Stuck storage compt door.

[Richardbruce]

Has anyone have experience freeing up a stuck open storage door? I am talking about the storage compt behind the seats over the engine compt. Thanks in advance for any help.

[rick3000]

I had this happen a few months ago. In my case only one side was stuck, so I was able to reach in the other side. If both are stuck, you will probably have to remove the box (put the top down, twist the two locks and pull it out of the car). I cannot remember exactly what I did, but the accordion door was getting stuck on a small piece of plastic, not a stray piece but part of the actual box/door guide. I pushed on the plastic and wiggled the door and it has worked fine since. I am sure you will be able to figure it out once you get in there.

[jakeru]

Yes, I do. Is it stuck only on one side? Especially if so, take a close look at the steel reinforcing bar that is along the top edge of the opening. It's glued in there when new (with something like hot glue, it seems). The hot glue doesn't stick to the metal reliably, especially if the storage compartment isn't handled gently when it's removed, and the metal bar can come disconnected from the glue in the corner and come dislodged, and stick downwards a bit. This interferes with the sliding door.

The fix is to reinstall and reglue it into the original position. It's also possible that if badly enough "tweaked", it may need to be straightened/bent back into shape. I fixed mine a few months back (maybe about a year ago) and I'm pretty sure I used epoxy to reglue it. I'm pretty sure I completely removed the steel bar, and scraping out all of the old glue was a chore. (It was also necessary or the steel bar wouldn't go back into the place where it needed to be.) If this is your problem with the door closing, it's best to remove the storage compartment from the car and work on it out on your work bench.

I suppose another option if you want a "quick and dirty" fix could be to just remove the steel bar and not reinstall it. But, the steel bar does add reinforcing along the upper edge of the storage compartment opening. Be especially careful/gentle removing and handling the storage compartment without the bar (or even with the steel bar, if you want it to stay glued into place.)

I did this job on mine, it was a hassle, but nice to have it fixed and be able to close both doors. I expect the epoxy repair I did will also be stronger/better then the original "hot glue".

Hope this helps, and best of luck!

[Richardbruce]

Thx guys for the prompt response. I will try your advice and report back.

[Richardbruce]

Thx guys, turns out jakeru you were correct. The steel bar had become dislodged and prevented the door from opening. All you folks on this forum are a wealth of information!

[Jamesp]

I used 2 part epoxy to glue the bar back on mine. It's been good for 3 years now.