Rear hatch latch adjustment

[Tintaglia]

I wanted to adjust the rear latch on my daughter's 2003 Spirit Mk 1 today because only slamming the door violently would close it fully and it was causing central locking issues but I was surprised to find none of the usual sliding semi-captive nuts or slotted holes for the adjustment of the striker plate.  Is there a special Toyota trick I've missed? 🙂  The lock itself doesn't adjust/slide either.

[corradovr6]

Do you have a boot spoiler on it?  That can interfere with proper closing if it projecting too far towards the body of the car

[flash22]

16 hours ago, Tintaglia said:

I wanted to adjust the rear latch on my daughter's 2003 Spirit Mk 1 today because only slamming the door violently would close it fully and it was causing central locking issues but I was surprised to find none of the usual sliding semi-captive nuts or slotted holes for the adjustment of the striker plate.  Is there a special Toyota trick I've missed? 🙂  The lock itself doesn't adjust/slide either.

 

iirc you adjust the strike plate - slacken off the 2 bolts and gentle persuade with a soft mallet

 

 

[Stivino]

The strike plate on mine isn’t adjustable either.

[Tintaglia]

No spoiler on mine. 

The two bolts are countersunk and going into a fixed thread so they find themselves a dedicated position as they tighten and it can't be altered by the usual loosening and moving the plate about.  I checked that the equivalent movement couldn't be found by moving the latch or even the tailgate itself but it is simply fixed.  In the end I drilled out the countersinking and used a couple of washers under the bolts which worked perfectly.  I didn't really like it but I could see no alternative.  Still, the car is 18 years old and on 98k!

[mrpj]

I brought this issue up a long time ago. My Mk 3's hatch door has always needed a fairly hefty slam to ensure it latches properly.

I did check if there as any adjustment with the striker plate. No there isn't, very strange, which was confirmed on here at the time.

I mentioned this at the car's first service (Toyota main dealer) and was told that there is no adjustment and that's how it is!

I too thought about removing the plate completely and making it adjustable but didn't have the bottle!

It has improved as the sealing rubber has "squashed" over time.

[Tintaglia]

I used the original bolts with soft mild steel washers which isn't ideal.  I should have replaced the bolts with some pan-headed ones.  But it has completely cured the problem.  And isht now shuts better than ever.   I have known this car from new (I used to maintain it for the original owner before my daughter bought it) so I know that it has never had rear damage.  It must make life hard for a bodyshop after a rear end shunt or when fitting a new seal.