DIY lift gate lock assembly

Those of you with hatches that wouldn't open: what did you end up doing to open it? I've spent the better part of the last 2 days trying to get mine open. My actuator seems to be fine. I can watch the levers move up when I try to open the hatch. No amount of my pushing, pulling, etc can get it open, though. I've been spraying PB Blaster down in the direction of the hinge itself, but I can't guarantee that any of it is actually reaching the intended destination.

I've searched and searched for answer. A poster on this forum ended up using a crowbar or something and literally forcing the door open, breaking the hinge and mechanism in the process. I'd like to avoid that if possible. :hurt:
 
laces out said:
Those of you with hatches that wouldn't open: what did you end up doing to open it? I've spent the better part of the last 2 days trying to get mine open. My actuator seems to be fine. I can watch the levers move up when I try to open the hatch. No amount of my pushing, pulling, etc can get it open, though. I've been spraying PB Blaster down in the direction of the hinge itself, but I can't guarantee that any of it is actually reaching the intended destination.

I've searched and searched for answer. A poster on this forum ended up using a crowbar or something and literally forcing the door open, breaking the hinge and mechanism in the process. I'd like to avoid that if possible. :hurt:
Click to expand...

If you take your inside panel off the rear hatch, you will see a transparent plastic film covering a huge hole. If you then peel that plastic film back, you will see a white plastic box inside towards the bottom with a smaller white plastic box attached to that at the bottom left. If you remove the smaller white box, it is just a cover to a manual switch/lever. This opens the hatch. If you need pics, I can send them tomorrow. My rear hatch just stopped working and until I find out how to fix this, I just tied a rope to that lever and let it hang over my rear window. I pull that rope to open my hatch. Kinda hard to explain and by no means is a permanent fix but it works for now.
 
whte4r said:
If you take your inside panel off the rear hatch, you will see a transparent plastic film covering a huge hole. If you then peel that plastic film back, you will see a white plastic box inside towards the bottom with a smaller white plastic box attached to that at the bottom left. If you remove the smaller white box, it is just a cover to a manual switch/lever. This opens the hatch. If you need pics, I can send them tomorrow. My rear hatch just stopped working and until I find out how to fix this, I just tied a rope to that lever and let it hang over my rear window. I pull that rope to open my hatch. Kinda hard to explain and by no means is a permanent fix but it works for now.
Click to expand...



Sorry, I should have been more specific. I've removed the inside panel, tried the levers, sprayed PB Blaster as best I could, etc. My motor still works, because I can watch the levers move up when I press the button to open the hatch. The latch itself must be totally rusted shut. I can't figure out a way to remedy that.
 
Very timely resurrection of this thread.... My latch went out over the weekend.... Ordered the replacement and hopefully will be able to get it in next weekend... Much appreciate the detail and the pics!
 
Wanted to add my experience to this thread. First, my door was stuck closed, not sure how long it had been since I just bought it, but based on the buildup of dirt and rust on the mechanism, it has been a while.

Got inside and pulled the smaller handle and it did nothing, which told me it wasn't broken, but instead just rusted shut. What I had to do was pull that lever, and kick the bejesus out of it. Finally broke it free.

New part came with a nice little pull handle in case it gets frozen again. And to reprogram it, I unhooked the battery for 5 minutes.
 
97BlackAckCL said:
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.
Click to expand...

Just replaced the lock actuator in my 2003 4Runner. Thanks for this thread because it helped me reset the power to the motor unit. I tried the one-touch reset instructions for the window but that didn't work. I then reset both connections to the ECU and the motor started working. I then needed to perform the one-touch reset on the window to get the rear hatch key and the rear door release to function again. Simple once you fail several times and figure out what to do. :-)

If anyone is interested I purchased my lock actuator through an eBay seller for $119 USD with $28 shipping:

"Toyota 4RUNNER Tailgate Lock Latch Lift With Motor 03-09 OEM Genuine 69110-35090"

The part shipped from United Arab Emirates via USPS and took about two weeks to arrive. Total cost of DIY replacement was $150
 
Gate Lock Assembly - cleaning

cruiserborealis said:
I had a problem with the locking mechanism for the longest time. It would lock and immediately release again. Something wrong with the sensor. I finally gave up and ordered a new unit from Toyota. When I removed the old lock I took it apart and salvaged the motor which looks and works like new. So, if anyone out there feels inclined to repair a lift gate lock with a burnt motor, feel free to contact me. I am willing to part with it for $30 plus shipping.
Click to expand...


Hi there. Brand new. Prob not the right format. But you are the only lead I have so here goes.

How were you able to remove the gate lock assembly motor and wiring, lever assembly from the white plastic sheath? The entire assembly is filfty bi need to remove it and clean it by hand. Any help would be much apprecisted.

Thanks in advance.

