Who else has run into a case of dead tailgate?
Was it the soft close actuator latch or the button ?


Tips, Tricks and explanations appreciated.


worked fine one day, stopped working the next.. Window and wiper work normally. Very little if any corrosion visible inside door and inside lock. Ive tried resetting battery, locks, key lock on door. Unplugging harness and re plugging it back in. It doesnt make noise or anything.


Genuine Toyota Parts 69110-35090 Rear Gate Latch -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005VWRAIC...eWWjYZlnT1g5TE

2003-2013 Toyota 4Runner - Genuine Liftgate Release Switch - 84840-35010
https://www.amazon.com/2003-2013-Toy...lCu9C4ptnc5bhE

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When i replaced mine I ended up having to use Techstream to reset the tailgate ECU. Unplugging it didn't help me...

Nobody else has had this before?

Usually if the latch assembly is failing it struggles and still makes noise.
I'd be checking for power at the ECU-B fuse under the hood. Pull out and do a visual inspection of the legs, this action should also do a hard reset of the tailgate ecu after 30 seconds of being out. Maybe check the wire loom at the tailgate hinge as well for any signs of damage.

I have replaced 2, one on mine and one on a relatives. Mine just completely quit working one day and the other was intermittent. Replacement fixed both. I purchased the most recent one off EBay about a month ago for $176 and it was genuine Toyota.

i just did this last weekend.

ordered the motor off amazon and installed it within an hour.

had similar symptoms to you and it works like a champ with the replacement part. you confirmed your tailgate computer works since the glass rolls down, etc. so its just the latch motor, first link you posted.

mine was latching and then unlatching immediately for me to realise it was faulty.

Thank you! appreciate the feed back. Im going to try the fuse first.. but id say most likely ill be ordering the latch assembly.

it always worked fine, never had an issue.. didnt open it for about a month or so then one day I tried and it just decided to die.

@Billynath1988

Mine won't release. The motor is running but it won't release. Will this fix it, the new motor???

So weird you revive this thread.. since I wrote it my tailgate motor got weird again this week!

It would lock itself twice and prevent unlock however I FIXED IT AGAIN..

manually unlock the door from the inside using the little levers through the service door.. take the panel off, remove the few 10 mil bolts and carefully disconnect the lock mechanism. remove it, clean it out real good and then lube it up with generous amounts of wd14 or the like..

Reconnect everything

pull the rear door fuse I believe its ECUB 10amp for 20 minutes or so..

Put it back in, and immediately lock and unlock 5 times, roll up and down drivers window 3 times and roll up and down rear window 3 times..

Not sure if thats exactly the correct calibrate sequence but this should re calibrate the lock ecu and it seems to work normally again.. this is the second time ive been through this.

@Cloud9 I did that with just the first amazon part you linked... The job wasnt too bad if I remember right and it works perfect now. Mine was grabbing then releasing, wouldbt latch before I replaced it.

My actuator just died instantly. No struggling or intermittently working beforehand. Went to the grocery store, opened the liftgate to load up, got home liftgate wouldn’t release.

Somewhere on this site I found a process to test the switch (basically test resistance). Switch was ok. Replaced actuator and all was good. Easy job replacing the actuator, it was much more work pulling the switch out to test.

Hi guys, I recently had my hatch die. Window still works. Wiper still works. After opening the hatch manually, when I try to close it the half latch is recognized and the door soft closes the rest of the way.

I tested the switch at the ECU.... the violet/white wire goes to ground when i press the switch. However, no voltage on the blue/red or blue/black wires leading to the actuator when pressing the switch

I also tested the half latch and full latch switches where they meet the actuator at its wiring harness. They each are open and go to ground as each lever is pulled manually.

Finally, I unplugged the actuator from the ECU entirely and put 12v across the blue/black and blue/red wires. When I did this the actuator worked and the door opened.

I reset the ECU after this and still no luck.

So at this point my conclusion is a bad ECU though its very strange that this is the only function in the rear hatch that isn't working.

What do you guys think?

May not be the ECU. Mine died this weekend too. I disconnected the battery and reset the ECU and it would work one time. then nothing. Reset and would work one time. I think it sends an error code to the ECU and the ECU shuts it down. I tried cleaning the mechanism but that did not work. I ordered a new one and we will see if that fixes it. It is fourteen years old at this point.

so my hatch has been stuck for months... first the lock stopped triggering everything else works and i took the cover off and had been openin window reaching in and hit lever to open the hatch ... well now the levers do not work anymore and wont release the lock... i have no idea how i shouldgo about releasing the clasp on the bar for the lock mech... pry with screw driver?? loosen bolt and shake to break it loose?? i dunno... but it will nto trigger the release anymore

Try disconnecting the battery for a few minutes, this sometimes will get it work
one last time.

You will have to "normalize" the windows after the battery disconnect for them to functions properly.