How do I get the covering off the hatch from the inside? Outside latch will not open hatch. Looking to get at latch. Thanks.

when you go inside the trunk and remove round plastic piece,use a flaslight with a fiber optic light long enough to see inside the gate and the latch,you will see a white plastic thing,lifting it up or down will unlock the latch.if you can have someone pushing the gate outside to remove the pressure on the latch.

It might take two people to see what is not happening that should be happening. Have one person on one side of the hatch operate the key or open handle and you stay on the other side of the hatch with the inner panel off and watch the mechanism. There is probably a broken tab on the actuator or a rod has come off of the actuator.

You can get it open in two ways: By using your key fob and remotely opening latch or by pulling inside panel on rear hatch and manually pulling lever to get latch to release. Most times when you cant get rear hatch to open normally is because cable from outside release handle to latch broke. Have cable and release mechanism inspected and replace worn or broken parts as needed.

I guess ford was trying to make a couple more bucks by not putting key locks on all doors. Anyway, if you crawl inside and pop the small cover(about 2"x2") off the inside of the hatch where the latch is located you can reach in with a screwdriver and manually move control arms. The lever on the back/far side of assembly is in the locked position, you need to move to the opposite side left or right of it's current position, this will unlock the latch and should allow you to open the door. You mave have to pop acutor arm loose to move it. My problem ended up being the outside cover {license plate frame)seal had been damaged by a ford mechanic, that or it was defective. Water got in and damaged the the lock acuator. Had to replace entire assembly as ford does'nt offer just the acuator. Sealed the outside cover with clear silione.

Try this link for more info:

tailgate 2004 Ford Freestar

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2005 ford freestar back hatch door wont open

I see you are ale to see the cables and rods how and when they operate. When you to open the latch from the outside and the inside. Are you able to see if they move the mechanism up or down as you try to open the door working the latch outside and the inside door handle. Sounds like your door latch broke internally, the only thing I was able to do was from the inside with somebody holding the outside latch up to open. Kick it hard in the area where the door latch is. Lay on the sit and kick it hard while the outside individual lifts the latch and pulls. It should pop open. Good luck.

had this problem myself.... you gotta go in through the back and take the plastic/vinal cover off the rear door and look for the lock from the inside..... unlock it .... open the door and then you can repair and lube the mechanism while standing outside like a human being. its not very hard to do.. just take your time and don't force anything.

yes, pull gate cards, the inside of gate has a covering
you remove that , as the FSM shows.
and bingo, latches are there.

Sometimes there is a safety sensor that does not allow it to open if the vehicle is in gear. This sensor may be faulty but most likely not the problem. Remove the inner panel on the back hatch and inspect the linkages from the outside handles to the releases inside the door for the glass and hatch. These have most likely came loose from the latches they operate

This is extremely common!
The micro-switch inside the glass hatch release is faulty, telling the door that it is partially depressed, thus shutting down opening for safety reasons.
You can verify this by opening the glass hatch (there is a access panel at the bottom of the door on the inside), removing the trim cover from behind the glass handle (two philips screws and one plastic push in fastener), then unplugging the glass handle.
Your door will now function normally, but without glass opening ability until you replace the handle.
The handle only takes a few 10mm nuts to remove and can be changed in a few minutes. It retails for around $35 from your dealer.

YOU HAVE TO TAKE OFF THE DOOR PANEL ON THE INSIDE OF THE HATCH, IF IT WONT OPEN YOU HAVE TO DO IT FROM THE INSIDE, THEN THERE ARE 3 10MM BOLTS YOU TAKE OUT AND THE HANDLE AND PLATE LIGHT BRACKET WILL COME OUT AND YOU CAN REPLACE THE HANDLE... FYI MOST TIMES THE HANDLE BREAKS BECAUSE YOUR ACTUAL LATCH IS RUSTED OR FROZEN SO YOU MAY NEED TO REPLACE BOTH!!