Ok, I have the big black plastic tray the hold the license plate, and the rear hatch handle, I also have the 2003 H2, However they are not together. It seems like from the factory they used tape and plastic clips and it pulled loose a while ago. ( I am the original owner so this was from the factory). I cant be the first guy that had it pull loose. How did some of you reattach it. I know I could use screws and attach it to some of the metal behind, just looking for the cleanest way to fix this. Thanks

2003 green H2

 

I put some bolts through on mine and now it is starting to crack in another place. The plastic just gets old and brittle. I'm probably going to bit the bullet and buy a new one but they are not cheap....

 

Mine didnt crack, guess I am lucky. It just pulled loose.

 

That's because the plastic on the inside cracked and broke loose. That is how it starts....

 

i have fixed mine several times. After it breaks once, it will break again. It is a crap design from the get go. It is basically held in by 6 plastic studs and some glue around the lip of the tray.

i removed the inside plastic from the gate. Then removed the plastic tray out of the gate. You will have to remove the license plate lights. I then glued all the studs back in place with loctite 401. I then liberally applied black "GOOP" adhesive around the lip of the tray and snugged up all the screws. It lasted a couple of years until someone slammed the gate closed. Mine has broken again and again.

Now i just pull it out and clean off all the goop and re apply. Then when i open the gate. I hold my thumb beside the handle and lift the gate by the bottom of the gate. Not the handle. I also never slam the gate.

 

I agree about not letting the hatch slam shut. I took mine off to install license plate lights and license plate studs because I could not bring myself to spend the outrageous amount of money on the one with license plate mounts on it. I always hold onto one of my ladders while the hatch closes so it doesn't slam shut. It's going to such when other pieces like the upper roof parts start to weather and go bad. They can be found from time to time but the cost is crazy.