The lowest it has been around here is -24F and never a problem with my latch. The struts decided to fail in September, so the liftgate goes down nicely now.

I suggest spraying the latch itself with WD40 to clean it out and then coat it with lithium grease. Just the part that is visible, do not spray up into the latch mechanism.

And let the hatch close nicely from about 1 foot above the bumper. Make sure no ice has built up on top of the bumper, next to the car body.

Klaus
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Volvoless. Sold the R. There is now a void...

Part of the problem may be caused by the loss of the black plastic cover piece that covers the metal latch. How many of you have lost it? Several years ago, that cover material cracked on my car and broke away. From then on, it was harder to close the tailgate. I found the best procedure was to hold the hatch with both hands, lower it to about a foot from the closed position and then thump it in place with a firm push. Swinging it from its full open position with one hand (the spouse slams it shut procedure) made it bounce away before the latch engaged. By the way, the only repair was to buy the entire electric opener and latch assembly, about $300.

Mine does the same thing. Must be the grease or something. I find that the hatch stays securely in place without latching. If it is critical, I fire up my propane torch and give it a little blast. That seems to loosen things up.