Rear latch busted . . . is it tough to replace?
- Thread starter Annalea
- Start date
Maritimer
New member
Nice. The other place I could get things from cheap doesn't ship to Canada anymore.
Anyone with a used one will certainly be bringing good news. I can't believe mine doesn't work anymore--it works, just doesn't slide quite far enough to trigger the door closed light or allow the electronic lock to work. Tried for a long time to get all the crappy plastic off the inside.
Anyone with a used one will certainly be bringing good news. I can't believe mine doesn't work anymore--it works, just doesn't slide quite far enough to trigger the door closed light or allow the electronic lock to work. Tried for a long time to get all the crappy plastic off the inside.
DesertTortoise
Junior Member
Rear hatch latch problems
Thanks for all those who've posted on this issue already. I just want to clarify I really have a latch issue, if possible.
The problem began about 7 or 8 months ago when I couldn't open the back hatch. I quickly learned that if I pushed in the closed hatch while simultaneously releasing the latch I could get it open. That has been pretty much how it has operated since then. Then just this weekend while on a camping trip with my daughter the latch froze in the locked position with the hatch open and would not release. So i took off the back panel to see what was going on. I was not getting any response from the lever just down from the handle (no response from the manual or electronic activation of the lever). But I finally figured out how to release the latch manually by reaching down into the door frame and pulling the cable. Then I shut the door and released the latch immediately to find the latch frozen again and wouldn't shut. This time I just loosened the 3 bolts on the latch itself and reached in to manually release the latch. That's where I'm at now. The door light does not register when the back hatch is open.
I was originally thinking that there was something off in the mechanism that triggers the manual release or the electronic lock/un-lock in between the rear hatch handle and the latch, but now I'm thinking it could be just the latch. But how does that explain the door light not coming on? Seems there could be 2 separate problems occurring at once.
Any insights appreciated.
John
Thanks for all those who've posted on this issue already. I just want to clarify I really have a latch issue, if possible.
The problem began about 7 or 8 months ago when I couldn't open the back hatch. I quickly learned that if I pushed in the closed hatch while simultaneously releasing the latch I could get it open. That has been pretty much how it has operated since then. Then just this weekend while on a camping trip with my daughter the latch froze in the locked position with the hatch open and would not release. So i took off the back panel to see what was going on. I was not getting any response from the lever just down from the handle (no response from the manual or electronic activation of the lever). But I finally figured out how to release the latch manually by reaching down into the door frame and pulling the cable. Then I shut the door and released the latch immediately to find the latch frozen again and wouldn't shut. This time I just loosened the 3 bolts on the latch itself and reached in to manually release the latch. That's where I'm at now. The door light does not register when the back hatch is open.
I was originally thinking that there was something off in the mechanism that triggers the manual release or the electronic lock/un-lock in between the rear hatch handle and the latch, but now I'm thinking it could be just the latch. But how does that explain the door light not coming on? Seems there could be 2 separate problems occurring at once.
Any insights appreciated.
John
4Runner-3G
New member
Thank you to all of you who contributed to this, especially marmotan! I just ran through this on my '98 4runner and the new latch works perfectly now!
I do have a question though. When I removed the bolts from the black metal panel and was about to get it off entirely, this coil looking piece just fell out. Upon closer look, it looks like it was already broken for a while and was just being held in place by the panel. Pics are below. Any idea what this piece does and if I need to replace it?
The actual coil piece itself, it looks like it snapped off the smaller piece in the next pic:
The area where it came from. You can see the smaller piece of the coil that is still in place:
The back of the hatch door with the panel removed, looking at it right side up. The coil piece is on the right side:
Hmm pics aren't showing up. Here are the direct links, same caption order:
Dropbox - coil1b.jpg - Simplify your life
Dropbox - coil2b.jpg - Simplify your life
Dropbox - coil3b.jpg - Simplify your life
I do have a question though. When I removed the bolts from the black metal panel and was about to get it off entirely, this coil looking piece just fell out. Upon closer look, it looks like it was already broken for a while and was just being held in place by the panel. Pics are below. Any idea what this piece does and if I need to replace it?
The actual coil piece itself, it looks like it snapped off the smaller piece in the next pic:
The area where it came from. You can see the smaller piece of the coil that is still in place:
The back of the hatch door with the panel removed, looking at it right side up. The coil piece is on the right side:
Hmm pics aren't showing up. Here are the direct links, same caption order:
Dropbox - coil1b.jpg - Simplify your life
Dropbox - coil2b.jpg - Simplify your life
Dropbox - coil3b.jpg - Simplify your life
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