped right open.

dangerousdavid

i had to crawl in the cargo space and open the latch with a screwdriver after i took the interior panel off. then i replaced the latch mechanism with one that cost me something like $12. online somewhere. i'll try to find the link for ya

iroc88lb9

heres a clue, unlock the doors and pull the latch!

DEE DEE DEE!

artur1808

I have the same problem with mine, how do you take off the interior panel? I looked around and i couldn't find any screws or anything down there.

iroc88lb9

grab it and YANK on it.

dangerousdavid

it has little christmas tree type clips on it...just pull on it around the edges

artur1808

thanks. is it the same for the doors? my drivers side rear door also doesn't open. :/

onetwo

First, try pushing down on the door (from the outside) and opening it at the same time.. I have to do this to open mine most of the time to get it to open

artur1808

Well for me, the side door latch is stuck between lock and unlock and I can't get it to unlock. So I'm gonna have to get the panel off to unlock it

a1racer

the hatch latch gets worn after a while and need's some adjusting that is what i did with mine

JohnnyWalkerRed

after you crawl in the back of your Cherokee you gently pull back the top plastic trim just on the opposite side of the glass as the rear wiper, after you pull the plastic back a little (enough to get your arm down to pull up on the latch) you should be able to get the thing open. after that it's just a matter of tacking the plastic panel off and adjusting or replacing the lock mechanism. Mine slips on the right had side of the lock when facing it from the outside, it seems to me that it is only bolted down at the bottom and on the left, nothing holding it in place on the right hand side therefore prone to slipping after multiple uses.

jasonh

It's easier to get the panel off if you take out the screws along the top and sides of the panel. To get the side ones you need to pop your hatch struts off their mounts. Once you get it open, pull the panel all the way off and adjust the latch.

OnlyInMyXJ22

I think its funny reading this thread because everyone is telling different directions on how to get the back paneling off because of the two different body styles. 84-96 and 97-01 both have different ways of doing it, and no one states which one they are talking about. Also, to the original poster, what year is yours? That would help figure out which directions to follow. It is much easier to get the back paneling off on a 84-96 because as some have said you just have to pull on it and it will unsnap. 97-01 can be a pain in the *** especially after the latch won't open at all anymore. I had to take the rear hatch off just to access the screws to then take the paneling off. There could be an easier way, but I had to take my hatch off anyways to fix some body damage to it.