Power Rear Hatch Opens Too Far

[Sparty]

Today, I test drive an RX 330. The dealer was nice enough to allow me to drive it home as we thought that when the rear hatch is open it might not fit in our garage. Sure enough, our garage door height is about 2" too short for the hatch to fully extend. We could apply some type of "cushion/ foam" to the inside of the garage door, so as not to scratch the car. But I wonder what the long term affect would be on the car and the part that moves the hatch? Has anyone out there had this problem? And or what you did to solve this problem? Is the hatch extension height "modifable" by the dealer?

[pushatam]

not trying to steal the thread but i figure this is a similar question pertaining to hatches.

my 2001 rx300's hatch doesnt open up all the way automatically...i kinda have to pull it upward and then once halfway, it slowly lifts by itself. Is this how its supposed to be (i bought it used).

[RX400h]

I posted this same question one month ago after receiving my RX400h. Apparently, this is a common problem among the Rxs. I have explained this to the Lexus regional representative when he called recently and I have noted it in the survey that was sent to me last week. As far as I know, there is no quick-fix, short of replacing the cylinders with shorter ones. I am hoping that Lexus comes up with a retro-fit solution one of these days.

[ReXus]

I used a wire-tie to attach a big car-wash type sponge to the garage door handle. When the hatch is open in the garage (I open it manually) the rear wiper hub gently touches the big thick sponge and no damage is done. Worked like a charm with my last SUV too. Sure, it's not real classy looking but I'm the only one who ever sees the inside of my garage door and I don't care.

I'd love the hatch to open farther, as I'm 6'3' and no stranger to smacking my head on the open hatch when I'm not thinking. After a good hard smack, I'm usually thinking even less!

[patt]

Backing in to the garage worked for me, but my husband didn't like doing it.

I thought about doing something with a pad on the garage door, but I was concerned about what would happen if the garage door was opened after the hatch was open and already up too high.

We ended up doing some garage cleaning so the RX could park deeper into the garage. Now we can drive in forward and the hatch isn't under the garage door when it opens.

Pushatam, you might have more luck with your question posting it separately. The 2005 models have power lift that opens the hatch all the way when you press a button in the car or on the key. It can also be manually opened in which case one has to lift part way and then the shocks can finish raising it on their own like what you describe. I don't know if the 2001's had a power rear door. Since the title of this thread is about the hatch lifting too high, people with the answer to your question might not read it.

[RX400h]

Yesterday, I adjusted the garage door limit switch so that the angle of the last door panel was nearly horizontal. Alas, the hatch door will still contact the garage door. The pad idea is certainly good for emergencies, but for the time being, I am unloading groceries in the driveway. Hey, at least I don't have to start the engine to pull in the RX after we're done!

[ReXus]

Backing in to the garage worked for me,

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Wouldn't backing in to the garage add a lot more carbon monoxide to the indoor air? With the hybrid it would be fine if running only on electric motors, but lots of times the gas engine is also on. I backed in just once with my last (non-hybrid) SUV and realized it was not a very healthy idea.