I have had a super annoying rattle from my rear hatch area and after quite some time of not knowing what the cause was (I checked the license plate, jack/tools, spare tire, etc.) I finally took a little electrical tape and wrapped it around the striker for the latch and, voilà, that solved it.

But as you can imagine that tape just gets torn up pretty quick and the problem shows back up. I think that the latch/striker needs to be adjusted to hold things a bit tighter. On my old jeep you could loosen the striker screws and slide the striker to adjust but this does not appear to be the case on the 4Runner.

So, question is, how to adjust this? Or, alternatively, how else to solve this latch rattle?

Thanks!

I'm not around my truck to look, but is there an adjustable stopper on each side of the hatch that could be backed out a bit to provide more pressure when closed so it wouldn't rattle?

I'd like to know this as well. I had the tape working for a couple of weeks and now the rattle is back.

This would usually be the case if the striker isn’t adjustable. It really has to be one or the other. Haven’t had to look at mine yet.

I have not noticed an adjustable stop on mine as of yet... Anyone know of a digital FSM floating around for the 5th gens online?

I noticed the rattle when temperatures dropped and tore everything apart till I tried the electrical tape on the striker and it worked. Would love to hear if anyone figures anything else out as a longer term solution

I'm assuming this means service manual? I have one if you want me to email it to you.

Heck yes, thanks, I'll PM you.

I will report back to the group if I can track down a solution.

Thanks!

Well it looks like there is an adjustment procedure and that perhaps it just requires a bit more gusto than I gave it the first time.

Looks like you loosen the latch on the body and use a brass rod (although anything hard and unmarring would work I assume, hammer handle, etc.) and give it a whack with a mallet to move the latch. I will try when I get a chance but here is the FSM page describing the procedure.

No bueno on the link to the service manual

Just updated to a different host, hopefully it is working now.

Thanks! It shows fine now. Have you done your adjustment yet? I am curious which direction to whack it to get more pressure on the latch.

I've not done my adjustment yet, however, you would move the latch towards the front of the truck to hold the hatch with firmer pressure.

my buddy from the body shop mentioned repositioning the striker with a 2x4 and hammer-- it's nice to see the equivalent toyota instruction on this thread.

I've been down some bumpy roads since 2015, and I was surprised to find every aspect of my lift gate loose over the last summer. First the striker with the electrical tape, and then the top hinges, and most recently the spoiler (very easy to tighten-- just 4 bolts behind some rubber plugs).

I'm probably going to remove the tape from the striker later today, loosen it with the T40, and give it a whack forward. I'll report back afterward.

Although I must say, my last effort used a small amount of gorilla tape, and it has been holding up VERY well. If you're new to taping the striker, there's a balancing act between "just enough" and "my liftgate won't open". It's hair-raising when you add too much.

Any update on this? My striker hatch is acting up like crazy again despite using gorilla tape and greasing the latch.