Hi all - posting here to see if anyone else has experienced this odd issue...

2019 TRD Offroad

About 6 months after purchasing it new, I heard something rattling around inside the rear hatch when I opened it. I pulled the plastic cap/internal-hand grab-thing off of the inside bottom of the rear hatch lid on the side closest to the rattling noise. I fished around in there for a bit with a magnetic retrieval tool and pulled out a 1" long 13mm bolt. At that time I couldn't identify anything loose or disconnected, so I chalked it up as a possible superfluous fastener lost inside of the rear hatch assembly during manufacturing.

About 2 years passed without incident, and then about a month ago I once again heard a rattling noise inside of my rear hatch when I opened it. Following the same process as above, I once again fished out an identical 1" long 13mm bolt.

After fishing out the second bolt, I now notice some movement in the external hatch lift handle (the assembly with the license plate lights and the rear camera) when I open the hatch. I'm not sure if that movement was present prior to fishing out the second screw or not, but I am now concerned that something may be coming undone inside the rear hatch. Also of note, the bolts I retrieved from inside of the rear hatch do not appear to have any thread lock on them.

So my questions for the group are:
1) Has anyone else experienced this issue? If so, what was identified as the cause?
2) For people that have done rear camera relocates or similar mods, do you recall encountering any 1" long 13mm bolts? If so, what were they attached to?
3) For any Toyota techs, is this an issue that you've encountered or heard of before?
4) For any Toyota techs or anyone with a repair manual, what are the 1" long 13mm bolts used for inside of the rear hatch assembly?
5) Can anyone point me to a step-by-step for removing and reinstalling the inside of the rear hatch assembly so I can investigate/repair the issue?

Thanks in advance for the help!

My rear garnish got loose a year or so ago. I went in and tightened it up before any of the nuts started rattling around. Don’t remember the size. I’m pretty sure the bolts for the garnish are held captive in that piece, so that shouldn’t be the source of the bolt. I could be wrong, but that’s what I remember.

Thanks @meltdown . I found a rear camera relocation install video online yesterday from C4 Fab. In that video it looks like the bolts that attach the rear garnish from the inside of the rear hatch are the same type as the bolts that I fished out of my rear hatch, but are 10mm instead of the 13mm that came out of my rear hatch. The guys in the video didn't identify any 13mm bolts, and I couldn't see any in the video that appeared to be large enough to be 13mm.

It looks like I might need a Toyota tech or someone with a repair manual to help identify where the 13mm bolts might have come from. This is super weird...

do you still have bumper to bumper warranty? that's something I'd take to the dealer in case there's more to it

@HumbleLeader - yep, I'd love to be able to take it in for warranty work but I'm outside of the 3 year warranty period. 5yr/60k applies to powertrain only as I understand it.

you must be barely outside the 3 year period though. I'd try anyway, if you've been a regular customer they may have some leniency or at least offer to cover part of the costs if there is a bigger issue. those bolts came from somewhere so something is not secured (I doubt they are extras just lost in there). no issues with the rear glass or anything like that?

There is probably a loose bolt that came off. Removing the rear hatch panel is simple. There are probably a few videos on how to do so, its similar to the door panels.

Rear hatch remove two bolts that hold the handle in place. You can either remove the lights or leave them on, note they do need to be detached to remove panel. The panel is held in place with plastic pins, there is a small area near the bottom where you can grip . Start there and gradually work your way around to remove the panel, you'll hear a popping sound which is normal. Once removed you'll see bolts with nuts on them and the one that is missing a nut. I would just tighten them all. If your remove the black trim /weather strip near the top of panel, place that on first vs trying install that with the panel together.

@humbleleader - I may end up taking it in to the dealer if I can't identify the location or fix it myself. No problems with the rear glass or anything else so far.

@osugsxr - thanks for the info. This will be helpful when I dig into fixing this.

I'm going to pull the interior rear hatch panel and take a look. I found a video online from C4Fab with a pretty detailed step-by-step. I'm heading to the mountains this weekend and next, so it'll be a while until I have time to do this. In the meantime, any other insights from other folks would be greatly appreciated.

Its helpful to have the pry tool to remove the white pins!!!

here is another video if needed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H50FlhUpjbk