DIY lift gate lock assembly
 

About 3 years ago the rear lift gate started acting up. I would press the button on the gate, it would make a sound like it was going to open but wouldn't. After about 2-3 tries it would finally open. Well this winter it finally stopped working completely. It would still make the sound but it would not open. I searched these forums and discovered that some other people had the same problem but nobody really had a solution. Couple weeks ago I had the car at the dealership to replace one of the catalytic converters. While there I asked them to look into the lift gate. They told me that the lock assembly had to be replaced and quoted me over $500. I told them no thanks but asked them for the part # that needed to be replaced.
I ordered the part from conicelli Toyota (partznet dot com) and it cost me $170 delivered (they had a sale at the time). I replaced it today and it took me about 1.5 hr.
The part number is 69110-35062 Lock Assy, w/motor and it looks like this:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...0.jpg~original
New part on left, old on right. Notice that the cover on the left side of the old part is missing. It had broken away and was laying inside the lift gate. I wonder if that contributed to the lock getting dirty and stuck.
The replacement procedure is pretty simple. Remove the back door trim using this procedure:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/600822-post4.html
You will see this:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...8.jpg~original
Remove the plastic trim from the bottom of the lift gate and you'll see this:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...9.jpg~original
Remove the 3 bolts from the bottom and the 1 from the back, unplug the harness and remove the entire lock assembly. Installation of the new part is reverse of removal. This whole procedure takes about 30 minutes. Why did it take me 1.5 hr? Because I had to reset the computer which I didn't know about. After installing the new part the lock did not work. Nothing... dead silence. I checked the fuses, tried it with the back glass down and up, tried it using the key but nothing worked. Finally I started reading these forums and found a reset procedure here:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/178185-post2.html
This worked but I also had to start the car for it to work. Somebody also mentioned that unplugging the bottom right harness on the backdoor computer also works but I didn't try that. If I knew that the computer had to be reset before I started working on this I would have been done in 30 minutes. Over all I saved about $400 by doing this myself.

t4r.org 1.... stealership 0.


now obviously this forum has won more than that, but i am making a statement.

mine has kinda sorta started doing the whole push the button more than once thing occasionally.... and if it dies officially, i now know exactly where to go and i thank you for that.

Excellent write-up. I am definitely gonna bookmark it down.:bravo::bravo:

I replaced mine, but haven't gotten the motor to work, which reset procedure did you do, the one for the rear power window?

Thanks for posting this btw, I found no diy when I searched.

I disconnected the battery for 5 minutes. Then I had the ignition to ON and rolled the driver window all the way down and up, then the rear window. If I remember correctly at that point the rear gate still didn't work so I started the car and it started working.

Would your gate open if you pressed hard on the door (like leaning ALL your weight on it)?
I've had that problem forever, and haven't found any answers for it. I wonder if this will fix it?

No it would not open at all. The motor made noise but the latch would not open. As you can see in the first picture the motor and the latch are all one assembly. So if you're having a problem with the latch you'd have to change the whole thing.

Nice write up, thanks for taking the time to take the photos. I wonder if slamming the read door has anything to do with the lock assembly going out. I notice at the local car wash that they slam the rear door close, not knowing they dont have to slam the door shut

The power rear latch was one of a few reasons I considered NOT buying my 4runner. I did end up getting it and I love it but I'll take a mechanical rear latch any day.

Mine hasn't failed (yet) but recently acted up twice in the same way you describe. I'm thinking it's on the way out.
So I have a silly question: how did you get the failed latch open in the first place to get the lift gate open to change the latch.

Good question, I was worried about that too before I started. If you look at the first picture, on the left side of the old part you can see two levers. Pulling on the smaller one opens the latch.

Also, I don't think slamming the gate causes the problem. The part looks and feels very sturdy and solid. I think dirt getting inside the assembly is the problem. And looks like Toyota knows that too because the new part has insulation around the bottom of the new part while the old one did not have that.

I did this back in November or December, and had been driving around with the trunk locked but the new motor still wasn't working. I left it alone until last week, and finally crawled in the back and pulled the 2 wire sets from the bottom of the ECU on the tail gate, left them out for about 30 seconds, and then put them back in, and poof my motor started working. Just wanted to add that to this thread, since you don't need to pull your battery, just pull the plugs from the ECU and it should pick up your new motor.

Quick question. Just got my replacement and it has a string taped to it. What am I supposed to be doing with this string???? Everything else looks pretty straight forward after you get the back panel off. Not looking forward to all of those clips.

Remove the string before install

the clips are easy. just be careful of the one in the middle. that threw me off.