prr

A week or two ago I was lifting the hatchback door in my Civic. I heard a blasting noise from the right side, where the door lift is, and I smelled a foul odor. Since then, the door has had no lift at all—if I want it up, I have to hold it up, and when I let go, it slams shut.

At any rate, how much is it generally, to replace those things—I’m talking about having a mechanic replace the door lift, unless it is SUPER easy (in which case, I’d be willing to take a crack at it, but only if it could easily be done, with basic tools).

Colin42

pretty easy to swap out, there's a metal clip you pop up with a small flathead screwdriver, and then the bottom end will pop off,or you can remove the bottom bracket with a bolt. The top is just a bolt i think, or it will be similar to the bottom. The canadian honda part website I sometimes use lists them for around $200 each.
Rockauto has them for $8 to $23

prr

I found one at the Napa site: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_8195681

The site says that it fits my civic.

That seems cheap enough.

Is Balkamp a reputable parts supplier? I suppose I can call my local Honda dealer and ask for a price on the OEM version.

Would there be any reason to go OEM here?

Colin42

if the picture is accurate then it looks like its bolts on both ends, that will make it super easy. I'm sure they'll be fine, if it lasts a couple years you're laughing. I wouldn't bother paying multiple times more for the oem ones, certain things you buy oem, I wouldn't for these.

prr

Sounds like a good deal then.

For what it's worth, scrolling down that page, the site says that the manufacturer is AVM. Not sure who that is, if this makes a difference.

dcstomp83

certain things you want to go oem on...parts that start the car...parts that keep the car running...things that stop the car....everything else...aftermarket

prr

Wait--I just realized that there is also a unit on the drivers side as well.

Can I ignore this--does this one also keep the hatchback lifted up? Or would I have to replace that one, as well? I am 100% sure that the sound I heard came from the passenger side, which is why I never bothered to look at the drivers side of the hatchback. So I am assuming that the passenger side lift was actually doing all the work, while the drivers side was simply acting as a hinge, of sorts, to ease teh movement up and down.

Colin42

you should do both, otherwise it may try to twist as you lift because there's only one good one