Power liftgate metal failure

The original poster showed a photo where part of the broken edge is shiny. That shows that the cracking started there, and the edges rubbed together before the rest let go.

I'd take a close look at the steel in the liftgate for any cracks. If it starts cracking but not yet torn away, get it fixed by a good body shop. The heat from welding will be too hot for glass that close, so removing and reinstalling the glass costs are necessary. And, the paint gets burned, so repainting is another expense.
 
So.... my wife's 2011 had the same thing happen. I am way out of warranty at this point. I've made several attempts at reinforcing the sheet metal. This works for about 2-3 months and then I get the "oh great it's broke again" from my wife. I recently tried to go through my auto insurance and they denied it. Said it is wear and tear and a manufacturer defect. The local body shop has quoted me $2155. They suggest replacing the entire rear hatch.


Has anyone come up with a solid repair for this? Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
Any good body shop can either weld & repaint the torn metal, or replace the entire hatch. You might have them look for a used replacement hatch that does not show any signs of the metal failure. The signs would be cracks in the paint in those spots or a small crack in the steel, probably with rust on the line of the crack.

I've had a Volvo where the driver's door stop (the thing that stops the door swing) tore the steel. The body shop rewelded it and painted just the welded spot in a color close enough that it was fine. The cost was reasonable. If the weld doesn't burn the paint on the exterior of the door, then don't have them paint the whole door. A spray can of touch-up paint in the original color will be fine for a repair on the door jam.
 
I'm not really sure what they did to fix it but as of now it is still holding well since the repair I know they redesigned the tailgate cause of this issue I think all they really did is reinforce it in that area wish you the best. Try calling Mazda maybe they would do a good faith repair and cover it
 
We are the original owners and didn't do anything abnormal. We use the power opener ~6 times each day on school days, but this is probably normal for anyone with kids. I've really love this car, and I'm angry that Mazda or the extended warranty doesn't cover this and for the poor engineering of that mounting plate.

We inspected the sheet metal and there is no reinforcement in the area where the mount is attached. Just sheet metal with a small backing plate of about 1" x 3/4" (you can see it in the picture). The hatch is large and the location of the mount is near the hinge, so it must take a lot or pressure for the motor to open and close the hatch. 4 years of opening and closing many times each day caused the metal to give out -- I'm convinced that others will start seeing this same sort of failure.

The service department at Mazda said there is a "bulletin" on this problem, but not enough for Mazda to do anything about it. One guy in the service department said Mazda would have covered it had it been under the original warranty. They have seen one other owner with the same problem.

Totally agree that a good body shop should be able to reinforce the area and fix the problem. The inside trim covers this and it is not exposed to weather, so not much need for painting or corrosion protection. Frustrated that this will come out of my pocket since we paid for an extended warranty and this is a manufactures defect (time will prove this claim right or wrong).
Similar issue. Previous owners did not use it regularly. We've had it about 4 years and have used it 10x more in the past year. However, I'm glad some responded with the suggestion to take it to a body shop. My husband wanted to just give up on this car. But I love it and think a few hundred dollars is worth it.
 
Similar issue. Previous owners did not use it regularly. We've had it about 4 years and have used it 10x more in the past year. However, I'm glad some responded with the suggestion to take it to a body shop. My husband wanted to just give up on this car. But I love it and think a few hundred dollars is worth it.
I fixed mine with a large washer, the old nut and a welder.

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