There’s a rectangular opening in the interior tailgate trim that has a removable cover (part #3 in this diagram). On mine, removing the cover reveals nothing but a layer of clear plastic liner, presumably the one that seals the tailgate openings. What is this opening for?



Ominously, since I’m nosing around the tailgate because of emerging rust bubbles below the license plate area, there’s a rusty colored background to the clear plastic liner. 😬

If the tailgate lock motor fails , you can access the manual release through that cover.

Makes sense, thanks.

Not to mention the rear hatch window motor and regulator, also the rear hatch wiper motor, lock and actuator, and the bolted on exterior trim.

The plastic is a vapor barrier and can be removed to get to anything needed and then replaced, just be careful not to tear the plastic or get any dirt on the sealant around the edges and it will stick right back to the hatch.

Thanks, I knew all that was under the tailgate interior trim, I was asking about the little cutout in the trim piece. I’ve tried to avoid disassembling the tailgate because of that barrier, for example when I installed my backup camera, but looks like I won’t have a choice.

One of my gripes about My '03 SR5 Is that there is no inside latch to let yourself out when you're car camping. Found that out about 3:30 a.m. one night.
That little access port always intrigued me but I never got around to looking into it (literally) till lately when the hatch wouldn't open from the outside either. I had to get the inside panel off and that little port was really helpful in getting a grip on the panel and giving it a good yank to get the first panel clip (almost dead center beneath the opening) to pop off. That allowed me to get a prying tool (a miniature Stanley wonder bar nail puller was perfect) under the panel and continue around. Broke a couple clips but the panel was fine.
When the clips are all popped or broken (and the last one isn't around the edge, it's center right, kind of opposite the pulldown strap) you find a way to pry the panel up so it frees itself from the window. If you go too far up when it releases it'll wedge in the window frame because the frame tapers as it goes up. Beat it back down with your fist till its loose enough to wiggle away from the hatch... This is my first post..Didn't realize there was a word limit.

Continuation of previous post...Now the vapor barrier is exposed. Get a putty knife under one edge and peel the barrier away.[STOP RIGHT THERE...I live in the high dry west, we don't have a vapor problem we have an everything dries out and cracks problem. That black butyl stickum is amazing it was still soft,malleable and moist to to the touch, gotta find out what that is and get some.] When the barrier is out of the way there's a little white plastic dust cover on the latch mechanism. Pop it up and pull to the left that will expose two levers on the left of the latch unit. Pull up on the lower lever the tailgate opens. Hallelujah!
When I put in my new latch unit (OEM $180 from Amazon plus another $60 off for joining Amazon prime)this afternoon I'll see if I can cut a hole in the barrier or just not stick it back on and have access through the "inspection port" to the lever cover and the lever so I can let myself out. If I can, double hallelujah! Bob in Colo.

As an alternative, or if you want a slightly more polished solution:
4th Gen Maintenance Tutorials, Writeups, and Picture Threads

There's a link there to add hatch controls to the rear end. You can also find kits with all the wiring and switches needed on ebay, which is the route I chose to avoid having to source parts myself.

All in all it took about 3 hours to complete, but now I can open the hatch, open/close the window, and even lock or unlock the truck from my sleeping bag in the back.

Killer links here. In my favorites now. The one you're talking about is in "Camping and overlanding " section. I can kind of figure out mechanics. The ancient Greeks could figure out mechanics. Electronics...No way! It's all Greek to me.

If you've ever had to open a first gen Sequoia rear hatch from the inside because the outer handle broke off (like they usually do), you'll find that little inspection cover very useful. Trying to take a 20yr plastic panel not meant to be removed with the hatch closed while the car is 120°F and all their camping/rafting stuff is all in the back along with that lovely damp dog scent... you'll love that inspection cover on the 4Runner. Lol