Johnny
 
arkbadger said:
I apologize in advance for my ignorance on the subject, as I have only had my 4 runner for a year or so (I had a Taco for about 10 years). This past weekend as I went to close the rear door of my '07 4runner annnnnd, it wouldn't close. As I inspected further it looked like the latch/lock assembly in the door seized up, for lack of a better word. I sprayed it down with some WD40 and worked at it with a screw driver and it didn't move. My rear door is now being held shut with by a strap attached to the back seat.

Here's my question. Based on the picture I attached below I believe it is the back latch return that is seized up. Is this all part of the rear gate latch that is discussed in this thread? When I search for it on Amazon and other parts sites they all seem to come back to the rear gate latch, but I can't get a good look at it because of the plastic to be sure.

This picture isn't from my truck, but this is what is seized up.
Click to expand...


so i appear to have messed my latch up..a pal had the problem of rear latch not locking, and i tried to help him..and inadvertently pushed the lock down...now my latch cant close...same as his:lock1::lock1::lock1:

any clue on what to do next?..i hv disconnected the battery...intend to try the lever in the white plastic part...shud the battery reset not work
just a little worried, i dont mess things up more
 

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so i was able to resolve this. would leave this out there for anyone who may make the same error i did.

use a screw driver or any flat object to press against the latch, while simultaneously pressing lock/unlock on the fob.
the metal hook on the fob will snap back and remain in the unlocked position.
cheers
 
My hatch broke after buying some parts from autozone for my suster's car.
Would try to close and lock but wouldn't engage the lock.

I didn't want my battery to die in the train lot when going to work, so I needed it fixed that day. Dropped it at Toyota to take care of.

Part was $286 labor was $201

Haggled a discount of $50 bucks so all in was $463.41

Not bad but not the cheapest repair ever. works like new now!
 
mjlmjl said:
I have a similar problem with the hatch - where it would NOT lock.

I've read so much about the hatch NOT opening that I have a few questions about my problem - which is the opposite.

The locking mechanism costs $450 Cdn at the dealership and not sure how much the ECU costs. Since both parts are electrical/electronic - they won't take back the units if I swop out the parts and it doesn't solve my problem.

===The problem ===

2007 4Runner, driven in typical Canadian winters with lots of salt on the roads.

My back hatch/door will not stay locked.

I would close the door as usual and the door mechanism engages. So it seems. It closes the door normally by pulling it in the last few inches. Everything seems fine - UNTIL I gently lift the door. The door then opens.

Again, the locking mechanism pulls the door shut and engages, BUT it doesn't hold it (the door) in place. In fact, I drove out from a parking lot - and the hatch popped opened.

So -I'm thinking - it's either the locking mechanism (cost=$450) and/or the ECU unit (cost = ??).

I haven't had the chance to try connecting and disconnecting the power to the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) yet. It's minus 15C - so I'll wait till it warms up to try that.

If disconnecting and reconnecting the power to the ECU doesn't fix it, is there a way to determine if the problem is the locking mechanism - or - the ECU - WITHOUT having to buy the units to troubleshoot?

Does anyone have experience to tell which part is defective based on the above description?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...


I have this exact problem now except mine is an '05. I've got nylon rope holding it closed. It was not fun driving down the road and having it open at 30 mph. Going to order the part but also wanted to know where the ECU is located in conjunction with the latch so I can disconnect that when I get the back door apart.
 
mlc2000 said:
I have this exact problem now except mine is an '05. I've got nylon rope holding it closed. It was not fun driving down the road and having it open at 30 mph. Going to order the part but also wanted to know where the ECU is located in conjunction with the latch so I can disconnect that when I get the back door apart.
Click to expand...

So an update.

I paid $150 from amazon and put it in. For those who were quoted $450 by the dealer, forget it. Do yourself a huge favor and do it yourself or have a friend who is good with stuff like this do it. Totally not worth paying that much for the entire job.

Took me 30 minutes to do from start to finish. Since it was 40 degrees out, used a hair dryer to heat up the glue and slowly peel the plastic back and tape it to the car. After I put the new one in, reversed the process. Heated up the glue and pressed the plastic into place as I went down the line.

I wound up disconnecting the battery because I had to replace the positive terminal connector. The original one was getting too compressed and was becoming loose to the point where I could turn it back and forth. I couldn't tighten it any further because it was so compressed.
 
wadle5 said:
I have to do this sooner than later. Pretty straight forward yeah? In regards to taking off the back panel specifically?
Click to expand...

Back panel is easy to remove. Use a thin plastic trim removel tool (Harbor Freight). The toughest part for me was trying to reinstall it by myself. The clips fall off if they're not lined up perfectly.
 
Thanks!

Thanks for this post, mine would not stay shut due to the latch failure. Appreciate the straight forward walk through on the replacement procedure!
 
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