2013~2016 CX-5 Rear Hatch Will Only Open with Smart Key Present

[iMan6]

I have a 2015 CX-5 Touring. Just broke 100k miles. Bought it five years ago when it had 40k. It's been a great car and has had zero issues with it.

Recently the rear hatch/liftgate stopped opening when you unlocked the car. The only way to get the hatch to open is to have this smart key/fob on you. If you walk up to the hatch when the car is unlocked it will not open. Has anyone else seen this issue?

Thoughts on what it could be:
-Programming issue
-Issue with the rear antenna that detects the fob - but if this were the case, then the issue would behave the opposite of what I'm experiencing
-Issue with the hatch/liftgate itself

Thanks!

 

[RedBaron]

You could check that the gear lever parking switch is working OK - wiggle the stick while in park and try again. If the car doesn't think it's in park, it will stop you from opening the hatch. There's a lot of threads about the switch failing or being misadjusted - though, as I think about it, not sure which years this applies to (I know it happened to one of our cars, 2014/2019, but not sure which).

 

[wlong01]

Did you double check to make sure all doors were unlocked?
I know on our 19 if you press the hatch button on the dash and a door is locked the hatch won't open.