2009 Dodge Lift gate won't open- Fixed!

390

Asked by GuruV3R5 Apr 06, 2017 at 06:55 PM about the 2009 Dodge Journey R/T AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My lift gate would not open. I searched the web including
YouTube for answers ... NONE were found!  I read the
manual couldn't find the answer ... Liftgate would lock
and unlock but would not open.... I figured  out that inside
this little box is a white plastic thingy ....  I stuck a
screwdriver into it.... turned it  .... I heard it click ...  tried to
open the liftgate and it opened ....   I opened and closed it
a few more times and it worked perfectly !!! Yay!

20 Answers

100

Which way to turn it...Don't want to break that plastic tab..?

10 people found this helpful.
80

Ok so I don't mean to be dumb, but what do I do? My hatch won't open either and I have a 2009 Dodge Journey. So I see from the picture above that you find a little box that looks to be on the back seat. What do you do once you locate the box?

8 people found this helpful.
170

The access panel in on the rear hatch itself, not the back seat. You need to crawl through the back seat to reach it. Pop open the cover with a screwdriver and locate the large white Phillips head inside (refer to the great photo above). Be careful as there is a smaller black Phillips head right below the white one. Turn the white one about a quarter turn until you hear the hatch unlock. It doesn't take much to turn it. I believe clockwise unlocks the hatch and ccw will lock it.

17 people found this helpful.
90

Worked like a champ! Thanks for the tip saved me a trip to the dealer and paying $95 for a guy to climb in and do what I did in 15 seconds!

9 people found this helpful.
20

I agree. Worked perfectly once I discovered the small cover under the light. Thank you!

2 people found this helpful.
140

My lift gate would not open. I searched the web including YouTube for answers ... NONE were found! I read the manual couldn't find the answer ... Liftgate would lock and unlock but would not open.... I figured out that inside this little box is a white plastic thingy .... I stuck a screwdriver into it.... turned it still not working...its a dodge 2014 journey american

13 people found this helpful.
110

Got the same problem with Dodge Journey 2014 too. Can’t do this way.

6 people found this helpful.
140

i did....just push my switch control on my hand and its miraculous its open my liftgate...i will say just make push or tsek ur fuse ,,,see that in google hoe to do it ok

1 people found this helpful.
110

My dodge journey 2014 had the same problem. I tried with screw driver without luck. I opened the light above the little hole and i can see locker through that bigger hole. I tried to pull the cable couple times then straight the cable then pull the cable again. Liftgate waa open. I opened the boot panel and found out somehow cable was bent/partial broken and it did not release cable when we press unlock button on remote. Because i live in Australia, it is hard to find dodge parts. I went to warehouse and buy similar cable and modified to replace the original one. It works now.

5 people found this helpful.
60

The problem is more than likely the wire harness running between the door and body of the vehicle. These vehicles are known for these wires drying out and breaking.

3 people found this helpful.
60

This will unlock the door but not fix the problem. Check wiring harness between door and body once door is open.

3 people found this helpful.
10

Yes, unlocked forever...It will not lock until I turn the white thing back.

1 people found this helpful.
90

i still cant get my hatch to open ive tried the white screw and everything looks like its moving properly but i cant get it to open

9 people found this helpful.
10

My 2013 Journey, the lift gate will lock, but not release when I pull the release handle. The dealer told me they need to replace the solenoid on the release mechanism. It was oiled and is currently working. A $510 repair ???

1 people found this helpful.
80

So how do you get it open if you tried that and the white plastic screw broke?

8 people found this helpful.

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