‘99 Hatch opens.....sometimes

[aa.allen]

I don’t know if it’s something I am doing wrong with with the locks that I haven’t figured out in the 7 months of owning my 4Runner or if after 18 years the latch system is warn out and works when it wants to.

Can somebody shed some light on my problem?

It doesn’t open more often than does open. Last Saturday I was at a tailgate party and would have loved for it to open but it never did. Next day it opened right up when I tried it. this is a common frustration. I have many examples of this situation. When it does open the latch is nice and tight when it doesn’t open the latch has no pressure behind it which leads me to think it’s me not having it properly unlocked but this is a 18 year old 220K mile vehicle so it could be warn
out.

 

[alanflies]

My latest one was doing that when I bought it. I just took off the inner plastic panel, shot everything down real good with WD40 and worked it back and forth with the key and with the handle...Been good ever since.

 

[gamefreakgc]

I would take a look at both the latch mechanism or the door strike on top of the bumper. Look for uneven wear or bright metal, indicating it's favoring one side. You can then gently strike it to bend it the other way.

And the oil suggestion as above. The access panel is behind the plastic trim piece. Take off the strap (one screw) and then pry the plastic off, then you'll see the big black panel to remove to get to the innards.

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

When I had my hatch apart last week to fix the missing license plate weld nut, when I removed the trim piece I found that 2 of the 3 mounting bosses for the latch mechanism were broken clean off from the trim piece. I was able to use 3M 2 part urethane epoxy adhesive and glue everything back together for a permanent repair. Maybe you're mounting bosses are broken as well ?

 

[kolelt]

Mine used to act up. Now.... when I open it. My handle doesn't return back to normal position. So if you go to close it. It won't close it will bounce back. You have to manually/ physically push the lever back then close the hatch.

 

[aa.allen]

Great leads and information thank you guys I will check all of these. When my wife gets home with the 4Runner I’ll pull that plastic panel off

 

[Mark_BC]

Take off the latch thing on the bottom of the door, 3 bolts I believe. Then get WD40 and spray it up the cable housing and work it with the cable, mine was corroded and too stiff. Just spraying in that area without taking the latch off didn't work because it has to go up the cable, it is like a bike brake cable and housing.