[Kimberly Allen]

Has anyone else had an issue with the rear lift gate and that if you shut if normally the warning sound comes on and the screen says open door. I have to slam my rear lift gate to get it to not have the alert. Bought the suv with 20 miles on it and it has not been damaged.

 

[thearborbarber]

Ours takes more effort than others too close as well.

 

[Shel]

Yes, it takes an uncomfortably hard slam. Don't know if there is anything to adjust. The dealer said it would wear in -- but that was in May -- no better.

 

[RC51 Rider]

Lol ... Mine is the same way. I've had my vehicle since April !

 

[RC51 Rider]

I just use this product and now it's smooth as a baby's butt !

 

[tobidog123]

Try this:
Open the tailgate. Look up. There are 4 black rubber "stopper" plugs, 2 on the left, 2 on the right. Turn them out a bit by turning each counterclockwise.

 

[pnwkona]

The more you open and close it will get slightly easier to close, as all have said it takes more effort to close. In the beginning I noticed it but 3 months later and a lot of open/close it eased up but now I just put more effort in to insure it is closed.

 

[abjbrkt]

Try this:
Open the tailgate. Look up. There are 4 black rubber "stopper" plugs, 2 on the left, 2 on the right. Turn them out a bit by turning each counterclockwise.

Just did ours, EXCEPT I turned them in 1/2 turn, tested and turned another 1/2 turn in.
Closes much easier, now for a test drive looking for road/wind noise.

I also adjusted the hood for a little better fit, 3/4 turn out on passenger side, 1/2 out on the drivers.

 

[JR KONA]

Shouldn't be any wind noise at all. The weather seal was just compressed more than it should be. Glad it helped!

Blessings and Peace

 

[thearborbarber]

Excellent tip.

 

[CRnSC]

New member...

I just got a 2019 Kona 2.0 FWD. The hatch does require, in my opinion, and excessive amount of force to close, but it doesn't seem to affect anything. When I was test driving, all of the Konas (Limted, SEL, SE, etc.) on the lot were that way. I will try adjusting the "stopper plugs." Maybe it just seals tight and I shouldn't mess with it.

 

[Richflorida]

Has anyone had a problem with the rear gate not closing properly ? it seems that you have to really slam it down hard to lock correctly, I have a 2019 & 2020 Ultimate , and have experienced the same on both, a warning will alert you that the lid is not completely closed , the dealer made an adjustment , and noted that it closes similarly to like models.

 

[cmllr]

Lots of us had/have that problem - good news is that it gets better. The rubber stops are really stiff. Something you can do while you wait for them to become less stiff is to adjust them, I forget if it is clockwise or counter-clockwise but one way lowers them a millimeter or two. My '18 was the same way in the beginning but rarely do I have a problem anymore. When I do now I know before it shuts that I didn't shut it hard enough but it is no longer like I am spinning the giant wheel on The Price is Right like it was when I first got the Kona.

 

[robokona]

Had the same problem. I never slam the lid, just pushing steadily to lock. works for me.

 

[jeanbar]

Mine was also hard to close for about 6 months. I can close it now without slamming.

The longer I have this car the more satisfied I am with it. Instead of things getting worse, the problems just seem to go away. Or maybe I'm just getting used to them. I usually start looking for a new car at the 1 year mark and almost always find one within 2 years. I cannot think of anything out there right now that would even tempt me in for a test drive.

 

[whitenite]

My '17 Kona 1.6T (AWD) suffered from this initially. At 1st service, I informed the service technician, the mechanic came along, beckoned for me to observe. He proceeded to lift the hatch & opened a passenger door slightly (any door will do). Then he dropped the hatch-lid ie no force, no push, and it shut tight. He explained - rubber seals all round are tight, air couldn't escape, hence you needed to slam the hatch in order to shut properly.

 

[Phobos]

just got my Kona 2 days ago. This morning when I closed the liftgate it told me it wasn't closed all the way. Problem was I couldn't re-open the liftgate to re-close it. Hit all the proper buttons and tried to man handle it open but it just wouldn't open. Ended up driving the the gym hoping to give a another try in the lighted underground parking. Very annoying warning beeps as I drove. For some reason when I got to the gym the hatch open with no problems. The I got the same issue when I got to work and took my briefcase out of the trunk. Close the hatch and it didn't lock all the way...couldn't get the **** thing open again to fix it. Anyone else have this issue? Bringing it back to the dealer tomorrow to have them look at it.

thanks.

 

[greenkona]

Just bought mine and no issues with the hatch, closes perfectly. If anything a little heavy to open for my wife.

 

[TRT]

just got my Kona 2 days ago. This morning when I closed the liftgate it told me it wasn't closed all the way. Problem was I couldn't re-open the liftgate to re-close it. Hit all the proper buttons and tried to man handle it open but it just wouldn't open. Ended up driving the the gym hoping to give a another try in the lighted underground parking. Very annoying warning beeps as I drove. For some reason when I got to the gym the hatch open with no problems. The I got the same issue when I got to work and took my briefcase out of the trunk. Close the hatch and it didn't lock all the way...couldn't get the **** thing open again to fix it. Anyone else have this issue? Bringing it back to the dealer tomorrow to have them look at it.

thanks.

Yeah, happened to us. Boot/trunk automatically locked when we started driving even though it wasn’t fully closed. Drove home from shops with warning going. Fortunately the alarm stops after a little while. We eventually opened liftgate by unlocking car with the key fob - even though the car was already unlocked.

Hope that works for you.

 

[Phobos]

Yeah, happened to us. Boot/trunk automatically locked when we started driving even though it wasn’t fully closed. Drove home from shops with warning going. Fortunately the alarm stops after a little while. We eventually opened liftgate by unlocking car with the key fob - even though the car was already unlocked.

Hope that works for you.

was this a one time event or an ongoing issue? So far it's happened to me twice in one day. Not something I look forward to having to deal with on a regular basis.