tailgate door ajar sensor

Discuss any maintenance you've done to your Vibe & Matrix and ask how to perform maintenance on your vehicle
Post Reply
vibe-a-licious
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:41 am

tailgate door ajar sensor

Post by vibe-a-licious »

over the past year on occasion my door ajar light comes on and after opening and closing all doors, I discover it is the tailgate. Even if the gate has not been opened recently it seems to spontaneously trip the light and will remain on until I open the hatch and slam the door again.
I have looked around a little to see it there is a "plunger" type switch or anything that can be replaced, but I can't find anything.

Has anyone else had a similar issue and/or any ideas as to what I can look for to fix this? It seems like a loose connection or bad switch to me.
2005 Vibe AWD
JohnO
Posts: 117
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2012 8:47 am

Re: tailgate door ajar sensor

Post by JohnO »

I think the switch is built into the latch. Maybe lubricating the latch would help.
petervivian
Posts: 301
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:52 am
Location: AR

Re: tailgate door ajar sensor

Post by petervivian »

I have the same problem, though it rarely happens. Last week the light came on after two days of rain, and then went off when it's sunny again.
05 Vibe (Frosty), 13 VW CC (Fortana Red)
User avatar
joatmon
Posts: 10018
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: tailgate door ajar sensor

Post by joatmon »

JohnO wrote:I think the switch is built into the latch. Maybe lubricating the latch would help.
The Ford Rangers I've had are notorious for that, the switch is built into the door latch. The consensus on Ranger forums is to hose them down good with WD40. Might be worth a try as a Vibe hatch latch patch
Image
vibe-a-licious
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:41 am

Re: tailgate door ajar sensor

Post by vibe-a-licious »

based on the advice here, I gave the latch a good WD40 soak a few days ago. Since then the door ajar light hasn't reappeared...but it was an intermittent problem at worst. I'll post if the problem presents again, here's hoping it doesn't.
2005 Vibe AWD
vibe-a-licious
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:41 am

Re: tailgate door ajar sensor

Post by vibe-a-licious »

well that didn't take long. :lol: After giving the hatch latch assembly a good WD-40 soak a few days ago, the problem persists. After not having driven it for a few hours, I went to get something from the Vibe in the dark garage, and noticed the interior lights on. Yep, it was the hatch giving the door ajar signal again.
Somewhat frustrating...although lucky I guess that between the LED interior lights and run-down protection, at least she's never not started.

I guess I'll soak it again, but I'm not holding much hope that it will solve the issue.
2005 Vibe AWD
User avatar
joatmon
Posts: 10018
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: tailgate door ajar sensor

Post by joatmon »

The WD40 soak was an outside chance at best. Too bad it didn't work, it was worth a try, but I am not really surprised it didn't help

Until you do get the problem resolved, you should consider setting the dimmer switch to "Off" when leaving the car, at least that way if the door ajar kicks on, it won't turn the interior lights on.

Edit - I looked at mine but didn't mess with it, but it made me wonder if there was some alignment play in the way the latch mounts to the hqtch. Perhaps if you loosen the bolts you can move the latch so it will a little closer to the part it grabs, maybe the latch will grab that metal loop more decisively
Image
pGVa
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 7:53 pm

Re: tailgate door ajar sensor

Post by pGVa »

I am having this issue as of today. I am fairly certain it is the back hatch that is making the door ajar light stay on, as the rear wiper also does not work, and I usually have to slam the back hatch door 2 or 3 times in this -25 C climate (-13F) to get it to properly latch. Even when properly latched, the door ajar light is on.

It was dark when I looked at the hatch area and clear bits of snow and ice out, but I'll inspect it again in the daylight to see if there is any obstruction preventing the hatch from closing properly, or if the hook and ring part of the latching mechanism are not aligning well.

I will also give it an air hosing/drying tomorrow, but I figured I'd check to see if any of you got closure on this older problem for yourselves. Did you find any resolution?
Post Reply