This may be painfully simple to those of you used to doing mods on your cars. But hopefully there are a few reading who are, like me, a little less adept at such repairs but still interested in fixing things yourself where practical.
So I had my hatch open and was sorting my stuff after a short day hike when I noticed the driver side hatch hinge was not flush with the car body like the passenger side was. I looked closely and it appear to be coming off, like the rivet (it appeared to be a rivet) was loose, not any damage to the hinge itself.
I seem to have misplaced my repair manual (frustrating) so I spent some several hours searching the internet for clues and mulling over what I needed to do. My dad called and suggested I take it to the dealership but I'd like to save a few dollars.
Finally I found online some expanded line drawing diagrams for ordering parts and I realize what appeared to be a rivet is actually a bolt with a nut. I figure a nut can be tightened if I can just get to it.
So now I need to figure out how to remove the headliner without damaging it and then get it back on. I scoured Youtube and found several headliner removal videos but none specific to the Sonic. I did notice one (I think it was for a Sentra) that indicated the weather stripping held the edges of the headliner in place. The video showed the guy ripping out the weather stripping. I looked closely at the video and then my Sonic and saw there is a lip of the weather stripping holding the edge of the headliner in place. I gently bent this lip over and pulled the edge of the headliner, creating a gap about 1 inch tall and maybe 12 inches wide. I could now see the nut attached to the bolt.
I used a standard 5/8" (might have been 1/2 but I'm pretty sure it was 5/8) wrench to tighten the loose nut. The wrench is about 7 or 8 inches long but this was plenty to reach the nut. I could only make small incremental turns, may be 1/8 turns, but slowly got it snug. I then gently tucked the headliner back under the weather strip lip.
I suppose it's fortunate that I noticed it before it bent the body panel or the nut came completely off as these situations would have created more problems. Not insurmountable, but more to deal with.
So for future reference, it's a less than 10 minute job. The headliner doesn't need to be completely removed, just create a small gap to provide access to the nut. Tightening the nut in the confined space is slow going but a few minutes and it's snugged up.
Hopefully this write up will be helpful to someone and save them some time. I still haven't located my repair manual.
Perry
2014 Sonic Hatchback
1.4T, 6 speed stick
73xxx miles
So I had my hatch open and was sorting my stuff after a short day hike when I noticed the driver side hatch hinge was not flush with the car body like the passenger side was. I looked closely and it appear to be coming off, like the rivet (it appeared to be a rivet) was loose, not any damage to the hinge itself.
I seem to have misplaced my repair manual (frustrating) so I spent some several hours searching the internet for clues and mulling over what I needed to do. My dad called and suggested I take it to the dealership but I'd like to save a few dollars.
Finally I found online some expanded line drawing diagrams for ordering parts and I realize what appeared to be a rivet is actually a bolt with a nut. I figure a nut can be tightened if I can just get to it.
So now I need to figure out how to remove the headliner without damaging it and then get it back on. I scoured Youtube and found several headliner removal videos but none specific to the Sonic. I did notice one (I think it was for a Sentra) that indicated the weather stripping held the edges of the headliner in place. The video showed the guy ripping out the weather stripping. I looked closely at the video and then my Sonic and saw there is a lip of the weather stripping holding the edge of the headliner in place. I gently bent this lip over and pulled the edge of the headliner, creating a gap about 1 inch tall and maybe 12 inches wide. I could now see the nut attached to the bolt.
I used a standard 5/8" (might have been 1/2 but I'm pretty sure it was 5/8) wrench to tighten the loose nut. The wrench is about 7 or 8 inches long but this was plenty to reach the nut. I could only make small incremental turns, may be 1/8 turns, but slowly got it snug. I then gently tucked the headliner back under the weather strip lip.
I suppose it's fortunate that I noticed it before it bent the body panel or the nut came completely off as these situations would have created more problems. Not insurmountable, but more to deal with.
So for future reference, it's a less than 10 minute job. The headliner doesn't need to be completely removed, just create a small gap to provide access to the nut. Tightening the nut in the confined space is slow going but a few minutes and it's snugged up.
Hopefully this write up will be helpful to someone and save them some time. I still haven't located my repair manual.
Perry
2014 Sonic Hatchback
1.4T, 6 speed stick
73xxx miles
