If the rear liftgate on your Jeep Cherokee will not open, one or several issues may be responsible. None of them are too complicated or time consuming to remedy, however.
The gate struts are the two hydraulic arms on either side of the gate that keep it open when it is up. If they have gone bad, the liftgate will be extremely hard to open because they are very heavy.
Sometimes, especially in hot weather, the rubber seal between the liftgate and the Cherokee's body can become tacky. When this happens, the gate will be difficult to open. To prevent this, coat the weather stripping with a light sheen of oil in the winter time.
If the push-button release on the gate of the Cherokee is broken and either will not unlock or will not trigger the release, you will have to go from inside the cargo area to fix it. Remove the carpeted or vinyl panel with the speakers in it to gain access to the unit.
