Hatch questions

[Parks Junkie]

First off, is there a trunk/hatch release up by the driver I'm not seeing? So many cars have them now when I pull up to a Haz Waste household cleanup in my 90's BMW they expect me to "pop" the trunk for them. I've got to explain it's not locked.

Second is it's really hard to push in on the rubber that covers the release switch in the hatch, is it supposed to be like that? If not, what do I do. The other day my wife swore it wouldn't open. It would, but it was that bad.

Third may be related to #2, that rubber/plastic cover over the switch is sticky and always leaves black **** on my fingers.
Not that big a deal to me, but to my wife?:AK47:

 

[AuSeeker]

First off, is there a trunk/hatch release up by the driver I'm not seeing? So many cars have them now when I pull up to a Haz Waste household cleanup in my 90's BMW they expect me to "pop" the trunk for them. I've got to explain it's not locked.

Second is it's really hard to push in on the rubber that covers the release switch in the hatch, is it supposed to be like that? If not, what do I do. The other day my wife swore it wouldn't open. It would, but it was that bad.

Third may be related to #2, that rubber/plastic cover over the switch is sticky and always leaves black **** on my fingers.
Not that big a deal to me, but to my wife?:AK47:

No there is no release for the hatch in the cabin, only outside on the hatch.

The "sticky/melted" rubber cover is a common thing with the 4th Gens and many other Toyota/Lexus models, it maybe a location thing or not, I haven't had the issue where I live, you need to replace at least the cover but with the switch being hard to push I would replace the entire assembly "cover and switch", there are numerous topics on the forum for doing the replacement.

The part number for the entire assembly is P/N: 84840-35010

Here's link to the best price I could find for an OEM part, you can get an aftermarket part for less.

Amazon.com

Here's a link for one for about the best price you will find at a Toyota dealer website.

84840-35010 Genuine Toyota Back Door Opener Switch Assembly)

 

[Parks Junkie]

Wow, great info, thanks!

 

[Cezar]

Another useful piece of trivia. The latch motor will eventually get corroded and decide it doesn't want to run any more when it detects too much resistance or whatever. When that happens you can't open the hatch which is a problem to get the replacement installed. Often, you can disconnect the battery and reconnect and it will reset the motor and let you open the hatch normally again to perform the repair.

 

[J.A.]

Perform the hatch release mod and simply run the switch all the way up front within reach of the driver...
Toyota 4Runner Interior Hatch Release Mod and New Exterior Hatch Switch

 

[AuSeeker]

Wow, great info, thanks!

Perform the hatch release mod and simply run the switch all the way up front within reach of the driver...
Toyota 4Runner Interior Hatch Release Mod and New Exterior Hatch Switch

You can also find JA's tutorial on replacing the melted exterior hatch switch on the same page of his website as his "Hatch release mod".

 

[Parks Junkie]

Perform the hatch release mod and simply run the switch all the way up front within reach of the driver...
Toyota 4Runner Interior Hatch Release Mod and New Exterior Hatch Switch

I was thinking about something like that. Now I've got to decide if I need it or not. I mean I've only got 10M other things on my list of things to do, not necessarily 4Runner related, just stuff!

 

[ArthurKotb]

Try using 70-90% isopropyl alcohol on that switch cover before replacing it. I've used it on kitchen tools that have the rubber handle cover and it works quite well on those. Use cloth or paper towel wet with the alcohol (has to be 70% isopropyl or higher) and wipe the cover, turning the cloth/paper towel to wipe off the residue that's on the surface.

 

[Parks Junkie]

Try using 70-90% isopropyl alcohol on that switch cover before replacing it. I've used it on kitchen tools that have the rubber handle cover and it works quite well on those. Use cloth or paper towel wet with the alcohol (has to be 70% isopropyl or higher) and wipe the cover, turning the cloth/paper towel to wipe off the residue that's on the surface.

I tried 99% to no avail. What used to be rubber is not, well, I'm not sure what, hard goo? But I appreciate your input.

 

[Kevin G.]

I tried 99% to no avail. What used to be rubber is not, well, I'm not sure what, hard goo? But I appreciate your input.

Yep.......bought an ebay aftermarket cover years ago.
It's a mess to replace. Naphtha/lighter fluid is your friend.....along with some q-tips.

Go slowly and carefully.......you'll get there.

Hope this helps.

Kevin

 

[J.A.]

I was thinking about something like that. Now I've got to decide if I need it or not. I mean I've only got 10M other things on my list of things to do, not necessarily 4Runner related, just stuff!

Its on my to do list as well, just not a high priority...more of just a nice to have feature that will probably only rarely be used.

 

[Parks Junkie]

With help from AuSeeker and JA I got it replaced with a new one this weekend. The worst part was probably getting the license plate light screws out, a couple of the heads were pretty rusty. Used some stainless #8s since I had them for replacements, plenty close enough to the M4 that were rusty. Took a bit more time than I would have liked, but a lot of is because I didn't really know how it came apart, even with the help of JA's pics and I didn't want to break anything.

But now, wow, it acts like it's supposed to, a simple press and my fingers don't get covered in goo.