Hatch Glass - Won't Stay up in Cold Temps?

[JAMADOR]

We were in Colorado over Christmas. Temps ranged from -48* (windchill) to low 40*s while we were there.
Noticed that the hatch glass would not stay up & assumed I'd just need to replace the struts.
Got back home to Houston, temps in the 40s & up, and it seems to be working properly again.

Does extreme cold affect the struts that much that the glass just falls back down? Ended up with snow slush all on my back from the glass coming down on me.

 

[BSarchet]

Yes this happened in one of my old cars. Those struts are compressed gas so absolutely it is affected by temperature just like a balloon in the cold. You can either roll with it as long as you are in Houston or replace them. May always have an issue in -48 ha.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

We were in Colorado over Christmas. Temps ranged from -48* (windchill) to low 40*s while we were there.
Noticed that the hatch glass would not stay up & assumed I'd just need to replace the struts.
Got back home to Houston, temps in the 40s & up, and it seems to be working properly again.

Does extreme cold affect the struts that much that the glass just falls back down? Ended up with snow slush all on my back from the glass coming down on me.

Absolutely. We just got used to it..... after hitting my head hard.

 

[JAMADOR]

Luckily, a rare occurrence for us.
Truck lives in Houston, we were just in CO for a visit.

 

[rd618]

We were in Colorado over Christmas. Temps ranged from -48* (windchill) to low 40*s while we were there.
Noticed that the hatch glass would not stay up & assumed I'd just need to replace the struts.
Got back home to Houston, temps in the 40s & up, and it seems to be working properly again.

Does extreme cold affect the struts that much that the glass just falls back down? Ended up with snow slush all on my back from the glass coming down on me.

Extreme cold will. But windchill will not. Once glass is propped up it should hold though, or slowly close. If it just falls, you need new struts.

 

[JAMADOR]

Yeah, it would just fall, not quickly, but faster than I'd want it to close.
Now that we're back home, it seems to be working like normal.
May just replace the struts preemptively.

 

[Yupster Dog]

May just replace the struts preemptively.

They are not that expensive and super easy to install. Keep in mind it might be a little harder to close though.

 

[JAMADOR]

We rarely open the glass, but with our road trip, had the cargo area packed tight, so it was easier to load/unload the last few items via the glass than to have stuff falling out when opening the hatch.
90% of the time, we just pop the whole hatch.

 

[ExpyNole]

yeah, wonder if the seals in the struts contracted too much?