after wrenching in the hatch area last night...driving to work today noticed door open on dash. turns out the hatch latch is moving, latching, then immediately releasing. fortunately the hatch will stay closed and actually look closed to the naked eye, but it will just open if i pull on it. i have researched and seen threads where this is addressed, seems somewhat common. i understand the parts can be ordered and replaced without a mechanic or dealer.

has anyone ordered the piece or two i would need to replace the system/assembly recently? i was confused in the other threads if it is just this part needed, or something else as well?? i did disconnect my battery for 5 mins. like i said, it latches, then releases.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Toyot...iglink20350-20

anything besides this part?

more info: i was working with hatch open for an hour last night before this happened. i tried locking the truck just as latch engages, still pops back. tried disconnecting battery 5 mins. the rear glass still goes up and down normally. ket hole on hatch doesnt seem to work or turn the key, but i think it was like that previously.

thanks in advance.


-Tom

My rear hatch had similar issue a couple years ago. I just soaked the latch with WD40. Problem solved, no issues since then.

thanks. im going to try that. from my research it appeared to be beyond that. my latch is not stuck shut, ppl soak them after removing it or keeping it on and get it to release for those situations sometimes. mine latches but doesnt stay latched. ill dose it with wd40 or something, but i did order the new motor latch setup. if i somehow get it to work
in the next few days before it arrives ill easily return it with amazon prime. yeww.

thanks everyone. i see ill have to do some resets of windows sunroof and rear window after this job is done, hopefully that all goes okay.

Could it be a faulty switch, there was history of them shorting out and melting the rubber switch cover that triggers the latch.

i saw something about that. hoping the replacement takes care of it and nothing gets melted. there seems to be a lot of success with replacing the latch motor. i just wd 40 the latch a few weeks ago and a lot of people on youtube and on here have had the same issue as mine - point to replacing.

if the hatch just wont open, then theres a case of repair via penetrating spray

that melting issue i just hope isnt my case hah

The "melting" of the switch that many have an issue with is not the switch itself but the rubber switch cover deteriorating and becoming a sticky mess being more of a nusiance then an actual functioning issue.

Good luck Tom, and please update this thread if it works. That is definitely a huge fear I have with this vehicle having that stupid electric motor to close the hatch. Why they felt the need to complicate a simple mechanical latch, I’ll never understand! I go in and out of the hatch dozens of times per day to access various tools for my job, so I’m always fearful that one day it either won’t open, or won’t close. I don’t know, maybe the fact that I use it so much is actually a good thing, sort of like how you have to use the 4lo switch to keep the actuator functioning?

I had the same issue at the beginning of this past winter. I used a bungee to keep the hatch closed, bumpy roads. I ordered the oem part of ebay for about 240. Dealers up here wanted $375+. I ran the truck with the heat on for a bit to warm the sealer on the plastic sheeting covering the gate, replaced the part with I think 3 10mm bolts. People have said that you need to reset the brains on the computer in the back of the rig. When I installed mine, since it was running it worked right away. Its a piece of mind to have a brand new part in there. I tried spraying the crap out of it before hand to try to get the old one to catch but there is risk of getting liquid into the electronics and it never worked anyway.

Good info, appreciate it. Part will be here tomorrow good call. Kind of cool one spot i sanded is bottom of hatch for a little rust and now I can maybe get it addressed from inside too when i pop the hatch cover for install.

Just wanted to update I installed that part I linked after watching tutorial and my rear hatch is buttoned up amd latching. Thanks for all who chimed in.

Yeah I had the same issue as you. Mine had just gotten all gunked up from all the fine dirt we have in the desert and the fact that I had a missing rear window seal. Replaced the motor (and the window seal) and all is now good.

Glad you were able to get it fixed.

Btw, for those who do this down the road, if you pull the ECU-R fuse in the fuse box under the hood for five minutes, it re-sets everything in the rear hatch. I had to do that before my motor worked.

I'm having the same issue with my 2006. You can hear the lock close around the striker when you close the door, but it seems to immediately open again and the door isn't latched. You can lift it with a finger, like others have mentioned. Door ajar light on dash comes on as well.
With the rear hatch open I can push on the latch with a screwdriver and the motor engages to close the latch. It stays in that position, but it's not locked in that position and I can easily pull it open again with a screwdriver. I've sprayed the crap out of it with lube and cleaned it up with a wire brush. I also tried the fix of closing the door and hitting the lock button the key fob immediately, but still nothing.
So it looks to me like the latch is closing fine, but it's getting a faulty signal to open again or not to latch. The push button on the rear hatch to open the door doesn't activate the latch mechanism at all, which leads me to believe it's actually the switch assembly that's stuck in the "open" position, which is a $40 part vs the lock mechanism which is more like $300. Is that possible?

Anyone have any experience with just replacing the switch assembly vs the entire lock actuator?
Thanks!!

UPDATE- 6 months later...

I had the part number and was all ready to order a new actuator ($300+) when suddenly my lock started working again! I haven't had an issue with it again since.. and it's been about 6 months...knock on wood. Now I wonder if I have electrical gremlins. I'm always amazed at how this truck just keeps going and going. I'm at 398,000K and it's still my daily driver. I'll weep when I finally have to say goodbye.

While your issue could be the switch, I don't think so from what you say, when opening the hatch when everything is working correctly the switch activates the motor to open the hatch, i.e. you heard the motor running as the hatch opens/disengages, the fact that your latch is not staying locked tells me there's something wrong/broken within the latch assembly that keeps it latched, if the switch was stuck you should hear the motor run as the motor unlatches again after closing the hatch, unless you're saying that the motor does run again after it runs to latch the hatch, if this is the case then I would say replace the switch and hopefully it solves your issue.

Also check to be sure there not something keeping the hatch from fully closing which could cause it to unlatch, I would think it most likely has a safety function like all windows that would keep it from latching completely if it thinks someone has a finger/hand or other body part in the way of the hatch being able to safely close without harming a person.

Thanks AUSeeker, I really appreciate your response!
I'll double check the back window and make sure it's closed all the way just in case, but I've checked and double-checked and triple checked to see if there's anything blocking the door and it all looks clear. That's exactly what it seems like though...some type of faulty signalling due to something stupid like that.

I actually can't tell if the motor runs to disengage the locking mechanism or not. It definitely runs when I shut the door, you see the door pull in a bit and then it releases..but I can't tell you if the motor runs to engage AND to disengage..I just know it's running... but I don't know how long it would run to just engage vs to engage and disengage..get my drift? Maybe I can try sitting in the back hatch to see if I can see whether it engages and disengages or not.

I'm wondering if there's a way to test the push button to see if there's an electrical issue with it. Any ideas there?

The switch can be tested but you would need a multi-meter and check for continuity, the switch would have to be disconnected and or removed if you can't get to the terminals/connector coming from the switch, once you disconnect the switch connector set the multi-meter in the ohms position then connect each probe from the multi-meter to each wire/terminal from the switch, if the switch is good there will be no change in the reading from the multi-meter until you push the button on the switch showing you have continuity/a connection, if you get a reading change without pushing the button then the switch is shorted out/defective.