Broken lift gate hatch trim – A common issue
This article describes how I replace the hatch garnish with the aftermarket part that includes the support bracket. Make sure your replacement part includes this bracket
Now is a good time to replace your 3rd brake light with a full length LED light seen below.
Over time these studs get brittle and break. If your car sits in the sun for a long time, sometimes the lift gate rubber seal sticks and makes the hatch hard to open. You have to yank hard. This hatch trim will break at the contact points shown below.
Color matched options available
You can find a color matched hatch trim with upgraded support bracket from Amazon or eBay. However, just know it’s not clear coated. The fitment may not be perfect, I had to shave down some of the edges that were rubbing on my trunk.
Emblem or no Emblem?
You should also decide if you want to debadge or not. They make a replacement part with no provision for the emblem. Basically shaved. Now would be the time to do that if that’s the route you’re taking.
I use a bolt checker tool to determine all the studs for the hatch assembly are M5-0.8 thread pitch. Both the 3rd brake light and the hatch trim.
Much like the my rear brake light upgrade advice, use M5-0.8 nylon locking nuts to secure the hatch trim hardware. This way, the nuts don’t back out from vibration (loud sound system, road vibrations, etc.) and you don’t have to overtighten the nuts to begin with. You won’t stress the bolts/studs that are mounted into the plastic. In other words, you may not break the hatch again from lifting it, but you CAN break the plastic mounting points from over tightening the nuts.
Use 2K clear coat to finish the hatch trim
If you bought a replacement hatch trim from eBay or Amazon it’s most likely color matched but not clear coated. Take the time to clear coat this while it’s off the car. I use 2K clear by SprayMax. Fair warning, this isn’t cheap, so if you have anything else you conceivably want to clear coat, this would be a good time to prep those parts too. Once you activate the hardener on these aerosol cans, there is NO shelf life, you have you use the whole can in that session.
Here’s the final result
