the vent thingy below the cargo light on the left side of my hatch... any idea what that is? just curious

 

there's another vent behind there (on the actual body), with a lid, that opens when you close a door or the hatch (needed for obvious reasons). you can see it if you take off the rear bumper or maybe the paneling (can't remember, for sure). i'm assuming this vent is there to assist the vent in the body (probably to allow passage of air through the plastic paneling to the vent in the body, more easily).

 

ah, perhaps for the same reasons that when I close one of the doors when the hatch is popped open slightly, the hatch jumps up a little? air pressure I guess.

 

yup. :thumbup:

 

Its actually for the fresh air mode for the ventilation system. Old air is supposed to get sucked out while in fresh air mode. Works by vacuum when you drive.

 

fresh air mode? do you mean when the vents are open?

i suppose it helps with that. basically, to relieve air pressure, it seems.

 

Yeah I can see that, too... when the ventilation is bringing in fresh air from outside, the air already inside has to go out somewhere (same principle as if the sunroof is cracked open on the interstate, it sucks air out and pulls air in through the vents). All principles of fluid mechanics.