NHTSA Complaint #10341037 — 2010 TOYOTA VENZA

TOYOTA VENZA. THE REAR HATCH IS AUTO OPEN/CLOSE. USING THE AUTO CLOSING BUTTON ON THE DASH OF THE VEHICLE, I INITIATED THE CLOSE SEQUENCE. THE REAR HATCH STARTED TO CLOSE NORMALLY, THEN IT "SLAMMED SHUT" WITH ENOUGH FORCE TO CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY TO ANYONE UNDER THE HATCH. SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPTS AT OPENING OR CLOSING THE HATCH RESULTED IN A "STUTTER" EFFECT WHICH REQUIRED ME TO CLOSE THE HATCH MANUALLY. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER. THEY TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD NOT SLAM THE HATCH SHUT. I HAVE NEVER SLAMMED THE HATCH, I ALWAYS USE THE BUTTON ON THE DASH OR THE KEY FOB TO OPEN/ CLOSE THE HATCH. THE ROD IS NOW BENT THAT HOLDS THE HATCH OPEN. I AM CONCERNED THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN WHEN I AM UNDER THE HATCH. THIS COULD RESULT IN THE LOSS OF A LIMB IF CIRCUMSTANCES WERE CORRECT. *TR