Hello! Just had my car in for its first service during my ownership and the shop found a tear in the weatherstrip on the rear hatch. Any reason not to try a repair with flex tape or similar before replacing the whole thing?

 

I'd probably start with trying to fix the tear with weatherstrip adhesive before trying to tape it: something quality, like 3M black that my local auto parts carries. You might need to use some painter's tape to hold it place while the adhesive dries but I expect that with care it would come out well.

 

Yes, this will work. Clean all the surfaces with denatured alcohol. Let dry. Carefully apply the 3M adhesive with a popsicle stick trimmed to a point. I fixed many tears like this. If you are able to do it in a warm garage, so much the better.

 

Great - thanks so much for the suggestions! Will give this a shot and yes, fortunate to have a warm garage to do this in.