My rear hatch manual control stopped working, after loaning the car to my son-in-law and he was hauling material with the hatch partially open and tied down. NOTE: my remote control still would open the rear hatch. After looking on-line at several forums, I decided it must be related to computer controls and possibly microswitches...

I opened the rear access panel in the hatch and inspected the manual control rod to see it was working properly, also, confirming it was an electronic/computer issue... versus mechanical.

I then disconnected the battery, let is sit for 30 seconds and then reconnected it to clear any error codes set by the computer. When I first tried to open the gate with the manual control, it did not work. Then I opened the gate again with the remote and allowed it to open all the way. Then I closed it firmly and Wallah!.. it worked and has not failed since

NOTE: My 2008 has 101K miles and is an awesome vehicle... wish Chrysler had not given up on building this in 2009. I have had no issues, other than routine maintenance and this little hiccup. This is one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. And I have been a GM guy for years.