Originally Posted by dahfrenzy

I had this problem last summer and FIXED IT FOR PENNIES!!!

DO NOT BREAK OR DRILL THROUGH THE PLASTIC INTERIOR PANNEL!!!


If you take it to a body shop you will get an estimate for 300 to 500 dollars because they will just break the interior panel off flip the switch open and replace the broken plastic piece which will inevitably break again. Why the piece is plastic to begin with? I have no idea. Major flaw on GM's part.

Step 1: getting your glass hatch open

Put the back seats down and crawl into your trunk. Bring with you a large allen wrench about the size of your pinky finger. Screw drivers may not work depending on the angle the plastic pos broke at. Use your finger to find a small depression in the carpet covering the inside panel of the tailgate. It is located at the top center of the carpet patch approx. in line with the push button/ keyhole on the outside of the tailgate. Pinch the edge of the carpeting directly above the depression and peel it back about an inch to reveal a hole in the plastic panel. The next part may require patience, for me it took forever getting the correct wrench size. Insert the allen wrench into the hole (short end first) at an angle to get the bottom part of the 'L' in the wrench around the corner so that the short end is pointed to about 1 or 2 o'clock inside the metal tailgate and the long end is pointing straight out of the plastic. Next turn the wrench counter clockwise. This should trigger the release switch and pop open your hatch.

Step 2: Taking off the plastic panel

Before letting the hatch down remove the screw on the inside of the oval place where the glass hatch attaches to the tailgate. It is the one connecting the plastic to the metal frame. Now let the hatch down. Next carefully remove the screws on either side of the plastic panel connecting it to the tailgate. I believe there is only one on each side. The final screw is on the inside of the handle you pull to release the tailgate itself down. Then simply, but carefully, pull the plastic panel off. This will reveal the green, broken piece of plastic and the release switch it used to connect to.

Step 3: Fixing the Plastic POS

Most likely the plastic piece broke off at its "L" joint, because that is where most of the stress was put. The repair requires a small piece of metal wire, a drill and small bit (size of small wire) solder, and soldering gun. I wouldn't recommend the lead free solder, it takes ALOT more heat to melt. Before you gather these materials (You may need to borrow them, I already had everything but the wire) get to the third step so you know what measurements you are dealing with. Drill the small hole in the middle of the straight piece of plastic still attached to the motorized puller. Make this the middle length and width wise for maximum strength. Next simply loop the wire through this hole on the release switch where the plastic piece used to be attached. Then solder the two ends of the wire together to complete the circle. Test the apparatus before putting everything back together and you've just saved yourself hundreds.

It took me 3 or 4 hours to do this, but I was starting out with absolutely no knowledge on this topic aside from seeing the release hole in the tailgate's build diagram.

Hope this helps and Good Luck

Originally Posted by Engineer

Let's get specific here. If your electric release has quit working but still makes a sound like it's trying, the plastic servo arm probably snapped. I have had and FIXED this problem. I have a 2001 Blazer with separate liftglass and tailgate. You must first remove the inside tailgate handle (2 screws) and pull the center latch bulge of the tailgate trim back about 3 inches to gain access to the latch linkage. The center bulge of the trim panel is held by a tab of plastic and a screw. The tab will partially break off, but it is not outwardly visible and you can reattach securely later with an overlapping washer or metal strap piece under the screw.

Push on the linkage rods with a long screwdriver. My photo shows the best one to push on, the curved rod several inches below the latch. A mirror and flashlight may help spot it. This will release the glass! Reward yourself with a cold one.

Then open the tailgate and remove remaining screws holding on the plastic trim panel and the metal panel just underneath it. There is one linkage rod attached to the inside of the metal panel that must be released at its plastic gromment before turning the metal panel upside down. The servo is attached to the back of the metal panel. See photo. Replace the servo arm (dealer $60 for arm and servo I read, or Rockauto.com about $10 for arm only)or repair the arm. My repair is going strong after over 3 years. See photo. Good luck with your repairs!