Need some help. Got a 2012 limited, went to put rear (tailgate) window down today, and it dropped, and made a crunching sound. Wont go up, won't stay up, so I have it taped all the way up. I assume the actuator rusted out, the motor sounds like it is still working. What am I looking at here as far as complexity to fix this myself? Im not overly experienced working on cars. I tried to find some videos, but no luck, at least for a 5th gen. Searched the forum here also, and nothing really came up at least for what I searched. OFC I was getting it all cleaned up to put it up for sale, I guess it doesn't want to go.

Only threads I could find.

RUSTED Rear Gate Glass lift mechanism - Help

Rear glass replacement

Liftgate window frame & motor replacement

Thanks for the links. Maybe I’ll pm the person that said they had some pdfs.

Unless something has changed recently you have to have at least 15 posts to be able to send PMs.

The forum is setup this way to try and deter Spammers.

That being said give it a try since you were able to start a topic, which you shouldn't be able to do either without 15 posts. it may have something to do with when you joined the forum.

Yeah maybe because I’ve been a member for a long time?

Yes I think so, I was just editing my reply to that affect.

Pulled out the window regulator over the weekend. It was all rusted and the cable was frayed. Had some trouble with a couple screws being seized and needing to be drilled out to be removed (thanks to a neighbor). Got a new regulator at the dealership and got it installed. Luckily the motor was fine as that is an expensive replacement. I cleaned out a bunch of dried in mud in the bottom of the lift gate while I had it all taken apart. Also, once it was all back together, I had to re-learn the motor. Found a thread on here in 4th gen forum, that talked about that, otherwise it would auto go up but then come down a few inches, like the pinch protection was being triggered. If we hadn't had to drill out a couple screws it wouldn't have been too bad to replace.

Picture of the crazy amount of rust that caused the problem.

Attached Images

 

why so much rust, like it filled with water and drains were clogged ?

It happened on my 2007. I can see on mine that there is a crack in the rubber seal.

Rust belt..
I am afraid to look at my 2013 Trail rear window.
I rust check it every year but the salt from the roads in East Coast Canada take its toll.

My 2003 regulator looked like that after 10 years

So I’m thinking about putting some fluid film or similar in the bottom of the lift gate. Anyone else do this? I really can’t think of any way to keep this from happening again to the regulator. Water drips off the window once it gets below the trim piece and onto the regulator.

The worst part were the seized screws that attach the window to the regulator, maybe taking them out annually and making sure they well greased is the best I can do.

Use some stainless screws and some anti seize on the threads. You will never have a problem with them again. High quality stainless hardware is now available for almost any hardware. You may have to go to an industrial fastener place to find it. Don't use the cheap chinese stainless you find at hardware stores.

The rear license plate mount holes are threaded, so I did just that: quality stainless metric bolts.

Had this issue with my 06. Seems common for water to get past that window seal and rust out the interior of that pannel, including the window regulator.

That said, it shouldnt be too difficult to fix. If you wanna buy a new regulator online, itll probably run you around $300-$400.

If you look up a local pick-and-pull (a junkyard you can pull parts from) you might be able to find that gen 4runner. If so, you can probably pull one out of there. It isnt hard, just a few bolts. If you can get all that youre golden.


I just did this about a month ago. It was all smooth until I realized the bolts securing the window to the regulator via plastic tabs glued to the window were totally rusted. No amount of rust buster, drilling, or bolt extracting worked. An oscillating tool did.

I replaced my regulator a few months ago. It wasn't too bad of a job, but we don't have much salt in SoCal so things were pretty clean. Biggest thing I messed up is when I took things apart to diagnose the regulator or motor, i didn't pay close enough attention to how important the water proofing is. Then we got all the rain this winter and I had some water issues... but perk is I know how to remove my seats /carpet now, my sun roof drains are clean, sun roof gasket is cleaned and lubricated and my roof rack bolts have fresh silicon . Even after i put things together, I was getting water coming through my speaker. So I did re foam tape both speakers. Also that plastic sheet is important. I got some new butyl puddy to re-seal it too. Eventually just got new clips since they have some foam on them. Now I need to find a car wash since its done raining for a while. Good luck!

The regulator was only $138 which was nice! and basically anything behind the inside metal panel (and all its little hidden water proofing pieces) is exposed to the element. Water will get around the weather stripping and in the corners, but its made for that and it drains out. There wasn't much out there about 5th gen back windows and the other generator stuff only partially helped.