I have an 04' and when I open the back door it makes a sqeaky groan. I happens in the first 4 or 5 inches of travel just as you open the back hatch. Same noise, same place, as you close it. It never makes this noise any other time, even over speed bumps or potholes. Both lift struts look good, and don't see any rust or corrosion around the hinges, latches or lift strut pivot points. So far I've tried the following: I've wiped the rubber weatherstripping seal down with silicone spray. Lubed the latches and pivot points. Open the door slower (still it makes the noise.) Removed the lift struts one at a time to try an isolate the noise. No luck. Anyone else got this issue? It's loud enough to make people look when loading groceries. I have literally put things in the back seat JUST so I don't have to hear the freeking noise. Drives me nuts!
I am pretty sure mine is from the strut attachments. But I also got frustrated the last time I tried to isolate it for sure. It is really loud now, so I will probably be trying again before long.
Unclear, did you also lube the hatch hinges? If I was trying to figure this out this would be my attack plan. 1 Open the hatch all the way and prop it up with a couple of boards. 2 Detach driver side strut at bottom and emulate the first 5 inches of travel. 3 Detach driver side strut at top, reattach at bottom and emulate the first 5 inches of travel. 4,5 Same thing as 2,3 for passenger side, after reattaching driver side. 6 Completely remove the struts and emulate first 5 inches of travel with just the hatch. (Carefully. It could fall like a guillotine blade!) 7 Like 6 but twisting slightly (as if one strut was stronger than the other) 8 Like 7 but twisting the other way. If it does this with just the hatch (6,7, or 8) probably it is hinge issue. If you are truly unlucky it might be something really strange, like the plastic panels or internal wires moving. In fact, before doing any of it you might want to crawl into the back space and put your fingers on the various inner surfaces of the hatch while an assistant moves it up and down. If it is a loose plastic problem just having your hand on it should damp it. Or you might feel the vibration at just one spot on the hatch.
