Latch problem on back hatch

[r32]

So the other day I'm driving down the highway and I wonder why it got so loud in the vehicle all of a sudden. Quick glance and the windows are all in the up position. Then I look in my rear veiw mirror and my hatch is wide open. :shocked:

Good thing my surfboards didn't fly out. Person behind me had some big eyes and yet they failed to brake to create more distance. WTF?

Anyway my hatch would not stay locked. I've never once slammed my hatch as it has the auto-closing mechanism. In 108,000 miles never a problem. It would lock, and then looking at the door, it would 'pop' back a little and the 'door ajar' light would come on the dash. It wouldn't stay locked. After fiddling with it for a while, I finally got it to lock by doing the following. I opened the hatch door all the way and used my finger to manual close the lock by pressing it closed. Then I pressed on the handle to open it. Then I closed it and it stayed shut for the remainder of my drive. Then I come back out to my vehicle after a few hours and it's popped open again. Same problem. This time, the fix didn't work and it remained open. Again after fiddling with it for 10 minutes, I got it to stay locked. So far it's continued to work for the last 4 days.

Is this common? Will I have to replace the lock mechanism in the back? Anyone else out there experienced the same problem?

 

[Joseph_Conrad]

Sounds like one of these http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Toyota-Parts-69110-35090-Latch/dp/B005VWRAIC may be in your near future.

Latch issues are not an uncommon problem. I haven't replaced mine yet but I think I'll have to soonish. My symptoms include the motor pulling the hatch in and then delaying more than usual before the mechanism latches.

 

[ScotA]

Look two posts up on this forum.

I just replaced the mechanism, on mine, today. It is easy. Also replace the switch that opens the gate. About $200 and $40 for each. Troubleshooting is a waste of time.

It seems to be normal and expected for it to fail on this vehicle. When it fails the rear defogger, key, wiper, and key function will also fail.

 

[r32]

Update. So this may sound weird but it ended up being a battery problem. I got a new Duralast Gold 27F-DLG to replace OEM Panasonic and all of a sudden the rear hatch locks just fine and as normal. So glad I didn't buy the rear tailgate latch components before replacing the battery. Hopefully this will help someone else out. Referenced by battery purchase on this thread. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/107862-battery-life.html

Edit: It did NOT fix the latch lock problem. I guess it just decided to work for one time in the last month which happened to be the moment after I replaced the battery. Time to spend some money I guess.

 

[r32]

Update 2: Solved!

I don't know why I never considered this before, but recently realized the rubber cover for the latch mechanism (that opens the rear hatch) is completely melted into a soft gummy goo. Big mess of black coming off on my hands when I go to open the rear door. It's melted so much that the material caused the switch to be permanently pressed down at times.

Did a search on here and saw that the latch cover melting in hot climates is a well known issue on the 4th gen.

Ordered this replacement kit from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071DVJ6ZD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Note: I did not have to take apart the hatch door to remove the body panel which holds the latch cover, although if you can do this, it would be a hell of a lot easier to get the screws out.

Pro tip: Before you do anything, take a wide piece of painters tape and cover up the area directly above the latch, to avoid getting black goo on your paint. Also take another piece of tape and tape off the area directly below the screws, because as you remove them, the distance between these screws and your paint job closes enough that you will start scraping the paint with the 'L' screwdriver as you struggle to get the screws out, and as you put them back in.

Pro tip: Wear gloves and a crappy shirt. The melted black rubber can easily get all over you. Be careful touching your vehicle, or door handles, etc. when cleaning off the black goo.

First, I used the 'L' shaped screwdriver tool that came with the kit. It was a huge pain the ass and very slow going to remove the two screws on the existing cover.

Then I took a small flat head screw driver and gently popped out plastic casing that holds the switch. It was a huge mess with black goo all over the place.

There is a plastic piece, along with thin metal bar (similar gauge to a paper clip) that is easily removed from the main plastic casing the switch is located. Be careful when removing these two parts as there is a small spring underneath that will shoot off if you're not careful. Then you'll be on the ground looking for it.

I left the main plastic casing attached the vehicle and scraped the heck out it with a flat head screw driver trying get all the thick gobs of goo off. Also cleaned the plastic piece and metal bar separately. I used goo-gone and a lot of qtips to get everything really clean before reassembly.

Then I put everything back together, and slipped the new rubber cover on which wraps perfectly over the edges of the plastic casing. Then I pushed the plastic casing unit back into the door and then put the screws back in. It works fantastic and looks new again. Door now stays shut as it should.

Whole thing took me an hour because cleaning off the melted goo of OEM rubber latch cover was a huge pain.