Weak hatch struts

[Clark_Kent]

They should be different. My accessory CF midsection came with its own pair of stays.

What do you mean by "stays"?

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[s2kdriver80]

What do you mean by "stays"?

Sorry, the hydraulic struts. Honda refers to them as "stays" in the parts catalog.

 

[CTR]

My hatch makes a clicking noise when opening since things have gotten colder. Anyone else notice this? I'm assuming it's the struts making the noise.

 

[Azkyrie]

Has anyone noticed their hatch struts being too weak to lift the hatch? Seems to be the worst when it’s cold out.

The hatch on the FL5 is MUCH heaver than the DE5, or the struts are weaker--that's something I noticed Day 1.

Now that it's cold, lifting the hatch takes even more effort, but I have less concern that I'm going to open the hatch and slam the wing into the overhead (open) garage door.

I have a feeling Honda opted to save money and specified one type of hatch strut for all civic hatchbacks

+1 def noticed this as well, think it's just normal

Came across this thread and this brings me back to my 2000 Integra days where the hatch lift supports were too weak. I replaced them with Stabilus supports and those were impressively strong and smooth.

the Integra DE5 also uses Stabilus supports. I have no idea what the FL5 uses but perhaps one of you can open your hatch to gather some info: extended length, manufacture and part number:

if you happen to have Stabilus supports the first six digits are the part number. The following four with an “N” is the lifting force in Newtons. The third row is the Honda/Acura part number.
In my case, my lift supports are 380 Newtons or 85 lbs of force. No issue raising the hatch at all in the DE5, but we don’t have huge wings.

the FK8 also had Stabilus and very large lifting force:

DE5 lift supports (stay set) go for about $27 a piece.

FL5 stay sets for $80 a pop. Not sure why

FK8 stay sets can be had for +$40 a piece but they have 530 Newtons of lifting force.

of course this is all a moot point if you’ve already got similar and it’s still weak. At this point you’d need to shop for lifting supports with 600-700 Newtons or install double supports on each side of your hatch. Hope this helps your hunting

 

[Bonito]

Came across this thread and this brings me back to my 2000 Integra days where the hatch lift supports were too weak. I replaced them with Stabilus supports and those were impressively strong and smooth.

the Integra DE5 also uses Stabilus supports. I have no idea what the FL5 uses but perhaps one of you can open your hatch to gather some info: extended length, manufacture and part number:

if you happen to have Stabilus supports the first six digits are the part number. The following four with an “N” is the lifting force in Newtons. The third row is the Honda/Acura part number.
In my case, my lift supports are 380 Newtons or 85 lbs of force. No issue raising the hatch at all in the DE5, but we don’t have huge wings.

the FK8 also had Stabilus and very large lifting force:

DE5 lift supports (stay set) go for about $27 a piece.

FL5 stay sets for $80 a pop. Not sure why

FK8 stay sets can be had for +$40 a piece but they have 530 Newtons of lifting force.

of course this is all a moot point if you’ve already got similar and it’s still weak. At this point you’d need to shop for lifting supports with 600-700 Newtons or install double supports on each side of your hatch. Hope this helps your hunting

Just looked at my FL5 and it has Stabilus supports and says it has 700 Newtons. Full model number is 036138 0700N 191/22 C49.

 

[davilla413]

The info from my struts/stays:

STABILUS
036138 0700N 262/22 A49

So it would seem they should be sufficient as 700N = ~157lb.

 

[Azkyrie]

The info from my struts/stays:

STABILUS
036138 0700N 262/22 A49

So it would seem they should be sufficient as 700N = ~157lb.

Just looked at my FL5 and it has Stabilus supports and says it has 700 Newtons. Full model number is 036138 0700N 191/22 C49.

by those part numbers they would be indeed be 700 Newtons which is 84% more than the DE5 380 newtons.

I’m guess the Type R hatch and wing are much heavier? Looks like you’ll want to go with Stabilus 900N or you to 1300N for some very strong support lifts that will pull open the hatch on its own

these are just examples so you’ll need the exact extension length and mounting hole diameter to match the FL5 ball joints.

i may look To upgrade to the fl5 support lifts. If you ever get a measurement please let us know!

 

[spiff72]

I'm resurrecting this old thread because the struts in my 23 FL5 are barely enough to hold the hatch open anymore with the low temps of this winter (I'm at about 10k miles and outside temp is around 18F). I put my backpack in back and had to dodge the hatch as it tried to close on my head this morning.

Has anyone found a drop-in replacement with the right length and fittings and higher force than 700N?

 

[eneka]

Adding onto the data points....my '25 FL4 hybrid is the same. Struts feel weak especially when it's cold out.

 

[Nothing]

This is so interesting of a phenomenon. When I got the car, my thought was how annoying it was to have to pull down so hard and long of throw to close the hatch, compared to older gens that used a wire spring - get it to a height and it closes itself under its own weight. I have a small garage and I often load my trunk with the garage door about 2 inches away from the hatch as it swings open.

I did notice in 40s F weather it doesn't open up all the way without pushing it up and I have hit my head, though I can't say it's fallen down. I can't drive on summers at lower temps so I'm glad it doesn't get that cold here.

I'm curious if a higher force strut would be harder to close or have some sort of high speed valving that makes it easy to close or just a more temperature inert gas...

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