I bought a 2005 Limited Sequoia a couple weeks ago, and during the inspection, didn't notice that the rear hatch does not lock at all. Not with the key and not with the lock buttons (no FOB to try with).
The PO said that the plastic rear hatch handle had broken and he'd replaced it about 6 months ago with a metal one. (and sure enough, it's metal now)
When I got it, it also had the classic 'no rear window, wiper, wiper fluid, defroster' issue, that I fixed yesterday by simply removing that spring and spacer and then cycling the rear window a few times, per the TSB.
I'd hoped that when I was in there yesterday, I would have found the rear lock culprit, and I may have, but not sure.
I found this free-roaming black plug, but for the life of me could not figure out where it plugs into. ( I may just be completely blind). I'm assuming that the PO simply didn't plug it back in when he fixed the handle, but I don't know. The white plug attached directly to the latch mechanism. (looks like he also took some tin snips to the metal; you can see where it's a little torn at the white plug wire)
I watched a bunch of YouTube videos of rear hatch repairs trying to identify where this plugs in, but couldn't find it.
Could anyone shed some light on this?