At the end of some of my shifts at work I need to take out a ton of broken down cardboard boxes, about enough to cover the entire back area with the seats folded down and cardboard stacked about a 2 feet high. In order to put it all in the back I need to take the hatch cover off. After about 6 or 7 weeks the one side of the plastic clip broke and would no longer clip back onto the car.
It didnt really bother me that it was broken since it still remained in place. However, I began to notice a rattling from the back hatch area. Also occasionally the cover would get caught and would block about half of the rearveiw mirror. I finally got around to fixing it, got it all installed and tested to see how secure it seemed. I then noticed the other clip was half broken.
Sure the warranty may cover this to get new clips but the way I fixed it should be significantly stronger than the original part.
Parts and Tools List
--------------------
- A zip tie up to 6mm or 3/16" in width (7mm or 1/4" if you are willing to trim the cover itself) [I used clear but black would be ideal to blend in more]
- a tool to go through plastic (I used a Dremel tool, but a drill would suffice, and you could use a soldering iron to melt through too if you wish)
- a set of sidecutters or a knife to trim zip tie (and possibly trim hatch cover clip)
- a vise to hold the clip while you modify it (not required but recommended for safety)
HOW TO
-----------------
1. Locate you broken part and remove from hatch cover if not fully broken. This should only require a small flat screwdriver. I will refer to this piece as the front piece. The piece that this attaches to will be the back piece.
2. If both side of the clip are not broken, you will need to trim or cut off the rest of the clip.
3. Remove plastic material from the area that used to have the clip. I used the outline of the part that used to be there as a guideline where to dremel/drill.
4. Feed zip tie through the back piece first, then the hatch cover, then through the front piece. Then feed the zip tie back through the other side of the front piece, then the hatch cover, then the back piece and then finally through the head of the zip tie.
5. Tighten zip tie.
6. Trim off excess from zip tie.
7. Reinstall hatch cover and admire work.
Enjoy a reinforced clip, If you manage to break this set up you can always try doubling up zip ties but I have a feeling the part these clip on will break first now.
It didnt really bother me that it was broken since it still remained in place. However, I began to notice a rattling from the back hatch area. Also occasionally the cover would get caught and would block about half of the rearveiw mirror. I finally got around to fixing it, got it all installed and tested to see how secure it seemed. I then noticed the other clip was half broken.
Sure the warranty may cover this to get new clips but the way I fixed it should be significantly stronger than the original part.
Parts and Tools List
--------------------
- A zip tie up to 6mm or 3/16" in width (7mm or 1/4" if you are willing to trim the cover itself) [I used clear but black would be ideal to blend in more]
- a tool to go through plastic (I used a Dremel tool, but a drill would suffice, and you could use a soldering iron to melt through too if you wish)
- a set of sidecutters or a knife to trim zip tie (and possibly trim hatch cover clip)
- a vise to hold the clip while you modify it (not required but recommended for safety)
HOW TO
-----------------
1. Locate you broken part and remove from hatch cover if not fully broken. This should only require a small flat screwdriver. I will refer to this piece as the front piece. The piece that this attaches to will be the back piece.
2. If both side of the clip are not broken, you will need to trim or cut off the rest of the clip.
3. Remove plastic material from the area that used to have the clip. I used the outline of the part that used to be there as a guideline where to dremel/drill.
4. Feed zip tie through the back piece first, then the hatch cover, then through the front piece. Then feed the zip tie back through the other side of the front piece, then the hatch cover, then the back piece and then finally through the head of the zip tie.
5. Tighten zip tie.
6. Trim off excess from zip tie.
7. Reinstall hatch cover and admire work.
Enjoy a reinforced clip, If you manage to break this set up you can always try doubling up zip ties but I have a feeling the part these clip on will break first now.
