How to tie down hatch on '09 Vibe

[GregK]

As most '09 owners (maybe other years) know, there are plenty of tie down points in the rear of the car, but there is no way to tie the hatch down if you are hauling something that sticks out of the rear- a large rug in my case. I found I could take a carabiner and click it into the latch and have a strong tie down point. Worked like a charm. When I'm not using the carabiner, I latch it onto an interior tie-down ring.

carabiner.jpg (49.78 KiB) Viewed 1846 times

[Zimm]

nice! yes, this is a huge design flaw with the '09-10. my solution to the problem has been to stuff the end of the s-hook on a ratcheting tie-down into the same spot, then attaching the other end of the tie-down to one of the metal posts on the passenger side headrest. i like your idea better!

[tpollauf]

Hmmmmm .... never really noticed this just yet. I'll definitely remember this trick if/when that day comes

[GregK]

Zimm, your first attempt was better than mine. I took a large j-hook (the kind you screw into the ceiling to hang things on) and hooked it into the hand-hold on the hatch, tied rope around the threaded part of the hook and hoped for the best. It worked, but flying down the highway for 20 minutes with a 16' extension ladder sticking out the back just waiting for that hook to slip and my hatch to start flopping and banging.....I wish trucks got better gas milage.