Am I the only one who has trouble with jamming my fingers in that tiny hole to lift the rear hatch? And if anyone has an easy way to solve this problem please post it.

 

Hmmm, that is kind of a pain in the ****... I wonder if you could mount a couple of springs under there (like the hood has) so it pops up a bit when released?

 

I also have this problem lol.. I think if you get decently presurised gas cylinders to lift the hatch, it should pop up all by itself... or you could somehow put a spring in as kentetsu suggested

 

Be careful... I hear the terrorists are putting AIDS infected needles in the hatch handle of 1st gens.

 

It took me a while to train myself to only lower the hatch with my fingers in the middle so I wouldn't slam them lol. The Japanese have smaller fingers, so us "foreigners" get screwed

Gas struts won't really change anything except the hatch will be less likely to fall when it's already open. I can't really think of any useful ideas though.

 

I have heard myths from far away lands that in fact some gas struts are so powerful they can lift the hatch the second you release it! I know a friend with a 2nd gen's does this.

 

You can adjust the hatch up a little bit so the "hole" is slightly bigger.

 

How!!??

 

Loosen the nuts on the body side of the hatch hinge. Have a helper (with hatch open) slide the hatch up a bit. There is a bit of movement, so it wont get ALOT bigger of a gap for your fingers but it should help some.

Note: Getting to those requires partial removal of headliner. May also be able to adjust the glass side of the hinges but it wont be as much movement as the body side of the hinges. This should give you about an extra 1/4 inch or so to get your fingers into the "divot". Hope I could help and good luck.

 

I would imagine that it will create leaks in the rain. . . .

 

It doesnt move enough for that. When I put mine back on from primering the car, it was too low. I had to adjust it back up a bit so I could get my fingers into there to lift it.

 

cool, might be something to try then