Cargo door is stuck in open (but not really open) position

[CMaxPDX]

Hello everyone,

 

I bought a 2017 C-Max hybrid (Titanium trim, which replaced the former SEL trim) a year ago with about 30K miles. No problems so far, I've been very happy with the car, and this forum has been very helpful in getting used to it.

 

Yesterday, though, I encountered an issue that has left me stumped: I went to open the cargo door from the outside using the foot swing, the door unlocked, seemed to move a little bit, then sort of stopped and seems to have fallen back into position. Except it didn't, because now the car tells me that the cargo door is ajar. Subsequent attempts to open up the door through all possible means (foot swing, key fob button, button on the door, inside button near the shifter) yielded the same result: I hear a noise like a latch unlocking, the door moves a bit, the mechanism seems to get caught up in something (like a latch), then the door adjusts back to the original position. From looking at it, it seems that the door is closed, but the instrument panel has an alert that the door is open. 

 

Has anyone ever encountered a similar issue? A search in the forum didn't really bring up any results. Other than bringing the car to a dealership, is there anything that I could try by myself? Everything else in the car seems to be working fine, so this doesn't seem to be related to the 12v battery like other cargo door issues. 

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

[stolenmoment]

I can only suggest that you push the button on the door, and *yank* when the unlock sound happens.  Brute force, yes.

[CMaxPDX]

Thanks, I'll give it a try. When I first noticed the issue I tried using force but more to push the liftgate in, we'll see how it goes this time. Thanks! 

[CMaxPDX]

So here's an update: yanking did not work, brought the car to a dealership. Service found out that the latch motor failed and damaged the latch along the way (don't remember the details, but the service guy said something about the wiring damaging the latch). The mechanic replaced both parts, latch and motor. Works fine now.