[Kevin Buckham]

I searched and only found people having problems with the rest hatch. Wife will be using the car with a rear bike rack on the hitch and we can't have the rear hatch opening and damaging the body.

Any suggestions besides avoiding that button?

 

[GaryInMI]

There have been several reports here, including my own of unintended rear hatch opening caused by the key FOB hatch button being pressed when carried in a pocket with other items. This is probably more likely to happen with men.

The hatch button on the lower left of the dash isn't as likely to get hit because it requires a long press, but it could happen.

Maybe she could wedge a piece of foam between the hatch and the bike that would reverse the hatch and protect the paint in case this happened.

 

[xydadx3]

There's a memory function on the rear liftgate. Check page 155 of the owners manual for details. Before installing the bike rack you can set it for a height that won't hit the bike rack.

 

[FourMoBro]

Just goes to show that Subaru just can't win with the Power Rear Gate. You get some that want to leave it open, but hate the built in safety of the auto-close function and whine about battery drain. Then you get others who don't want it to open at all for fear of damage. Maybe the Ascent should have been a sedan.

 

[pro10is]

I thought that having a power rear hatch would be great but problems like this, as well as others, keep cropping up. Now I miss my Forester manual hatch.

 

[xydadx3]

I thought that having a power rear hatch would be great but problems like this, as well as others, keep cropping up. Now I miss my Forester manual hatch.

first world problems ?

 

[pro10is]

first world problems ?

Absolutely. This forum is all about first world problems!

 

[Rick S WA]

A few years ago I used plastic wire ties to attach a piece of foam pipe insulation to the post of our bike rack. It has done its job of protecting the hatch of our Forester many times. We haven't had the rack on the Ascent yet, but the day is coming.

 

[Kevin Buckham]

I'll play with how low I can set the lift height but I'm sure it is too low. I'd be happy if there was fuse I could pull and just do it all manually. We have arms.

Also I'll do the foam insulation trick too as a backup in case something goes wrong.

Thanks for the ideas!

 

[Puduncle]

There have been several reports here, including my own of unintended rear hatch opening caused by the key FOB hatch button being pressed when carried in a pocket with other items. This is probably more likely to happen with men.

The hatch button on the lower left of the dash isn't as likely to get hit because it requires a long press, but it could happen.

Maybe she could wedge a piece of foam between the hatch and the bike that would reverse the hatch and protect the paint in case this happened.

 

[Puduncle]

I have the same problem with the fob in my pocket; the rear gate button gets pressed unintentionally. Numerous times the gate has been opened with the vehicle in the garage. Not being aware that the gate is partly opened and wedged against the garage door, I have activated the electric garage door opener. The result is scratches on the rear hatch and use of the touchup paint given to me by the dealer when I purchased the 2019 Ascent.
Possible Solutions: 1. Owner's Manual page 153 says, "The operational/non-operational setting of the remote power rear gate opening function using the access key fob or transmitter can be changed by your SUBARU dealer. Contact your dealer for details." I have not done this yet, and I have not seen DIY instructions, which would probably not be a wise act for preserving the vehicle warranty. I would like to disable the function of the rear gate button on the fob. 2. Another solution might be to make or find a hard plastic case that intimately fits the fob so as not to expand bulk and that protects the buttons. The case could have a hinged or sliding door. I rarely use the buttons. Pre-Ascent, I had a 2005 4runner with a manual gate and a small fob for unlocking doors and a key which also unlocked doors and started the engine; that was just fine. Does anyone have other ideas besides the above items 1 & 2 or carrying a pocketbook?

 

[GaryInMI]

I have the same problem with the fob in my pocket; the rear gate button gets pressed unintentionally. Does anyone have other ideas besides the above items 1 & 2 or carrying a pocketbook?

It took me 3 attempts to fix this accidental opening, the 3rd fix has worked for over a year. At first I bought a latex fob cover/sleeve that covered the rear gate button. When I found the gate open again, I cut the latex out over the rear gate button so that it was recessed a little. The next time, the gate was open over night and the battery was nearly dead so I added a zip tie around the fob cover that acts as a guard over the button and that has worked. The zip tie grips the latex tightly and hasn't budged. You really have to press that sucker hard to get to the gate button now,

As I have stated, this is not an elegant solution but it is effective and since I rarely take my fob from my pocket I don't see it.

I considered the dealer disable option but I still want to be able to open the rear gate with the fob.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

A cover helps a lot, but keep in mind that in order for the hatch to open from the fob, the button has to be pressed and held in. It's not just an inadvertent click like the door unlock/lock would be. The few times I've had the hatch pop from the fob in my pocket was when I was leaning up against something or lifting something heavy where pressure hit my upper thigh and compressed on both my wallet and fob in the front pocket. (My keys are on a belt clip and stay above my wallet)

 

[pro10is]

I resolved this issue simply by ensuring that if the rear gate opened with the bike rack on, it would only contact something soft. This only required attaching a few strategically placed pieces of foam on the rack and bike. Simple and effective. On my rack, it would hit the bike pedal. I made an easily removable piece of foam to cover the pedal while the bike was mounted to the rack.

Now if the gate opens, it will only contact the soft foam and then automatically retract. No damage done. Problem solved.

 

[E-EC-ECU]

Got my first "ding" due to accidental opening two weeks ago (owned less than a month). Raised the bike tray to the vertical position (so it wouldn't be sticking out in the parking lot), put my helmet on to ride ... and then reached over to click the LOCK button on the liftgate, but didn't pay enough attention and tapped the open button. I watched it happen IN. SLOW. MOTION ... BAM!

But, I have a little experience in Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) and ordered a PDR kit with glue tabs and a mini-puller. I haven't finished the job, but it's barely noticeable now. Ugh

 

[xydadx3]

@E-EC-ECU I know that feeling! I had my bike rack attached, went to the other car to get something and without even thinking I pressed the trunk button to open it. I ran as fast as I could to catch it before it hit the bike rack but didn't get there in time. Thankfully and miraculously there was no mark on my liftgate from the incident! I'll never forget that feeling

 

[Merope]

IDK if this is possible, but maybe set the max opening height such that it won't hit the rack or bikes. You'll then need to open it the rest of the way by hand.

 

[Q-Man13]

I resolved this issue simply by ensuring that if the rear gate opened with the bike rack on, it would only contact something soft. This only required attaching a few strategically placed pieces of foam on the rack and bike. Simple and effective. On my rack, it would hit the bike pedal. I made an easily removable piece of foam to cover the pedal while the bike was mounted to the rack.

Now if the gate opens, it will only contact the soft foam and then automatically retract. No damage done. Problem solved.

Pool noodle is a couple of bucks.

 

[pro10is]

Got my first "ding" due to accidental opening two weeks ago (owned less than a month). Raised the bike tray to the vertical position (so it wouldn't be sticking out in the parking lot), put my helmet on to ride ... and then reached over to click the LOCK button on the liftgate, but didn't pay enough attention and tapped the open button. I watched it happen IN. SLOW. MOTION ... BAM!

But, I have a little experience in Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) and ordered a PDR kit with glue tabs and a mini-puller. I haven't finished the job, but it's barely noticeable now. Ugh

Try the foam, it works and it'll never happen again.

 

[Trey T]

put a switch to interrupt the lift's power. best answer you gonna get ...lol

or else, tell your lady to quit the sh*t w/ breakin everything ...lol