Success!!! I decided that I would give it one last try. I had previously tried to move the tab, but it didn't move a mm. I was debating bringing the extension cord and sawzall out to the car, as I had NO confidence in this ditch effort........upon sticking a screwdriver into the lock, it popped with no drama, struggling, and no more than moderate force!! I guess it feared the wrath of the sawzall!!! Thanks for your help. These locks were one part of a car that I had never attacked before. Your expertise was the critical part of this operation. Thanks so much!

 

No problem anytime. Im glad I was able to help you.

 

So did you get the new part to fit in without any trouble as well?

 

New member here. I had the same problem with my V70. Based on information on this forum I removed the rear tail gate panel to expose the lock assembly. I had to take a screw driver and push the release mechanism upward and inward (its on the left side) to release the lock to open the door. After removing the entire assembly and disassembling the unit I found that the curved metal piece that actually released the lock assembly was bend such that it would not push the actuator far enough to release the lock assembly. After straighting it out, very carefully, it worked great. Hope this helps someone. Jim

 

I've taken out the panel, and broke a couple pieces in the process but nothing major. I haven't released the lock mechanism yet because I'm waiting on some cash to do it. but this is great info, tech, thanks.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I just had a similar problem and came up with a different fix that may help some.

On my 1998 Volvo V70 XC AWD, the latch was stuck closed. Even after taking off the hatch panel and gaining access to the latch mechanism it still wouldn't open. I had to take some trim off the bottom that was covering the Torx screws that hold the latch hook and remove the hook so the hatch would open.

At that point I had to play around with the fingers of the latch with a screwdriver to get the latch to release the hook. Once that was done I could remove the latch assembly from the hatch.

After separating the plastic part from the metal part, I found the problem. The latch finger that releases the latch has a vertical post attached to it. A lever from the plastic assembly pushes on this post to move the finger to release the latch. In my case, the plastic post had broken at the base, and while it was still attached, it wasn't moving the metal finger far enough to disengage the latch. Here's a picture that shows the post and where it broke.


A lever pushes the black post (in the red circle) to the left to open the latch. The green circle shows the area where the plastic has broken, so pushing the post just makes it hinge to the left.

The lever that pushes the post has a semi-circular curve. The curved portion hits the post about a quarter of the way down the post. I figured if I could lengthen the lever so that it hit just below the base of the post (basically the metal finger itself), the broken post would no longer be an issue. At first, I just straightened the lever by clamping the curved part in a vise. See picture below.


This is the lever that pushes on the post to disengage the latch. Here, the curved part of the post has already be flattened in the vise. The red curve shows approximately what the lever looked like before flattening.

This did make it so the latch would disengage most of the time, but I think it was just hitting further down the post, not hitting the actual latch finger itself. So I decided to extend the lever by screwing another short piece of metal to it what would hit the metal finger itself, bypassing the plastic post completely. See picture below.


Metal piece screwed to lever to extend it so it hits the metal finger rather than the post.

The space to the left of the original lever is a little cramped, so I drilled and tapped the lever arm and used a screw that is just long enough to go through the lever. I use Loctite on the threads, so I'm hoping it won't vibrate off eventually.

Anyway, it saved me the $200 it would have cost me to buy a new latch assembly.

 

Ok I have a 99 v70 same exact issue. Even more so this being a discontinued model (yay me) utah is apparently in agreement that the pic-q-parts and junk yards in Utah are to no longer carry these models and any volvo cross compatible parts wise is nullified due to they no longer keep anything I can use older that a 2001. Working on this vehicle has been a bit of a hassle when you don't have the means to cone out of pocket for everything new.
. Sorry off track but would you mind sharing the pics and info to help me out as well it would be greatly appreciated.